A Written Ministerial Statement was made on Wednesday 21st Janaury 2004 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the ODPM, Phil Hope, accepting the HBF's proposals.
He has decided to allow RSDs to be used as an alternative to pre-completion testing to demonstrate compliance with Part E of the Building Regulations.
This applies only to the sound insulation between new houses and flats.
The option to use robust details will probably come into force on 1 July 2004 and amendment regulations will be published before then.
HBF has convinced the government that the use of RSDs will result in significantly improved standards, while imposing much less of a burden on industry than pre-completion testing.