Written question asked by David Amess (Conservative) on Thursday, 16 February 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 27 February 2006. It was answered by Yvette Cooper (Labour) on Monday, 20 March 2006 on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Building Regulations

Question: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he has given local authorities to ensure the consistent application of Part M of the Building Regulations by building control officers.

Answer: Guidance on application of the requirements of Building Regulations is contained in Approved Documents issued with the approval of the First Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. The requirements of the regulations are expressed in functional terms (Requirement Ml is that"Reasonable provision shall be made for people to gain access to and use the building and its facilities””)."Every Approved Document states"Approved Documents are intended to provide guidance for some of the more common building situations. However, there may well be alternative ways of achieving compliance with the requirements. Thus there is no obligation to adopt any particular solution contained in an Approved Document if you prefer to meet the relevant requirement in some other way.””"There is therefore, necessarily, room for discretion in the application of the requirements, though in most cases the guidance in the Approved Document is followed.

Secondary information