The Government should take urgent action with 96% of councils describing their need for affordable housing as severe or moderate, a new report has said.

Homes for all: Ensuring councils can deliver the homes we need by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) also found 87% did not think that starter homes would address the problem of affordability.

APSE's research found nine out of 10 councils are worried that the extension of Right to Buy will lead to less housing being available for social rent.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the Town and Country Planning Association, which contributed to the report, said: ‘Councils are concerned that government policy is not enabling them to deliver genuinely affordable housing - we need to have a housing strategy that provides affordable homes to all people.'

Chief executive of APSE, Paul O'Brien, added: ‘Our main message is we need government to put in place a housing strategy for the nation that provides decent homes for all.

‘Current housing policy is in need of demolition. 

‘The time has come to start afresh by putting local authorities and new council homes at the heart of a new housing strategy.'