The release of the select committee report on the introduction of home information packs (Hips) has prompted the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) to denounce the scheme as a "mess".

Peter Bolton King, the chief executive of the organisation, has called for the packs to be scrapped several times and yesterday urged the government to consider their usefulness in light of the damning report from MPs.

"We are extremely keen to help the government find ways of improving the home buying and selling process in the UK but we will not support a piece of legislation that we believe is ineffective, or worse – that is detrimental to the market and consumers," he said.

Mr King added that if the government had "paid attention to the concerns of the industry…this whole mess could have been avoided".

However, the report received a very different reaction from the director general of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers, Mike Ockenden, who commented that "we cannot change the past".

"With Hips clearly not having the detrimental impact on the market that many forecast, it is time to move on," he said.