Qualified assessors are still waiting for approval as original HIP start date passes
Qualified energy assessors are having to wait months for final accreditation despite passing their exams, in another blow to the home information packs (HIPs) scheme.
Ruth Kelly admitted last week that only 520 assessors were ready to start work today, the orginal start date for HIPs, which include an energy certificate as a central part of the scheme. This led to implementation of the scheme being delayed until August.
However, sources close to the process say that some qualified assessors are waiting months for approval by the Awarding Body for the Built Environment (ABBE).
One trained assessor, Richard Mountain, said he was still awaiting accreditation, despite passing his exams in August 2006.
He said: 鈥淭he ABBE is either not telling the assessment centres what is expected from us or the centres are not passing this information on to candidates. I had to wait for minor details of my application to be ironed out.鈥�
The ABBE was unavailable for comment.
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