The Ministry of Housing needs to take failings with England’s planning system more seriously if government commitments to ramp up housing delivery to 300,000 new homes a year are to be met, the National Audit Office has said.

According to a new report from the public-spending watchdog, the department has only a limited understanding of the weaknesses in the nation’s planning system even though it is targeting what amounts to a 69% hike in annual housing numbers, based on average delivery over the past 13 years.

The report cited evidence of a 13% drop in headcount across local authority planning departments between 2006 and 2016, and particular shortcomings of expertise in conservation, urban design and regeneration.

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