§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he remains satisfied that the National House Building Council provides a worthwhile service to the consumer;
(2) how many complaints his Department has received regarding the National House Building. Council;
(3) if he will investigate the National House Building Council's practice of keeping in full membership builders who have had multiple complaints made against them.
§ Mr. FreesonThe Department received approximately 40 complaints regarding the National House Building Council last year. This must be set against the background of some 1½ million houses covered by its protection schemes. We are satisfied that the council takes its responsibilities for consumer protection extremely seriously, though I am sure it would 457W equally accept that improvement to such a service is always possible.
It is not the council's practice to keep in membership builders who have either had serious and substantiated complaints made against them or whom the council have found to be seriously deficient in their standards from its own inspections. Last year, over 50 builders were struck off the register, in addition to those disciplined in other ways.