The number of new houses being built dropped 10 per cent on the previous quarter, according to figures released yesterday.

The news was branded "a disgrace" by the House Builders Federation, which warned of the prospect of housing shortages.

Forum Response: RICS

A spokesman for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors told ePolitix.com: "Although total housing completion is hovering around the 160,000 mark, the figure for house construction which has commenced is higher, at around 180,000. This provides more room for optimism."However, the gap between household growth and house building remains significant and continues to present the government with a real challenge. It will be some time before the increase in house building following the Comprehensive Spending Review will have any meaningful effect on this deficit."

Forum Response: Shelter

Ben Jackson, director of external affairs at Shelter, told ePolitix.com: "We are very concerned about the continued decline in affordable homes being built. Years of under-investment have left a severe shortage of decent homes available to people who desperately need them.

"There are now record numbers of homeless people (over 85,000 households in England) enduring the misery of temporary accommodation and countless more who are priced out of the market and unable afford somewhere decent to live. For them a proper home is only a dream.

"The government must address this massive need for affordable homes. Planned extra investment will help deliver the homes that are needed, but Shelter wants tough targets set to ensure new homes are built, such as those set out in the London Plan.

"This is imperative if we are to tackle the months of misery homeless families face in temporary accommodation."