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The Conservative Party has claimed homeowners buying property built on brownfield land are being denied information about contamination risks.
Opposition housing spokesman Michael Gove has criticised the government, saying all of the sites in John Prescott's £60,000 home competition are on contaminated land, but under his own proposals, the potential buyers might not know.
Mr Gove said: "John Prescott's plans to force sellers to spend up to £1,000 before they can market their home will fail if the public do not have confidence in the packs provided."
"His refusal to tell families whether the back gardens will be safe for their children delivers a serious blow to the credibility of these so-called 'information' packs."
There are an estimated 100,000 contaminated land sites across England & Wales but local authorities know less than 100, despite the likelihood of many homes being built on brownfield land in years to come, said Gove’s announcement.
Gove also claimed documents submitted by DEFRA to John Prescott have admitted, "the risk that may be posed by contamination is not known to anyone", and the whole issue is "very sensitive", but recommends against using commercial firms to produce contaminated land checks.
He said many buyers will now want to commission their own research and surveys, adding to the overall expense of buying and selling a house.
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