You may have read about something about them, and then turned the page over. After all Home Information Packs ( they were included in the Government's Housing Act 2004 )do not come into force until June 2007. But I believe they are going to be very bad news for house buyers, house sellers and expensively-trained Home Inspectors. I want to stop this law before it starts. On April 18^th the House of Commons got a chance to hear me spell out details of my  "Housing Act 2004 Amendment Bill”. This is a serious proposal to alter the existing law by repealing those sections which refer to Home Information Packs.  My Bill was introduced under the Ten Minute Rule. A date for second reading has been allocated - Friday May 12th. But there are already twenty other Bills scheduled for debate on that day. The cruel reality of Parliament is that all Ten Minute Rule Bills face little prospect of becoming law.But please read my Parliamentary argument in full: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm060418/debtext/60418-11.htm#60418-11_head0

The purpose was to highlight an important issue. This has proved a great success and generated a huge mailbag for many MPs. It should be noted that Yvette Cooper, the Minister responsible for HIPs sat opposite me on the front bench and took copious notes during my speech. The Government can and should think again. There is still ample time to do so. 

• I have no doubt that the Housing Market needs change. I am not convinced HIPs are the right change. I would personally prefer to see the introduction of the sort of system that has served Scottish house buyers and sellers so well for so long.

• This is not and should not be a party political issue. HIPs were opposed in the Commons and Lords by Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. There are some Labour MPs who still harbour doubts - just as there are supporters of different parties in the country as a whole who take a variety of contrary views.

Politics ought to be about changing things for the better. That is the main reason I oppose HIPs – it is a change for the worse. If you want to get involved please CONTACT ME My Bill is now drafted and can be read by clicking the link below: HC167.pdf A date for Second Reading is being arranged for October.

Q: 

What have Langdons, Cox & Seddon, Webbers, Wilkie May & Tuckwood,and Chanin & Thomas got in common?

A:  

They are Minehead's main estate agents and they're helping me organise England's first comprehensive HIP survey. In the coming weeks thousands of forms will be distributed to buyers and sellers in the town. The results will provide a valuable guide to genuine public opinion about this issue. The Government claims HIPs are popular, but has done NO research of its own. They rely on a "Which" poll in 2003, conducted BEFORE the law was finalised. Minehead could now show the nation what people really think.

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• http://www.splintacampaign.co.uk  - SPLINTA the anti-HIPS site
• http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1150984 -  Prescott's old Dep't with a new name
• http://www.hipfreehomes.co.uk/  - A site that claims it can get round HIPS
• http://www.hipsdirect.com/ - A HIPS-friendly site that is remarkably iffy about HIPS!
• http://www.homeinformationpacks.com/ - Trevor Kent wants HIPs scrapped
• http://hbf.sqnsolutions.com/index.php?id=1483 - House Builders Federation view
• http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/view=newsarticle.law?NEWSID=265634 - The Law Society
• HIP_document.pdf - Council of Mortgage Lenders