The sheer fact that you can take a combination of different papers in the first year (
any four from a choice of eleven - no set "take 2-3 core plus 1-2 options") that was not possible previously proves that it is
not just PPS by a different name, and to represent it as such to potential students is misleading.
Yes, students who want to follow a Pol/Psych/Soc based stream are still able to take the same core papers under the HSPS tripos as they would have been prior to the switch over, but that in itself does not make it a rebrand of PPS any more than it is a rebrand of Arch & Anth!! You'll also note that history/ed/compsci are not offered as first year options.
HSPS is a new Tripos led by a recently integrated school that includes a number of different departments [and divisions]. Whilst it is still possible to specialise in the individual subjects for Part II (e.g. Politics & IR), the new Tripos is a lot more open to the integration of papers from different divisions within the school allowing students to create a broader more inter-disciplinary degree if they so choose.
It is also now possible to balance subjects for a joint degree in Part II (which was not a 'standard' option in at least some of the single subjects previously).
There does seem to be some confusion about the new Tripos, and I don't think that it's particularly helpful to misrepresent it to potential applicants. I think it's far more useful to help explain what the new Tripos
actually offers rather than stating what previously offered degree it is
almost/sort of/kind-of-like-if-you-ignore-certain-aspects. The course structure is shown here
http://www.hsps.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/prospective/structure.html for anyone that is interested.
For those of you that are attending the Open Day next month, there will be a HSPS board and also (I believe) a presentation that I'm sure you will find useful