“We’ve supported councils so they can tackle the blight of empty homes on their streets. This includes our reforms on council tax flexibilities and the new empty homes premium, which now allows councils to remove the special tax subsidies being given to empty homes and instead use the funding to keep the overall rate of council tax down and support front-line services.

“All our measures mean that since 2010 over 40,000 properties have been brought back into use and councils have been rewarded through the New Homes Bonus.”