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03 Jan 08 - Government Attacked Over HIPS Delay
The Government has come under fire for the delay in introducing
the controversial Home Information Packs.
A select committee of MPs said the wait for Hips was down
to a loss of nerve following pressure from the media.
Ministers phased-in Hips in an effort to make the house
buying process easier, but critics claim they will distort
the housing market and make it harder for first-timer buyers
to get a foot on the property ladder.
The Communities and Local Government Committee report says:
"We can only conclude that decisions to delay the introduction
of Home Information Packs and then to phase them in for
homes of different sizes across a period of months were
taken on political rather than economic grounds, owing more
to a failure of nerve in the face of vocal opposition from
the press and others than to the general conditions prevailing
in the housing market itself."
Committee chairman Dr Phyllis Starkey, Labour MP for Milton
Keynes South West, added: "The long and tortuous process
of introducing Home Information Packs signals a failure
of delivery on CLG's part.
"It is clear the reasons for this lie in poor preparation
and then a retreat by the department's ministerial team."
News items supplied by SelectNews, produced by PA Business,
part of the group that owns The Press Association, the UK's
national news agency. Copyright (c) PA Business 2007.
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