The Coalition's council housing policy has been slammed after latest figures reveal it has failed to meet any of its building targets over the last five years.

In 2011 the Government revitalised its right-to-buy scheme, promising to replace every council house sold under the scheme with a new one.

The then housing minister, Grant Shapps, said the government was determined to maintain the number of affordable homes for rent.

Demands: Nick Raynsford wants an apology from the Government over its social housing record

He said: 'For the first time, every additional home that is sold will be replaced by a new affordable home on a one-for-one basis. The new homes for affordable rent will help get the nation building again, and help councils meet housing need.'

But the reality is only one new home has been built for more than every four sold in the social housing sector, according to Labour politician Karen Buck.

The issue sparked heated exchanges in the House of Commons this afternoon with former Shadow Minister for Housing and Construction, Nick Raynsford, demanding an apology from the Government over its record.

Raynsford told Communities Minister Stephen Williams that figures published by the UK Housing Review show only 3,961 new council homes began construction last year compared to 39,000 in the final year of the previous Labour administration.

Raynsford, Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, said: 'The highly authoritative UK Housing Review published last week shows very clearly the figures for the number of new social rented homes started in this country in each of the years from 2009/10 to 2013/14.

'In the last year of the last government, there were 39,000 social rented homes started.

'Last year there were 3,961. Those are the figures. Will you now own up and apologise for that appalling record?'

But Williams refused to apologise and instead hit back, defending the Coalition's record. He said that almost 143,000 affordable homes have been made available to rent since 2010.

He said this compared to the number of social rented homes under Labour falling by 420,000 from 1997 to 2010.

Williams said: 'The rate of building council houses is at a 23-year high under this Government.'

'I won't apologise at all. Actually I'm quite proud of the record of this coalition Government for having a reinvigorated affordable homes programme that in between 2011 and the end of this month will have delivered 170,000 extra affordable homes.

'This will be the first administration since Right to Buy started in 1980 to leave office, to leave this Parliament, with more affordable rented homes in stock than when we started - something your government in three administrations failed to do.'

He added that £730million had been raised under the Coalition's boost to the Right to Buy programme.

He said: 'All of that has to be invested in building new homes for affordable rent in the borough. The last government didn't do that at all.