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Dept for Education and Skills

Answer

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the cost of implementing Statutory Instrument 2718 and the guidance notice relating to portable buildings. [19898] John Healey: [holding answer 30 November 2001]: Statutory Instrument 2718 is The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2001. This order amends the planning guidelines relating to telecommunications masts, and has no relevance to portable buildings. There has thus been no assessment of the cost of implementing this Statutory Instrument. However, the hon. Member did raise the issue of portable buildings in the debate in the Second Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation on Wednesday 21 November 2001 which considered the Prayer against both Statutory Instrument 2718 and Statutory Instrument 3335, The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2001. The Approved Document to Part L2 of the Building Regulations, which Statutory Instrument 3335 amended, gives guidance on how portable buildings may meet the requirements of Part L2 of the Regulations under the heading "Buildings constructed from sub-assemblies". There is nothing in the guidance in the Approved Document that indicates that portable buildings will have to be disposed of after five years. It indicates that there are no restrictions at all on portable buildings that are moved from one place to another on the same site. With regard to buildings moved from one site to another the guidance is that a building constructed from external fabric sub-assemblies obtained from other premises or from a stock manufactured before 31 December 2001, would normally be considered to meet the requirement if the fabric thermal resistance or the prospective annual energy use will be no worse than the relevant performance standards given in the 1995 edition of Approved Document L.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

376 c639-40W; 19898

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Costs Conservation Buildings Building regulations Energy Insulation Heating Statutory instruments

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk