The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has slammed the government for failing to sell enough public land for new houses to be built on, arguing it has prolonged “the nation’s housing crisis”.

In its report, the influential committee said that the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will miss its target for selling enough land to construct 160,000 homes by 2020.

PAC has demanded the government outline its plan on how it will sell more land for housebuilding in future, after figures revealed that departments failed to dispose of sites needed for more than 90,000 homes.

MPs expressed they were “incredibly disappointed” that MHCLG will miss its target, highlighting the need for government to sell land needed to construct 91,000 homes, more than half (57 per cent) of the overall target.

The report said: “This target was clearly unrealistic from the outset and, as we were concerned to discover during the inquiry, lacked a sufficient and rigorous evidence base when it was originally set.

“The Cabinet Office is expected to achieve its proceeds target, despite almost all departments being on course to miss their individual targets. However, this is because of one big unplanned sale that contributed almost £1.5 billion of the £5 billion target.

According to PAC, government has been reliant on “luck instead of judgement”, which has been detrimental and labelled as “unacceptable”.

PAC chair and Labour MP Meg Hillier commented: “The UK needs more houses. As a major land holder, the government is in a unique position to release land for new homes; and yet the objectives of its land disposal programmes are chaotic and confused. We are baffled that the programmes were not designed with a view to how many homes were needed of what type, and where – nor how the proceeds will be used.”

Hillier added that land disposal targets were set “without a rigorous evidence base” of what could be delivered, meaning that it has come as no surprise the government will fail to meet its target.

“Building affordable homes should be a key part of the objectives of the government’s land disposal strategy. However, we are concerned at the Department’s disregard for how the release of public land could be used to deliver affordable homes, particularly social homes for rent,” the PAC chair stressed.

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