Berkeley Group has committed to hiring as many as 1,500 apprentices by next May, as much as 15 per cent of its workforce

Housebuilders fear that they may not be able to put up enough homes if Brexit leads to curbs on the number of people from European Union states working in the UK.

A leading industry executive has said that the decision to quit the EU could lead to restrictions on foreign employees that might mean the government misses its target to supply a million new homes within five years.

Rob Perrins, chief executive of Berkeley Group, said that at present half of workers on new housing developments came from EU countries and added: “If we get migration wrong, costs will go up and we’ll probably deliver half as many homes. The debate about work permits is one of the single most important issues during the negotiations