Ministers have today announced what they claim is the fastest affordable housebuilding programme for 20 years.

Housing minister, Kris Hopkins, said the scheme, set to last from 2015 to 2018, would help construct 165,000 homes over three years.

Every house built could support one job in the housebuilding industry, which would effectively mean 165,000 job opportunities helped over three years, the DCLG has stated.

Councils, housing associations and construction firms have been invited to bid from a government cash pot managed by the Homes and Communities Agency.

The overall funding package could be worth up to £23bn when government funding is combined with private investment.