AN MP from Bolton has launched a scathing attack on the policies which allow council tenants to buy their homes for knock-down prices.

Labour's Dr Brian Iddon, who represents Bolton South-east, told Parliament how the numbers of people waiting for houses in the town had rocketed from 5,000 to more than 20,000 in just a decade.

He called on the Government to curb the Right to Buy scheme, introduced by the Conservatives in 1979.

Speaking in the house of Commons last night, Dr Iddon said:"Myself and others believe that Bolton's highest ever housing registration figure has been inflated as a result of the Right to Buy policy."

He said the policy was being exploited, and called on the Government to reduce the discount available to those wishing to buy their home.

Dr Iddon, who spoke out about Bolton's council house crisis in last night's Bolton Evening News, outlined cases in which a council property was sold cheaper than a similar property in the private sector, and how council houses had been bought up to be rented privately.

Examples included a two bedroom flat in Hargreaves House, Bolton town centre, valued at £28,000 but sold for £8,400.

He said:"The selling prices of former council homes appear to lag well behind the market values for similar homes sold in the private sector.

"In the early days of the scheme, we were led to believe that the houses sold would be replaced, but no Government, not even a Labour Government, has met the demand for affordable rented housing."

The MP questioned the policy of the treasury taking 75 per cent of every house sold.

"How much of that pooled income is actually spent on providing affordable public sector homes?" asked Dr Iddon."The more than generous discounts, heaped on top of ridiculously low valuations, has meant that capital receipts, even had they all been spent on building new homes, would have been nowhere near enough to build replacement homes."

Jim Fitzpatrick, under secretary for the office of the deputy prime minister, said:"The Right to Buy policy is a key part of the strategy to help first-time buyers to own their own homes."

He added that guidance was issued about valuation of council properties, and promised that officials would look into the examples cited by Dr Iddon.

Mr Fitzpatrick said the treasury would redistribute the income it makes to provide homes where they were needed. He said the Government had put into place initiatives to stop people from exploiting the scheme.