Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Redwood (Conservative). It was answered on Wednesday, 15 July 2026.

Maximum Temperature for Indoor Workplaces

Question: Why do the Government think that this country has such a low level of air conditioning systems installed, and will they look again at their rather negative guidance on their acquisition?

Answer: I suspect, without being an expert on this, that one reason is that for most of the year we do not need to use them. Therefore, I think it is not unreasonable of government, certainly with respect to public buildings, to take a proportionate approach to the changes that should be made in those buildings—the adaptations which certainly will be needed in homes, schools, hospitals and elsewhere—and to provide sensible and proportionate advice, alongside considerable capital investment in order to enable that to happen.

Secondary information