"Planning authorities should see their job not just as operating the planning system," he said, "but also making sure that they meet their house-building targets. I don't want to paint all planning authorities with the same brush, but there has to be culture change. The provision of housing is vital to us all, so I will be asking the Audit Commission to assess the performance of authorities in delivering the right sort of housing, in the right quantities and the right places."

And he warned that action will be taken against local authorities that do not comply. "I also intend to take action when planning authorities are not delivering on the targets for dealing with planning applications – and will intervene when necessary. We can't be in a situation where major housing developments are being held back – where planning becomes part of the problem, rather than part of the solution."

Prescott also raised the prospect of using commercial sites for residential development. "We need to look at how we can be more flexible with the way local authorities allocate land for housing," he said. "Unless there's a convincing case otherwise, local authorities should allow land allocated for industrial or commercial use to be used for housing or mixed-use development. We can also do a lot more with the vast amounts of surplus public land – much of it owned by the Government – and we will shortly publish the first national register of all surplus public land."

In his speech Prescott also announced the creation of three new Urban Regeneration Companies on top of the existing 11.The new companies will operate in Sandwell, Derby and West Cumbria & Furness.