Peter Vince accuses the Law Society of passively accepting the government's introduction of home information packs (HIPs) (see [2006] Gazette, 23 February, 14). The Society campaigned vigorously against the Housing Bill and, over the past year, has continued to voice its concerns to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.


Last October, in the presence of housing minister Yvette Cooper, I criticised the ludicrously unrealistic implementation date; I warned about the potential harm to the housing market of the introduction of HIPs at this time; I reiterated our concerns about the lack of any coherent plan for the training, accreditation and regulation of home inspectors; and I repeated our concerns as to whether HIPs would deliver the consumer benefits the government, on the basis of dubious arguments about the number of failed transactions per year, claimed for them. Not the usual pattern of behaviour of a sacrificial lamb.



In the meantime, the Law Society has been working to deliver an on-line HIPs solution to enable conveyancing solicitors to compete in this new market and to maintain their position at the centre of the conveyancing process. This is a pragmatic approach by the Society, which has been enthusiastically welcomed by the numerous solicitors who have turned up to our roadshows and subscribed to our Web site www.propertysection.org.uk.



Kevin Martin, Law Society President, London