SIR George Young has slammed a policy change which will lead to cuts in affordable housing in Test Valley.

The MP for North West Hampshire believes Test Valley will suffer as a result of the change and has urged a government rethink.

During a parliamentary debate on community services he said: "Community services are provided by people who need to live near their place of work. If there is one issue in my constituency that commands almost universal agreement, it is the need for more affordable housing.

"We depend on such housing for the delivery of key public services. Without housing, posts remain unfilled. "Housing in my constituency is expensive. The average house price in Test Valley in September last year was £212,774. Although many of my constituents are prosperous and can afford to buy, many are not, and 87 per cent of concealed households in Test Valley cannot access open market housing.

"People in the public sector and subject to national pay bargaining face particular problems if the supplements, such as those for the police, do not reflect the extra cost of servicing a mortgage in Hampshire."

Sir George went on to praise previous initiatives to tackle the problem and the use of Test Valley's social housing grant to provide more than 100 new affordable homes each year following the transfer of housing stock to a housing association.

But he criticised the recent abolition of the local authority social housing grant.

He said: "That was going fine until, at the beginning of this year, the Government decided to abolish local authority social housing grant with effect from 1 April.

"Test Valley Borough Council is not debt-free, it has never underspent its local authority social housing grant and it certainly has an enormous need for affordable housing - ask the teachers, nurses and policemen.

"Although there may have been some imperfections in the (previous) regime, the Government has lived with it for six years.

"To abolish it with a few weeks notice, with a less than perfect substitute, is bad government and bad news for those in housing need who provide key public services.

"The Government has suddenly and unilaterally changed the rules. The schemes for affordable homes that had been planned in my constituency will either be lost or placed on hold."