CIC Chairman offers to help Ruth Kelly achieve the best possible implementation of the Home Information Packs
Posted: 8th August 2006
Members of the CIC Working Group on Home Condition Reports met the CIC Chairman, the Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP and Chief Executive (Graham Watts) to discuss next steps following the recent Government decision to scrap the mandatory introduction of Housing Condition Reports as a requirement within Home Information Packs.
The conclusions of the meeting were:
• There was significant scepticism as to whether Home Condition Reports will be produced on a voluntary basis.
• Without an accreditation scheme, there is no prospect of Home Condition Reports being offered as they will have no credibility with purchasers – so the work underway to establish accreditation bodies must continue.
• In line with the commitments that Yvette Cooper gave last week, CIC believes it is essential that robust monitoring arrangements are put in place to allow an early assessment of the extent to which voluntary HCRs are being taken up, alongside the delivery of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).
• Existing professional bodies are capable of generating sufficient trained staff, with an appropriate “bolt-on” qualification, to produce the EPCs without the need for a heavy-handed certification scheme. Indeed there is a risk that any such scheme could be counter-productive and jeopardise the implementation of EPCs from 1st June 2007.
• The uncertainty in the market following last week’s statement has raised concerns about the availability of adequate indemnity insurance cover for the staff producing both voluntary HCRs and mandatory EPCs. This needs to be addressed urgently.
CIC has requested a meeting with the Secretary of State and/or senior officials from the Department for Communities and Local Government in order to help the government achieve the best possible implementation of the HIP Scheme.