To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of domestic energy assessors required to administer the home information pack scheme in (a) North West Leicestershire, (b) Leicestershire and (c) the East Midlands once the scheme is implemented across the housing market; and how that estimate is calculated.

holding answer 21 November 2007

We set out the criteria for roll out of home information packs (HIPs) to Parliament on 22 May, explaining that we would extend the requirement for HIPs when sufficient energy inspectors were in place nationally and regionally to meet market demand as well as taking into account lessons learnt from the operation of the scheme.

It was estimated that 303 domestic energy assessors would be required to produce energy performance certificates for the implementation of home information packs for all properties in the East Midlands. This was based on the estimated number of properties marketed for sale in the region and working practices of assessors.