---

Planning and Energy Bill

That is my objective. Clause 1(1) allows local authorities to, for example, develop policies for their area that require compliance with energy efficiency standards that exceed the energy requirements of building regulations. I am not introducing a new concept in the context of this particular Bill, because clause 1 addresses energy from renewable sources, low-carbon energy and energy requirements in general. I want to square the circle by saying that we should consider not only where the energy comes from—progress on energy requirements is part of what I am trying to achieve—but the consumption of energy, which is where insulation becomes relevant. In my view, the starting point on energy policy must be the reduction of consumption in the first place. The subsequent question is where the energy comes from, and further subordinate questions flow from that. The starting point is getting energy consumption down in the first place before we consider supply. It is important to recognise, as the Bill rightly does, that local authorities can sometimes be ahead of the game. My hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Stephen Pound) has referred to the Merton example to illustrate that point, and other local authorities have conducted similar initiatives elsewhere. When local authorities promote such initiatives, they often provide what are effectively de facto pilot schemes for the national Government. If it turns out that a local authority such as Merton has developed plans that go beyond the requirements of building regulations or central Government guidance or policy, and that those plans are working well, that can short-circuit the development of national guidelines and building and planning regulations because the pilot will have already been tested in the relevant context. My hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North has made an important point about one of the significant issues in the Bill. We have seen the importance of insulation from the efforts of the Government so far. Before I took the two interventions, I was talking about what had been achieved through the April 2006 amendments to part L of the building regulations with regard to insulation. Importantly, those amendments mean that when more than 25 per cent. of the surface area of a controlled element such as a wall elevation is renovated, the energy efficiency of the whole element has to be improved—in other words, there should be insulation. As part of the material change of use, any retained element or fitting whose thermal performance is worse than the defined threshold should be upgraded. That also involves insulation, although not of the building itself: it involves lagging around pipes, boilers and so forth. As part of a material alteration, any element that becomes part of the external envelope should be upgraded if its thermal performance is worse than the defined threshold. That is a significant change in emphasis towards insulation. That is why my amendment is important: it would bring the Bill much more in line with what the Government are trying to achieve overall on energy consumption.