The body claimed that if the government maintained this funding for a decade, around 1.45 million affordable homes would be created for rent and shared ownership, including those created through Section 106 planning agreements.

Accounting for inflation, this would amount to £146bn over 10 years, which would cover 44% of the total costs.

The NHF, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), Shelter, Crisis and the Campaign to Protect Rural England called on ministers to find the cash to match spending levels last seen under Winston Churchill’s government in the early 1950s.

Yesterday, the Greater London Authority and the G15 group of London’s largest housing associations warned that levels of government grant for affordable housing in the capital need to increase sevenfold to £4.9bn a year.

They argued the investment could add £120bn a year to the country’s economy by creating jobs and slash the Treasury’s benefits bill.