Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued, if any, to environmental health officers regarding the interpretation of statutory nuisance in relation to practising musical instruments in residential places.

The Government is committed to ensuring that noise is managed effectively in order to promote good health and quality of life.

Defra is responsible for the domestic legislation covering statutory nuisance, although local authority environmental health departments are the main enforcers of the statutory nuisance regime under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

The Government considers that noise and other issues that could be the cause of statutory nuisance are best dealt with at a local level. There is currently no specific guidance to local authorities on resolving noise nuisance complaints regarding musical instruments. The effect of playing different types of instruments in different types of dwellings and at different times, will have differing effects on neighbours, and local authorities need to be able to take account of specific circumstances when determining whether a statutory nuisance exists and how best to apply the powers available to them (such as issuing abatement orders).