New analysis shows that the delivery of social homes in the south west has plummeted by 77 per cent since the start of the decade.

Shelter, the charity for the homeless, states that the number of homes has dropped from 4,121 homes in 2009-10 to 942 in 2017-18.

Despite this, the need for social housing in the area is high, with more than 100,000 households on the waiting list for social housing.

This comes as charity Shelter’s social housing commission launches a landmark report calling for an ambitious 3.1 million new homes across the country, extending the offer of social housing to many more people.

Having spent a year listening to the views of hundreds of social tenants, 31,000 members of the public and a range of housing experts, the commissioners put forward a bold vision for social housing, and who should have the opportunity to live in it.

Building for our future: a vision for social housing recommends the government invests in a major 20-year housebuilding programme, which would offer a social home to millions who fail to qualify under the current system, including:

• 1.27 million homes for those in greatest housing need – homeless households, those living with a disability or long-term illness, or living in very poor conditions.

• 1.17 million homes for ‘trapped renters’ - younger families who cannot afford to buy and face a lifetime in expensive and insecure private renting.

• 690,000 homes for older private renters – people over 55 struggling with high housing costs and insecurity beyond retirement.

Shelter says that half of young people have no chance of ever buying a home, private renters on lower incomes spend an average of 67 per cent of their earnings on rent, and almost 280,000 people in England are homeless.

Commissioner Baroness Sayeeda Warsi said: “Social mobility has been decimated by decades of political failure to address our worsening housing crisis. Half of young people cannot buy, and thousands face the horror of homelessness. Our vision for social housing presents a vital political opportunity to reverse this decay. It offers the chance of a stable home to millions of people, providing much needed security and a step up for young families trying to get on in life and save for their future. We simply cannot afford not to act.”

Analysis carried out for the commission by Capital Economics suggests the economic benefits of social housebuilding would ultimately outweigh the initial costs. The programme would require an average yearly investment of £10.7 billion during the construction phase, but Capital Economics estimate that up to two-thirds of this could be recouped through housing benefit savings and increased tax revenue each year. On this basis the true net additional cost to the government, if the benefits were fully realised, would be just £3.8 billion on average per year over the 20-year period. And after 39 years the investment will have fully paid for itself.

While a historic renewal of social housing is essential, the report makes clear this must go together with a series of reforms to improve social housing.

The commission recommendations will be presented to the Prime Minister and to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn later today (Monday). To find out more about Shelter’s social housing commission visit: shelter.org.uk/socialhousing