Housing minister Yvette Cooper has popped up on the airwaves once more. Just a month ago, she announced that the Home Information Packs, due to come into effect in June 2007, will have to include an Energy Performance Certificate. Now she has pulled the plug on the home inspection aspect.
“We will bring in the energy efficiency information as soon as possible because that’s important for cutting fuel bills and climate change, but we think the other aspects of the survey need more time for testing and we also think the industry isn’t ready to pass on the benefits. So we want a phased roll out instead of a big bang on June 1st 2007.”
So the Home Information Pack has morphed from being a home condition report into being an energy efficiency report. Which is replacing one useless piece of paper with another.
The Energy Performance Certificate will not change people’s carbon consuming behaviour. It’s a patronizing and pointless exercise. Indeed, if you add up all the miles driven by the hastily-retrained home inspectors, the certificates will probably end up being a net carbon contributor.
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