Labour scuppers Tory plan to block Home Packs

But the Government's controversial plan still faces a challenge in the House of Lords next week.

And the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is seeking judicial review over the "failure" by ministers to carry out proper consultation.

The Conservatives' bid to annul the regulations was defeated by 306 votes to 234, Government majority 72, after outgoing Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott launched a strong defence of the packs, which are due to come in on June 1.

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague warned of a "looming fiasco" and said the introduction of HIPs was a "mistake".

He challenged Mr Prescott: "Given that the Chancellor wants to strengthen Parliament and home ownership - are you going to be here this afternoon to vote with us against HIPs that will damage home ownership?"

The Deputy Prime Minister branded the Tories' opposition to HIPs a "typical example of the Opposition's hypocrisy" and blamed "vested interests" for opposing moves to improve the lot of house-sellers.

He said: "On the one hand they (the Conservatives) say vote blue get green. But as soon as an opportunity comes to vote for something that is energy conservation, whether it is this pack or the climate change levy, they always vote against."

From next month home sellers will be required to provide a pack which contains information on the property as well as an energy performance certificate.

The packs are aimed at slashing the number of transactions which fall through late in the day, while at the same time encouraging homeowners to cut their energy consumption.

But critics claim the packs, costing £400 to £600 each, will deliver few benefits to consumers and will add to the cost of selling a home.

In a 90-minute debate on the regulations, Tory spokesman Michael Gove branded the packs a costly waste of time and dubbed their introduction "folly".

He told the Commons: "They will do nothing to take the strain out of home-buying and only add cost and complexity to the housing market.

"Ministers have botched this process from beginning to end. They have ploughed on regardless of the potential damage that they are doing to the housing market at an acutely delicate time."

Mr Gove accused ministers of ignoring the concerns of surveyors, lawyers and mortgage lenders and insisted the packs' only supporter was home information pack providers, who saw an opportunity to "fleece the consumer".

Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said the plans were "sensible and practical". She said like white goods, which now came with energy ratings, people's houses would be rated to help them see where they could save energy and money.

"It makes it possible for the first time for people to think about making efficiency improvements to their homes."

Ms Cooper insisted the Government had made changes to the packs in response to consultation and trials and pledged: "We will continue to work with stakeholders across the industry on the implementation of them."

She acknowledged opposition from some representative bodies, but said the RICS judicial review was completely groundless and focused against EPCs not HIPs.

"We do think that these are the right measures to introduce this summer," Ms Cooper added.