A Government-commissioned report suggesting councils should not demand social housing as part of new-build projects has prompted a mixed political reaction in Bradford, with one MP likening the idea to “social engineering”.

The review of the private rented sector by Sir Adrian Montague, chairman of private equity firm 3i, said councils should consider using their powers to waive the requirement to build affordable homes for those on lower incomes and instead enable the increase of the number of properties that are built-to-let.

The move would then allow developers to create more properties for let to boost the private rental market, the report suggests.

But Labour MP for Bradford South, Gerry Sutcliffe, said “We are almost getting to the point of social engineering. Why would we want developments without social housing? The Government knows that there is a large demand for social housing and a large need for affordable housing.”

Bradford East Liberal Democrat MP David Ward said rather than needing to decrease affordable housing requirements, they needed increasing.

“We need more affordable homes so that rent levels are not driven up by a shortage,” he said.

“What we actually need to do is increase the quotas of affordable homes because one of the big problems faced in the housing market was the reduction in affordable homes by the last Government.”

But Mr Ward’s fellow Liberal Democrat, Councillor Jeanette Sunderland , said getting onto the property ladder was a “peculiar English thing”.

“What we need is lots of different sorts of houses,” she said.

“If the Government is saying that the constraints on developers to provide affordable houses is stopping them from developing, we need to understand if that applies to Bradford.

“I am not sure if it does. What we should be doing is building more houses for rent.”

Bradford Council leader, Councillor Dave Green, said to further restrict the building of affordable homes would create a situation where houses were just built for those with money and already on the property ladder, or out of the price range of most people.

“I do not understand the logic behind this,” he added. “It seems to be based purely to protect the profits of housebuilders than considering the needs of people who need houses.”

The Conservatives’ local planning spokesman, Councillor Rebecca Poulsen, said she did not see a major problem with the recommendation as long as it was used sensibly by councils.

The review also recommends setting up a task force to encourage build-to-let investment and the release of unused publicly-owned land for development.

Respect MP for Bradford West, George Galloway , said: “The Government should be introducing proper security of tenure for private tenants, controlling the ballooning rents and investing substantially more in building affordable homes, which would also help boost the economy.

“There cannot be any case for relaxing the conditions on developers for the provision of affordable housing.”

Conservative Shipley MP, Philip Davies, said: “My view is that it is sensible to scrap centrally imposed requirements and that these decisions are best made at a local level to reflect local needs. I therefore support the thrust of this recommendation.”