The government needs to incentivise redistribution by encouraging the 3.6m homeowners aged over 65 with more than two spare bedrooms to consider downsizing, a Whitehall Group Paper has recommended.

Since this could be resented by older, income-poor people in larger dwellings, the paper considered ways to sugar the pill, such as offering practical support for moving, waving stamp duty for downsizers reducing the size of their property by two bedrooms or more, and ensuring there is a supply of more suitable dwellings for this demographic in all areas.

This was one recommendation made, though broadly the paper said policymakers need to start prioritising long-term outcomes rather than election cycles.

Dame Kate Barker, writing the foreword to the Whitehall Group Paper, said: “This paper seeks to look right across the problems in housing and takes a holistic view of solutions… proposing policies without fear of vested interests.

“The overriding proposal is for more joined-up and coherent housing policy. This should run wider than just not changing housing ministers frequently, but also engage HM Treasury and financial regulators. Only then could we achieve the goal of defining, and moving towards, housing market success.”