Bitter Hips row goes to parliament
The government's controversial home improvement packs (Hips) are to be voted on in the House of Commons today, a day after legal action was launched against their introduction.Conservative party leader David Cameron has tabled a motion for Hips to be discussed by MPs, with the debate set to take place after prime minister question's.Yesterday the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) took the unprecedented step of launching a legal challenge against Hips' introduction on June 1st.Rics says that the packs, a Labour election manifesto pledge in 1997, are being rushed through, with too few qualified personnel available to carry out energy assessments.Hips, the cost of which is picked up by the seller, are aimed at making the homebuying process more transparent and efficient; cutting down on collapsed deals at the same time as making people more aware of their energy consumption.On yesterday's legal action a Rics statement said: "The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has commenced judicial review proceedings against the Department for Communities and Local Government, for its failure to carry out proper consultation prior to implementing new legislation to bring in Hips."Rics spokesman Jeremy Leaf added on BBC News yesterday. "Don't get me wrong, we're not against home buying reform or improving energy efficiency in our homes. Far from it."What we are against is the way that it's being done now. It's being rushed through, this ill-conceived policy, just too quickly, without proper consultation and without thinking about the impact on the market itself and on the wider economy," he added.But speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme, housing minister Yvette Cooper insisted the packs were set to provide people with "good energy information about their homes for the first time"."What Hips do is they make it much clearer what it is you are getting, what it is you are paying for and I think provide a great opportunity to get costs down and make it clearer."Rics' legal challenge against the packs is likely to be heard at the high court next week, putting Hips' rollout on June 1st in doubt.
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