"New self defence powers"

According to the Telegraph,
"Householders are to be given tough new self defence powers to confront burglars without the risk of being prosecuted".

I'm sure this is a good thing, particularly for the reasonably young and fit. But what can someone who is not so young  and fit?  Will it become legal to deliberately have a suitable weapon in, say, your bedroom in case you get a burglar whilst you are in bed? At present, if I keep a kitchen knife in the bedroom for such an emergency, it would be counted against me if I used it to kill or injure a burglar on the basis that my action was pre-meditated. If I kept a baseball or cricket bat in the bedroom, this too would seem out of order as I play neither game. What about pepper sprays and the like? If it's legal for the police to use them in self-defence, why not the householder? The best I can think of at the moment are some of the kitchen cleaning aerosols; I suspect that directed at someone's eyes, they would do more harm than pepper.

Apparently Kenneth Clarke said :“We will ensure that if you do react instinctively to repel an intruder you will not be punished for it – as long as you used reasonable force.” In the case of pensioners we must be allowed something to use in our instinctive reaction, otherwise as far as we are concerned there is no change in the real situation.I see no reason why it should not be made legal to own and use a pepper spray, mace or some similar repellent within the confines of ones own property.