The meteoric rise of the housing crisis up the political agenda is of little surprise to councils and long overdue given the seriousness of the housing shortage and the scale of its impact.

Buying a home is increasingly out of reach for a whole generation. Those renting privately are spending about 40% of their income on rent and there are 1.8 million households on the social housing waiting list.

No one is in doubt we need to build more homes if we are to secure the long-term economic and social future of the country. Councils are at the heart of this issue.