HIPs anyone?

[empip]

I wonder if this was a crafty method of bringing in the concept of 'the house inspector', usual Labour ploy .. 'Look at the benefits folks.'
Then, when the prospective benefits disappear like smoke, the 'sting in the tail, the 'inquisitor' remains ....

...PLANS to introduce £1,000 home sales packs next year have been abandoned amid fears that they would destabilise the property market.
The Government said yesterday that the packs would not be made mandatory next June, as local government leaders claimed that it would be impossible to enforce the scheme...
House sellers will not now have to provide an expensive home condition report. They will only be required to provide an energy efficiency rating, searches and title deeds, at a cost of £150 next year...

From elsewhere ..

...Homeowners could be forced to pay £400 to install new 'smart' meters which charge more for electricity and gas at peak times of the day under Government plans to reduce energy consumption.
The meters provide instant updates on how much a house is using and can be read remotely, removing the need for house calls or estimated bills...
Trials of smart meters, co-funded by the Government and energy suppliers, will start this winter, with results expected by 2008. Italian power firms have been installing 'smart' meters in new buildings since 1997...

Plus the energy supplement planned for 'middle England' in support of the less well off ... Tax upon tax upon tax .. Labour is surely killing itself off, huge majorities seem to encourage self destruction..

A radical plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions by rationing the carbon use of individuals is being drawn up by government officials. The scheme could force consumers to carry a swipe card that records their personal carbon allocation, with points knocked off each time they buy petrol or tickets for a flight....Under the scheme, all UK citizens from the Queen down would be allocated an identical annual carbon allowance, stored as points on an electronic card similar to Air Miles or supermarket loyalty cards. Points would be deducted at point of sale for every purchase of non-renewable energy. People who did not use their full allocation, such as families who do not own a car, would be able to sell their surplus carbon points into a central bank.
High energy users could then buy them - motorists who had used their allocation would still be able to buy petrol, with the carbon points drawn from the bank and the cost added to their fuel bills. To reduce total UK emissions, the overall number of points would shrink each year.
David Miliband, the environment secretary, is keen to set up a pilot scheme to test the idea, and has asked officials from four government departments to report on how it could be done.
The move marks the first serious step towards state-enforced limits on the carbon use of individuals, which scientists say may be necessary in the fight against climate change....

If only the tinkering produced useful results -- noting track record - more dosh down the plughole.

Third world, sooner than most at this rate.

 

[joe-90]

What's going to happen to all the trainee 'Home Inspectors' currently training for the new Homepacks?

Will the government have to compensate them for wasting their time - or will it still come in a bit later on?

 

[empip]

They were always 'on' ..
As I said previously, I believe the HIP was a smokescreen to enable the introduction of the 'home inspector'.. Smoothly inserted below our collective radar. .. Like the old tuition costs for students .. better to pay £3k per annum on tick (inflation rate is on the up hence the loan interest ) than £1k up front --
The Inspector will assess your home for energy efficiency, then when the odd few results are obtained we shall be introduced to the local energy effiiciency tax .. to become a bulwark of local taxation the possible successor to council tax. Just think the worst, it will happen.

Pretty soon middle England will be paying a surcharge on energy bills to support the less well off..
What about the fuel tax income windfall or what??
if you did not you would .

 

[Nige F]

Suits me ,I`m less well off

 

[hermes]

What's going to happen to all the trainee 'Home Inspectors' currently training for the new Homepacks?

Will the government have to compensate them for wasting their time - or will it still come in a bit later on?

That's the first thing I though when I read the article. My bro is training for this, I haven't spoken to him yet but I doubt if he'll be happy.

 

[pickles]

It's an expensive balls up .They needed thousands of inspectors and will only have a few hundred so it was never going to work

The real agenda is to get compliance with EU directives by having a home energy certficate. You will still have to have someone to prepare this as part of the pack which will still be compulsory and still cost about £800 without the condition report

Basically it's a dumb idea which is an attempt to acheive the impossible by legislating against human nature

 

[joe-90]

If the Home Energy test is similar to the car MOT test then whoever wishes to do so can slash the costs. You can get an MOT for £24 near where I live.

If the Home Enery test takes about an hour then £100 sounds right to me.