A coalition plan to get 100,000 people on to the property ladder by helping them to buy new-build properties has helped just 5,000.
According to official figures only 5,518 people have benefited from the scheme which was launched three years ago.
Under the rules buyers only have to find a deposit of 5%, but critics say that rising house prices have meant that even this figure is unachievable for many.
Labour said it now takes low to middle-income households 22 years to save for a deposit on a first home, compared with 3 years in 1983.
Independent on Sunday, 5
