A HUDDERSFIELD-based law firm has slammed reports that controversial Home Information Packs (HIPs) have been wholeheartedly supported in the town.

Solicitor Michael Harrison, of Howe Harrison, said the packs - being trialled in Huddersfield - did not have the full support of lawyers.

Mr Harrison's firm, based at Prudential Chambers, New Street, has been active in conveyancing for many years.

He said HIPs were "an imposition by this interventionist government on the conveyancing profession".

He said because the pilot scheme was now running in the town, people could get a subsidised HIP free of charge.

But he said as the scheme progressed, people would pay increasingly for it with costs of up to £1,000 being charged.

Mr Harrison added that claims HIPs would dramatically improve the house buying process, were certainly wrong.

"What it will do is dramatically increase the sellers' costs," he said.

The town was one of six locations in the country chosen to trial the packs which become compulsory in June next year.

He also criticised the energy efficiency report part of the pack, which he said had been included by the government to fulfill its European Union obligations.

HIPs aim to help improve the home buying and selling process.

The Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) has welcomed the legal body's commitment to the scheme.

Mike Ockenden, director general of AHIPP, said: "This essential testing will ensure the packs effectively achieve their goals of dramatically improving the house buying and selling process for all involved."