A report claiming the New Homes Bonus needs to be reviewed urgently has been criticised as unfair by housing minister, Mark Prisk - while Labour has described the government's policy as ‘a shambles'.

The study, by the National Audit Office claimed the redistribution of central government funding to local authorities had negatively impacted on areas where housebuilders are less likely to build new homes – which could impact on service delivery in the future.
 
It slammed the estimated numbers for new builds from the scheme, set at approximately 140,000, which was described as being produced ‘using very limited evidence' by the NAO.
 
Instead, the report claimed the figure was nearer to 108,000 homes – more than 30,000 less homes than originally stated for the first decade of the project.