New Building Standards Regulations

That the Parliament notes the introduction of new energy standards in building regulations from 1 October 2010 and the target of achieving a 30% improvement in CO2 emissions in new buildings compared with the previous standards in 2007; considers that there has been a paucity of investment in the ongoing skills training of building control officers who will be required to implement the new regulations; understands that relatively inexpensive insulation and airtightness technologies are already available that could achieve results of 20% above the new targets, and calls on the Scottish Government to institute a full review of the housebuilding industry, including the contribution that small builders could make through retrofitting insulation and airtightness improvements, with a view to setting a better target and ensuring that housing can make a larger contribution to the 2020 and 2050 climate change targets.