The government has decided to withdraw funding for the Customer Satisfaction Survey for housebuilders

The survey, which is run by the Housing Forum at Constructing Excellence in the Built Environment, ranked housebuilders on the basis of customer’s satisfaction with their performance. It was the only such ranking available to the consumer.

The ODPM and the DTI have now ended their £60,000 grant to the forum. This move follows a recommendation in Kate Barker’s report into housing undersupply last year, which suggested that housebuilders should take responsibility for regulating themselves.

A new league table is to be compiled by the Home Builders’ Federation and the ODPM.

Dennis Lenard, the chief executive of Constructing Excellence, said there had been political problems associated with continuing the survey with forum involvement.

We’ve had all sorts of political problems. Housebuilders don’t want to be ranked and the funding has been pulled

Dennis Lenard

He said: “We’ve had all sorts of political problems this year. Housebuilders don’t want to be ranked and the ODPM has pulled the funding. We’re not involved with it any more, and we’re obviously very disappointed.”

Judith Harrison, director of the Housing Forum, conceded that the Barker review had suggested that the industry regulate itself, but said she feared that the new survey would be less rigorous than the one published by her own organisation for the past three years.

She said: “As usual in government, there had always been the intention to provide start-up funding. But it is a common concern that the new survey won’t be as independent or as statistically rigorous as before.”