From The Metro:
Thousands of workers stand to lose their jobs after the new government announced plans to scrap Home Improvement [sic] packs.
Ditching Hips was among the less widely trailed details* of prime minister David Cameron's policy plans outlined last week. but industry experts warn the move could put up to 10,000 jobs at risk and hit the hundreds of Hip provider companies that invested in the scheme, launched by Labour in 2007...
* Not true. The Tories have long said they opposed Hips and would scrap them. The EU-phile Lib Dems would have insisted on retaining the Energy Performance Certificates anyway.
That didn't take long
3 hours ago
9 comments:
Ahem, EPC's are the result of an EU Directive? So how could anyone get rid of them?
WFW, yes of course they are. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
Having just got stung for one of the useless things I suppose I am allowed to be a tad aggrieved at having to fork out "quite a lot" to have some, well I shall pass over the "people skills" of my expert, tell me, as if he expected it to shock me to the core, that my 1920's constructed dwelling " despite having had replacement double glazing installed and a loft insulated to a level above standard, still fell a bit short of modern standards of energy efficiency and the EPC would reflect this" ... Amazing, absolutely amazing. Licensed 'kin robbery.
Anon, indeed, but the biggest losses will be suffered by those people who shelled £1,000s to go on training courses to learn how to tell people like you that their 1920s-built house wasn't, er, particularly well insulated. I warned people at the time that it was a flash in the pan so I have no qualms about saying "I told you so".
I guess the only winners from this were the people who gave the training courses...
MW - Absolutely true, and one does feel a bit sorry for those who "leapt in" - and whilst on the subject of EPC's I think this extract from Hansard on 24th November 2009 recording the wise words of one of candidates I understand for leadership of the Labour Party is "quite illuminating". Typical recently departed shower stuff:-
Edward Miliband: "The hon. Gentleman knows that we have published our own home energy efficiency plan for 700 million households to be insulated by 2020 and we have said that we will pilot it in the low-carbon transition plan, which we will be announcing shortly. The problem with the hon. Gentleman's position is that he says that we can give £6,500 to everybody on day one. I do not know how he will pay for every household to have that. I asked him in my speech to clarify-perhaps he can advise us now-how he will pay for that £6,500 on day one."
Perhaps Ed could now enlighten us on exactly how he planned to find the money for all those households - just for info and to complete the picture.
Anon, that is bizarre. Hansard itself reports him as saying "700 million" when there are only about 25 million households in the whole of the UK.
Bizarre indeed, and when I spotted it I suggested to a colleague that, as you point out, there being only 25 million households in the UK according to the ONS, perhaps Ed had inadvertently let slip that the UK had committed, because we are THAT committed to combatting global warming, to doing the "£6500 per Home Home Energy Efficiency Plan" thing for every household in the EU and beyond - and no one noticed !
I love it that people have lost money jumping on a new Labour money making scheme.
I am also hoping that all those people who signed up for and ID card will lose their 30 quids and get told to fuck off.
Governments may come up with stupid draconian ideas, but it takes common people to put them into practice.
If nobody had done the training courses there would have been no one to impliment the scheme and it would have been a non starter.
Serves the fuckers right!
HIPS was a brake on house sales. It put sellers off big time and was useless as buyers would be stupid not to have searches done independently! It was an excuse to bring in the EU energy efficiency rating. A Trojan horse.
BTW why Trojan? It was a bloody Greek horse!
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