Consumer Committee

Consumer issues remain at the heart of NHBC, and our Consumer Committee ensures that a strong and effective consumer voice is heard throughout the company.

Established in 1998 to improve consumer representation, our Consumer Committee's influence reaches every level of decision making within the company. The eight members of the Committee are independent of NHBC, and have wide-ranging expertise in consumer affairs, drawn from their links with consumer interest bodies and enforcement agencies. Brief details are available at Members of the Committee.

The Committee is chaired by Sir Graham Hart who, until his retirement in 1997, spent 35 years at the Department of Health, becoming Permanent Secretary in 1992. Details on his appointment are available here in the Recent news section of the website.

The Committee meets regularly to discuss issues and support research to ensure consumer issues remain high on the agenda. They advise on all NHBC initiatives that impact on homeowners. Brief headlines from the Committee's recent meetings can be found at Notes from Committee Meetings.

The role of the Committee has been particularly important during the last year since the Barker Review of Housing Supply underlined the need for improvement in customer satisfaction levels.

Consumer research

NHBC's "Your New Home Satisfaction Survey", launched in April 2004, will enable NHBC to work with the industry to raise standards through improved customer service. Questionnaires are being sent to 100,000 new home buyers each year, inviting them to comment on the customer service they received from their builder in the first year of buying their new home.

Customer Charter

NHBC's Customer Charter demonstrates a clear commitment to putting transparency and openness at the heart of our consumer agenda, and is monitored regularly through market research.

By maintaining customer satisfaction and improving our consumer focus, we continue to protect and enhance our reputation among homeowners. Details of NHBC's service levels may be found in the publication NHBC customer charter.