One more victory for government regulation -- and added cost for consumers.

EVERY house which is either built or refurbished in Scotland will from today have to be fitted with new valves restricting the temperature of the hot water.

Ministers decided to act in an attempt to prevent children from being scalded in the bath and regulations forcing the change on house builders came into force today.

The new rules mean that £80 thermostats will have to be built in to all new hot water systems, regulating the temperature to 48C or less. The new rules represent a major success for the petitions process in the Scottish Parliament.

The campaign for a change in the law was started by the Scottish Burned Children's Club, which presented a petition to the Scottish Parliament in November 2004 and which has now seen its request adopted by ministers.

The club is fronted by Darren Ferguson, a teenager from Stenhousemuir who suffered permanent facial disfigurement from scalding hot bath water when he was a baby.

Mr Ferguson appeared before the public petitions committee and persuaded the convener, Michael McMahon, to write to ministers with the club's concerns.

After all, we can't expect the people to responsibly set the temperature of their own water heaters -- government must do it for them.

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