The Government thought borough councils were useless at looking after such important assets for us so a new entity was set up to take them over and they now belong to "Ribble Valley Homes".

In case anyone should think the Government has done something sensible, for a change, perhaps I ought to mention the chairman of the board of Ribble Valley Homes is Joyce Holgate, who was chairman of the council's Housing Committee, and the chief executive is Christine Grimshaw, who used to be the council's Housing Officer. The same people are doing the same things. All that has changed is the letterhead.

You might imagine the reason each of us has given up £4,000 is to provide decent housing for poor people. As it happens, that is a million miles from the truth. Once a person has got a subsidised house from Ribble Valley Homes, they have got it for life. It doesn't matter if they get a really good job which pays more than most of us earn. It doesn't matter if they inherit enough money to buy a home of their own outright or win a million pounds on the Lottery.

Once they've got their subsidy, its theirs for life and the poor don't get a look in.

The best way to understand how Ribble Valley Homes allocates the subsidies we fund with our £4,000 is to take an example.

Imagine two couples, each living in a small terrace house in Clitheroe and each having two children, a boy and a girl. The children grow up, fall in love with each other and get married but they are on low wages, cannot afford homes of their own and start their married lives living with their parents.

One of these new couples works all the hours God sends, is very frugal and saves like mad to get a home of their own.

They are just the sort of children we hope to have ourselves and, needless to say, they put off starting a family until they have achieved their objective and got a home of their own. Ribble Valley Homes offers this couple nothing.

The other new couple is different. They do not work hard and spend every penny. What is more, they have a child every year until their parents' home is so overcrowded that life is hell on earth for their parents, themselves and their children. They do so because they know Ribble Valley Homes will eventually provide a subsidised home for them, for the rest of their lives.

I actually wonder whether they would have the children at all if they did not know Ribble Valley Homes would spray our money all over them. They might behave rather more responsibly.