MP Gideon Amos, has called on the Government to move to tackle the housing waiting list in the Wellington area by tightening up controls in the sell-off of council homes.

Mr Amos, Liberal Democrat spokesman for housing and planning, challenged Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook in Parliament on Monday (July 14).

He said: “What assessment has been made of the potential merits of allowing local authorities to end the right to buy in their areas?

“My Somerset councillor colleagues have for decades steadfastly protected and managed our stock of council houses, which has declined through right to buy from tens of thousands, a number of years ago, to only 6,000 now.

“While I welcome the recent attention to this issue by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister, is it not time communities decide for themselves whether to sell off council houses at all?”

Mr Pennycook said: “The Government do not intend to abolish the right to buy, either nationally or by giving local areas discretion to do so.

“We want to ensure council tenants who have lived in and paid rent on their social homes for many years can retain the opportunity to own their home.”

Mr Amos said later he would keep fighting for an increase in council house numbers to reverse the current decline.

He said: “New rules ending right to buy except for very longstanding tenants are the right way to go, and we would only end right to buy completely as a last resort in local areas with high housing stress.

“Taunton and Wellington has now lost the majority of our council houses at a time when we have over 12,000 families on the housing waiting list.”

Mr Amos said Government moves on council homes were a step in the right direction but needed to go further.