The government has climbed down on HIPs. A huge victory for Michael Gove's energetic campaign against them.
MICHAEL GOVE MP'S STATEMENT TO THE HOUSE
"Can I thank the minister for sight of her announcement which I received just 25 minutes before hand? Clearly this has been a day for doing everything at the last minute. Can I ask why, after being warned over a year ago that they were comprehensively mishandling this issue Ministers have seen fit to retreat only now – with eight days to go before Home Information Packs were due to be implemented? Why didn’t ministers take the opportunity we offered last week to think again? Was it stubborn vanity, or sheer incompetence?
The Secretary of State may argue that this humiliating climbdown was precipitated by the Judgement issued in the High Court Today. But that begs the question which goes to the heart of this matter. Why did ministers press ahead with a scheme which everyone who knows anything about the housing market was telling them was flawed at the heart?
And those warnings, unlike this climbdown, did not come at the eleventh hour. In this house, at this despatch box, a year ago we told the Government their scheme was flawed. The Government told us we were scaremongering. Eventually the Government were compelled to execute the first in what has been a truly embarrassing series of U-turns… dropping the mandatory home condition report which was the keystone of the original home information pack – just hours after they’d been defending it in this House – but still ministers were determined to press ahead. Why?
Why didn’t they take the opportunity then to work with us and others to put the stability of the housing market first? Why did ministers decide instead to ignore the growing chorus of concern, shut out expert advice and carry on regardless?
On February 21st all the key stakeholders originally invited to help the Government set up this scheme issued a warning letter to the Minister for Housing and Planning asking for an emergency meeting to address fundamental concerns with the operation of this scheme. They were not granted the meeting they asked for. Why?
In desperation the same group wrote to the Secretary of State on March 2 asking for an emergency meeting. Again they were snubbed. No meeting was granted. Why? What explains this refusal to listen to the experts who had once been charged with helping set up this policy and whose involvement would be key to implementing it? Was it because the Government couldn’t bear to be told they were in the wrong, or didn’t they realise what a mess they were presiding over? Was it deadly arrogance, or fatal ignorance?
And even after today’s announcement key questions remain unanswered.
The Government were warned there weren’t enough qualified, accredited and certified home inspectors in place. Over a year ago I warned that getting these people in place was crucial. Only last week in this place I told the minister of State we didn’t have enough people in place to ensure the smooth operation of the scheme. But the minister told us everything would be alright on the night. Why did she offer that cavalier assurance when the Secretary of State now tells us there won’t be enough people in place after all? We know relations between the ministers are bad – but did the Secretary of State only find out in the last few days how few qualified people there are in place? When did she know the real numbers? And why didn’t she inform the House last week?
How can ministers ever again ask to be taken seriously on the environment when they have comprehensively mismanaged a measure they argued throughout was vital to fighting climate change? How can we believe their green credentials are worth anything when they rejected cross-party working to get the environmental part of this package right last week and instead indulged in partisan posturing?
Can the Secretary of State also confirm that today’s judgement in the High Court confirms what we have argued all along, and what best practice in the EU shows, that you don’t need HIPs for Energy performance Certificates? Will she now agree to meet with me and my colleagues to ensure there’s actually some expertise in this process to get it right?
MR SPEAKER –
Isn’t it the case that this is a desperate last minute retreat designed to ensure that the Minister of Housing and Planning is airlifted out of the department by her friends in the Treasury in a future reshuffle so she doesn’t have to cope with the chaos she’s created.
And isn’t it tragic that confidence in the industry, the stability of the housing market and the battle against climate change have all been damaged by this Government’s arrogance and incompetence?"
Well done
Down with the nanny state!
Posted by: clive elliot | May 22, 2007 at 17:13
Just seen Michael Gove give a good performance in the HoC, body language between Kelly and Cooper was interesting too and made you wonder which was the junior minster!
Posted by: Scotty | May 22, 2007 at 17:22
Very good.
Now to get it scrapped as a waste of time and money.
Posted by: Neil Wilson | May 22, 2007 at 17:26
Quite a victory. If only we could get rid of the whole thing altogether.
Kelly and Cooper look like a couple about to exchange rank in 6 weeks time.
Posted by: Andrew Woodman | May 22, 2007 at 17:38
Delay is good, but I fear it will be back. Are we pledging to abolish it?
Posted by: Derek | May 22, 2007 at 17:40
Reportedly, the HIPs will only apply to larger properties initially, and will be phased in for smaller properties on an unspecified timetable.
