THE right to buy council and other socially-rented housing could be scrapped under plans being considered by the Scottish Government.

The proposal emerged when Housing Minister Keith Brown revealed his intention to impose more restrictions on the policy under which hundreds of thousands of council and housing association properties across the UK have been sold off at bargain prices.

A complete ban is one of the options in a consultation launched by Mr Brown yesterday. Another would end the maximum 70% discount available to people who have been tenants since before 2002. After that year, tenants qualify for a maximum 20% discount.

Mr Brown, speaking at a housing conference in Glasgow, said: "Over the years, the sale of hundreds of thousands of properties under right to buy has led to a haemorrhaging in our social housing stock."

The Government estimates the changes could lead to up to 20,000 fewer social homes being sold off over the next 10 years.

Graeme Brown, of housing charity Shelter, said: "There's no point in running a bath with the plug out but that's what we continue to do when we build good quality affordable homes for social rent and then sell them on at a discounted price."