The government should impose penalties on those local authorities who fail to deliver the housing their area needs, according to the National Federation of Builders.

Responding to publication of the government’s inaugural housing delivery test which showed that 108 local authorities had fallen short of their requirement to build 95% of the homes they needed, the NFB’s chief executive Richard Beresford said ministers had to show some ‘stick’ to bring the councils into line.

“Since the carrot of meeting housing need themselves is not enticing enough for local planners, the government’s stick of penalties and buffers is clearly required,” he added.