Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure properties in the private student rental sector meet a habitable standard.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government has taken significant action over the past decade to protect all tenants, including students. We have improved standards by requiring landlords to provide smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, as well as conduct electrical safety checks.
The Government published a White Paper on 16 June 2022 setting out our plans to reform the private rented sector.
Asked by: Lord McCabe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what protections his Department has implemented for students in the private renting market.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government has taken significant action over the past decade to protect all tenants, including students. This includes capping tenancy deposits at five weeks' rent and preventing landlords and agents from charging undue or excess letting fees. We have also improved standards by requiring landlords to provide smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as conduct electrical safety checks.
The Government published a White Paper on 16 June 2022 setting out our plans to reform the private rented sector and level up housing across the country. Our reforms will provide more secure and high-quality homes and create a stable rental market for landlords to remain and invest. We know that some landlords are concerned about how the new tenancy system will work for students, and we are considering how we can best support the student lettings market.
Asked by: Lord McCabe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that students are not exploited in the private renting market.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government has taken significant action over the past decade to protect all tenants, including students. This includes capping tenancy deposits at five weeks' rent and preventing landlords and agents from charging undue or excess letting fees. We have also improved standards by requiring landlords to provide smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as conduct electrical safety checks.
The Government published a White Paper on 16 June 2022 setting out our plans to reform the private rented sector and level up housing across the country. Our reforms will provide more secure and high-quality homes and create a stable rental market for landlords to remain and invest. We know that some landlords are concerned about how the new tenancy system will work for students, and we are considering how we can best support the student lettings market.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist on 20 September (HL2103), what is the timetable for the review of the regulations introduced on 1 October to extend requirements for carbon monoxide alarms.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The regulations, set out that it is the intention of the Government to publish a report on the conclusions of the first review of The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 by 1st October 2027, five years after the regulations have commenced. In the meantime, we continue to monitor to feedback from the social housing sector on how these regulations are being received and embedded into the sector. In light of the feedback already received, we plan to update the current guidance for tenants, landlords and local authorities.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to revise their regulations on carbon monoxide alarms in accommodation to reflect the safety warning issued by the Office for Product Safety and Standards on 15 August on the use of gas grills.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The Government takes the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning in rented accommodation very seriously. For this reason, we have introduced legislation which comes into force on 1 October 2022 significantly to extend requirements for carbon monoxide alarms, so that they are required in all private and socially rented homes in rooms with fixed combustion appliances and where new fixed combustion appliances are installed in any home.
Consideration was given during the consultation process to including gas cookers (which would include the use of gas grills) in this legislation. The evidence available at the time of consultation showed that gas cookers are responsible for fewer incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning than gas boilers and that, as such, the inclusion of gas cookers within the regulations would be disproportionate. This view was broadly reflected in the responses to the consultation.
Given the imminent commencement of the regulations, there are no current plans to revise the 1 October 2022 regulations. The regulations are, however, subject to review in the future, and we may re-consider the case for inclusion of gas cookers, or other appliances, if required.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in formulating the draft Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022, they considered the impact of carbon monoxide poisoning arising from sources in adjacent properties; and why the draft Regulations do not include a requirement for audible carbon monoxide detectors in bedrooms where there is no fixed combustion appliance, except for gas cookers.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In formulating the draft regulations, the Government considered national statistics on overall numbers of accidental carbon monoxide poisonings. This, and the falling costs of carbon monoxide alarms, supported the case to extend alarm requirements to include social housing, to rooms having fixed combustion appliances in both rented sectors and to rooms where fixed combustion appliances are installed all irrespective of heating fuel (excluding gas cookers). These regulations, which will provide parity between rented sectors, are applicable to dwellings where a landlord has responsibility for internal repairs and maintenance. They do not account for adjacent properties for which the landlord is not responsible. This decision was based on the evidence and the right balance between safety for residents and ensuring regulatory burdens are proportionate.
Requiring alarms in rooms with fixed combustion appliances will help to mitigate risks in other rooms, as alarms will detect and give audible warning of carbon monoxide before it has a chance to spread elsewhere. It would not be proportionate to mandate additional alarms in other rooms, including bedrooms, that do not contain a fixed combustion appliance.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of second-hand vaping smoke on the health of others; and if he will extend no smoking zones to include vaping.
Answered by Maggie Throup
There are no current plans to review this legislation to include vaping. The provision of separate vaping areas is a matter for individual organisations. While there is clear evidence of harm from tar and carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke, there is no comparable evidence of harm from second-hand exposure to vaping.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to review legislation on no smoking zones to include vaping.
Answered by Maggie Throup
There are no current plans to review this legislation to include vaping. The provision of separate vaping areas is a matter for individual organisations. While there is clear evidence of harm from tar and carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke, there is no comparable evidence of harm from second-hand exposure to vaping.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of car engine idling on the environment.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Engine idling can be a significant contributor to local emissions, particularly where there may be a number of idling vehicles such as outside schools. Exhaust emissions contain a range of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter. These can affect the air quality of the surrounding environment and the air we breathe. That is why the law states that is an offence to idle your engine unnecessarily when stationary and Local Authorities have powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to drivers who do so.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he will require the disclosure of the emission results for wood burning stoves, including efficiency, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and organic gaseous compounds, when they are sold in accordance with the Ecodesign regulations from 1 January 2022.
Answered by Greg Hands
As of 1 January 2022, new Ecodesign regulations require that when a solid fuel local space heater (wood burning stove) is placed on the UK market, the product’s efficiency and its emissions of particulate matter, organic gaseous compounds, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides under standardised test conditions must be provided in the instruction manual for installers and end-users as well as on a free-access website.