So the soak-and-criminalise-the-middle-class rules still apply, it seems.
Mr Gove's excellent work isn't completed just yet.
Posted by: Teesbridge | May 22, 2007 at 18:03
Another point is the cost of the pack will be at least £300 and the fine for not producing one is £200. What would you rather pay?
Posted by: Andrew Woodman | May 22, 2007 at 18:12
Well done Mr Gove.
A job well done and a future cabinet minister (Cooper) looks like damaged goods before she has started.
Posted by: HF | May 22, 2007 at 18:12
Useless bunch of wasters, they couldn't organise a proverbial drinking session in a brewery.
Posted by: EML | May 22, 2007 at 18:49
"... but still ministers were determined to press ahead. Why?"
Article 7 of Directive 2002/91/EC:
"Member States shall ensure that, when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out, an energy performance certificate shall be made available to the owner or by the owner to the prospective buyer or tenant, as the case might be"
"Article 15 - Transposition"
"1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive at the latest on 4 January 2006. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof ..."
"2. Member States may, because of lack of qualified and/or accredited experts, have an additional period of three years to apply fully the provisions of Articles 7, 8 and 9. When making use of this option, Member States shall notify the Commission, providing the appropriate justification together with a time schedule with respect to the further implementation of this Directive."
Posted by: Denis Cooper | May 22, 2007 at 19:53
Gove 'believes' in the 'energy performance' nonsense (cos it's EU twaddle). What credibility does that give him?
Posted by: Dave Wilson | May 22, 2007 at 19:54
Good work today, Michael Gove. Remember now is not the time to be magnanimous in victory - it's the time to kick the Government while it's down, given that they have only refrained (temporarily) from doing wrong, they have not done right. Just remember to repudiate the Directive that Denis has mentioned above at some point, there's a good chap.
Posted by: David Cooper | May 22, 2007 at 20:11
So its all the EU's fault then. Can we ask if France, Germany,Spain, Netherlands et al actually implement this directive themselves, or have they taken the continental view in as we just wont bother thank you.
Posted by: Annabel Herriott | May 22, 2007 at 22:57
Energy Certificates - another piece of unecessary EU interference which costs the homeowner, with no guarantee that the buyer would take any action to improve efficiency and thus reduce carbon outputs.
Why not allow self-certification? Homeowners could input at no cost or little cost to a (government? careful!) web site, giving details of number of rooms, sizes of rooms, insulation types, boiler type, light bulbs, etc,etc,etc. This data would be used to make the calculations to provide a report and generate a certificate which could be printed out on the homeowner's computer printer.
Willful inputting of incorrect data would be subject to trades descriptions acts if the output is used as a part of a description of the property.
Too simple?
Posted by: Perdix | May 23, 2007 at 00:11
I liked Ruthie's professional fouls, playing Gove rather than the question, and trying to infer that he was not up to the job and had stolen someone else's questions.
As usual we find in the end that the whole shambles is down to the EU, with the demand for energy certificates. Why didn't NuLab ask for the 3 year derogation, instead of trying to hustle something through on the shambolic cheap.
Posted by: George Hinton | May 23, 2007 at 10:56
Absolutely pathetically incompetent...
but a brilliant job by Michael Gove.
Posted by: melanie mclean | May 23, 2007 at 13:42
You really do not understand what this is all about and offer nothing constructive. Energy is a really big issue as is climate warming and you just use it as a political pawn!
The world has gone mad, there are people who have just given up their jobs to do this work, paid out up to £12,000 to train and now have nothing.
We agree it's a shambles and it just seems to get worse.
Posted by: HC | May 23, 2007 at 16:18
Given the price of property in the UK, a house with four or more bedrooms is a very large investment. I think it would be fair to assume that the potential investor, or their representative, would have more that sufficient competencies in large asset purchases. So what possible benefit would a HIP have? It is just an unnecessary expense.
Posted by: David Bodden | May 24, 2007 at 11:32
A small point re 'accountability'. These packs are now to be introduced on 1st August - smack bang in the middle of Parliamentary Recess, with the House not due back for another 9 week - in the likely event that there will still not be enough assessors available all we will get is a teeny-weeny press release saying that it has again been pushed back. So no second outing at the Despatch Box for Mr Gove.
Posted by: Johnny Smythe | May 24, 2007 at 16:03