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Conveyancing Today

Government told to back off over home energy jobs

Friday 3rd July 2009

A new trade body representing energy workers is warning of a repeat of the scandal in which Home Inspectors were encouraged to spend thousands of pounds of their own money for careers which promised much but turned out to be non-existent.

The Association of Property and Energy Professionals (APEP) describes itself as “created to provide organisations involved in energy and condition reporting with a collective voice and stronger lobbying power”.

Launched this week, it immediately denounced plans by the Government to create a new breed of workers, Home Energy Advisors, when Domestic Energy Assessors already exist.

APEP said it will be seeking a judicial review.

Lesley Sorridimi, of HIP provider HIP HIP Hooray and a founder of APEP, said: “The Government has pulled the rug from underneath the feet of the nation’s 10,000-plus DEAs.”

She accused the Government of ignoring feedback to a recent consultation, and ploughing ahead with the costly and unnecessary creation of a new role.

She said: “This latest decision smacks of incompetency and is a sorry reminder of what the Government did to the thousands of individuals who trained as Home Inspectors prior to July 2006.

“The Government effectively created a new profession, encouraging thousands of individuals to invest their own money in a new training scheme so that they could deliver the newly devised Home Condition Report, a then mandatory part of the Home Information Pack, before pulling the very product they had trained and paid to deliver, leaving them out of pocket and out of work.”

She went on: “A further announcement from British Gas that it plans to create 2,600 new ‘green’ jobs is clear evidence that DEAs are being totally bypassed. The Government cannot allow this to happen.

“We are calling on the Department of Energy and Climate Change to review its plans for the new Home Energy Advisor role or face a judicial review into why it has effectively created a new DEA profession and is now choosing to take away the very work which these people are trained and qualified to do.”

The Home Inspector scandal was perpetuated by training providers who continued to advertise courses long after the Government had abandoned mandatory Home Condition Reports.

DEAs also invested heavily in training and accreditation, only to find that lucrative earnings never emerged because of the collapse in the housing market.

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Posted By silversurfeyor on Friday 3rd July 2009 16:54:23

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Just received a letter from my local MP (Reading East) to confirm The HIPS will go when they take over. So will all the labour non jobs I'll bet

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Posted By Ray Evans on Friday 3rd July 2009 13:25:42

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Conservatives!
Take no notice of the HIP Providers self- serving bleatings.
They deserve no more than any others who lose their 'jobs' through justifyable changes to rectify mistakes made by a silly minister(s)

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Posted By Pedigree Pete on Friday 3rd July 2009 13:02:08

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I am amazed to read the above article. Home Inpector Training a sister company of Hip Hip Hooray was one of the companies offering Home Inspector Courses long after HCR's were abandoned and under another name is still training DEA's even though we have too many. Is Lesley's conscience finally catching up with her!

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Posted By Arfur Barmcake on Friday 3rd July 2009 12:02:18

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More labour non-jobs....

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Posted By Mr Grumpy on Friday 3rd July 2009 11:44:05

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Utter Quango's !

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Editorial Contact Details - Rosalind Renshaw | rosalind.renshaw@estateagenttoday.co.uk | 01252 843 566.