Safer and Greener Homes one step nearer

Written by Andrew Stunnell MP, Shadow Energy Spokesman and published in Hazel Grove and Bramhall Community News on Tue 3rd Feb 2004

My Bill to make houses cheaper to run, safer to live in, and less damaging to the planet has taken an important step forward.

It took four and a half nail-biting hours of rather long-winded discussion in the House of Commons, but my Bill got over the first hurdle in the Westminster handicap race 'unopposed'. Just before 2 o'clock on Friday afternoon the Deputy Speaker 'put the question', supporters of my Bill shouted Aye, and when she asked for any opponents to shout No there was silence. Brilliant!

So now the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Bill has passed its Second Reading, and goes to a committee of 20 or so MPs who will look at every line with a critical eye before it comes back to the Commons for a final debate. If it survives all that then the whole process is repeated in the House of Lords. And if I get all that done before October, the Bill will become law. Each step is sudden death as Private Members Bills can be sabotaged by just a handful of determined objectors at any time.

Cutting Crime

Greater Manchester Police have a special unit to give advice to builders and developers on how to 'build in' security from the beginning, avoiding dark alleyways and corners, and making sure doors, windows and locks are crime resistant. When I met the man who runs it I was gobsmacked to find that no-one has to listen to the advice they give.

He had a hair-raising tale of a well-know developer who built a whole estate of new homes in south Manchester that had dodgy patio doors. Week after week the Police were called out to break-ins where the doors were the weak point. When the Police asked the developer to change the doors he refused. Worse still, the Police tell me that exactly the same design is being used on a second estate that is now half built, and already the break-ins have started there.

My Bill will mean that simple rules about security will have to be followed by builders just like those already there for safe drinking water or fire precautions.

Saving Money

How many miles per gallon does your house do? A silly question, of course. But most people don't realise that their home burns more fuel than their car. We know the fuel consumption of the car, but not of our home. The experts say that most of us could be just as warm as now but cut our energy use by half if only we had well-insulated homes and efficient heating and domestic appliances. That would give us smaller bills saving a packet of money, and bring drastic cuts in carbon dioxide gas emissions which cause climate change. It would have a big health impact, too, if more of us lived in cosy homes, with asthma, bronchitis, and heart conditions all reduced - so saving the NHS money as well.

My Bill will make it easier to set higher standards for new homes, or when major repairs like a new roof are needed.

It's Just a Start

There is a long list of silly things that my Bill will put right. But even so it is only a start on getting us all to remember that we can save money and save the planet at the same time. Safer and greener homes really are a very good idea.