The government’s housebuilding policy came under fire in the House of Lords  after the leaked document was revealed.

Lord Wood of Anfield said the document, which came from the Department of Communities and Local Government, proved that the government’s housing strategy was based on ‘denial, bad planning and passing the buck’.

The House called for UK planning laws to be streamlined and sped up and the appropriation of Stamp Duty revenue to regenerate towns in the North East.

In quarter one this year work began on 36,450 homes in England, an 11% increase on the previous quarter and 31% higher than Q1 2013.

In 2013 housing starts in England totalled 122,590 – 23% higher than the previous year. But house building is still a way off its peak. Housing starts in Q1 2007 were 26% higher than Q1 2014.

A survey of house building executives carried out by consultancy firm BDO revealed the industry thought the government’s aspirational target of 240,000 homes a year by 2016 was unacheiveable largely due to the restrictive planning system.

Speaking in the House of Lords the government admitted that planning laws still posed a ‘challenge’ to building new homes which was why it was in support of the generation of new towns, like Ebbsfleet, which would see a bulk of new houses built in the UK.