To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many part-time qualified and accredited home inspectors she expects there to be in each of the next three years; and if she will make a statement. (146509)

It is estimated that about 40 per cent. of home inspectors and domestic energy assessors will work part time. This has been taken into consideration in the Government’s plan for the roll-out of Home Information Packs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2007, Official Report, column 2103W, on home information packs, when the research will be published. (146585)

This research is being updated in light of the changes to the implementation announced on 22 May and will be published in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many qualified home improvement pack inspectors there are, broken down by region; how many qualified inspectors she expects there to be on 1 August; and how many inspectors will be needed to inspect homes with (a) four or more bedrooms and (b) three or more bedrooms on 1 August. (146697)

I refer the hon. Member to the dedicated Home Information Packs website for the most recently published national numbers of accredited assessors, together with a regional breakdown:

http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/industry/l63_Assessorinspectornums.html

We will be providing regular updates on this site.

There is already a sufficient number of assessors to introduce Home Information Packs and Energy Performance Certificates for four-bedroom properties and larger on 1 August 2008. The implementation update published on 11 June, a copy of which was placed in the House Library, states the criteria which will be used for the roll out of packs to other sized properties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department’s latest estimate is of the average cost of a home information pack, including VAT, for residents of the South West Government Office Region; and if she will make a statement. (151587)

An estimate of the cost of producing a Home Information Pack is set out in the Impact Assessment published on 11 June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition she uses of (a) bedrooms, (b) studies, (c) lofts and (d) bathrooms in relation to home information packs. (151774)

[holding answer 23 July 2007]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) on 25 June 2007 Official Report, column 164W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the annual level of expected non-compliance with the home information pack provisions. (152686)

We have put in place a robust enforcement regime to deal with those who do not comply with the new requirements. The Housing Act 2004 makes it clear that the responsibility to obtain a Home Information Pack is on the person responsible for marketing the property.