JOHN WHITE, the executive chairman of Persimmon, one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders, has criticised government plans to introduce Home Information Packs (Hips) and called for their abolition.

Mr White gave warning yesterday that house prices could be forced up once Hips are introduced next year because fewer homes may be put up for sale.

“These Hips are mooted to prevent gazumping and speed up the housebuying process, but they won’t achieve either of these things. They may even slow down the market by reducing the number of properties put up for sale, which would lead to a surge in house prices,” Mr White said.

“I would hope they are not introduced. It would be folly to risk disrupting the housing market and I am not sure what it will achieve.”

The initiative has already come under heavy criticism from the Tories, who claim that Hips are nothing more than a £110 million VAT windfall for the Government.

Michael Gove, Conservative MP and Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning, has railed against Hips as “expensive red tape” for the housing market.

Hips are set to be introduced in June next year and are expected to cost sellers at least £600 to £700. Some estimates put the cost of compiling the packs at as high as £1,000.

The comments from Persimmon came came as the FTSE 100 group unveiled a solid trading update with sales reservations in the six months to June 30 on a like-for-like basis stripping out the impact of the Westbury acquisition, 7 per cent ahead of the same period last year.

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