The number of affordable homes being built in Bradford has slumped, new figures have revealed.

Just 115 new starts were made across Bradford between April 2011 and March this year – down from 210 the previous comparable 12 months.

The figures, published for the first time on a local level by the Homes and Communities Agency, bring to light the challenges facing young people trying to get onto the housing ladder.

And it comes as a charity warns more and more people will be forced to stay living with their parents into their 30s.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said by 2020, 1.5 million more young people would be unable to buy, flooding the rental market.

Ministers said the figures on new starts were “impressive” – because they increased in the second half of the year.

As well as schemes getting underway, the number of completed affordable homes were also published. There was a rise in completions across the district with 257 homes completed between April 2011 and the end of March this year, up from 247 for the previous 12 months.

Nationally only 15,598 affordable homes were started, a decrease of 68 per cent on the previous year. But Government insists the numbers were up in the second half of the year.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: “Far from the predictions of the doom merchants, the figures show work has started on more than 15,000 new affordable homes since last September – a massive increase on the previous six month period.”

But Jack Dromey, Labour’s Housing spokesman, said: “As a growing number of young people lose hope of buying a home and come to live with mum and dad, or in the private rented sector, they will be asking what the Government is doing to tackle the housing crisis.”

Mr Dromey has lodged a complaint with the UK Statistics Authority saying Mr Shapps was guilty of persistent “misrepresentation and misuse” of official figures, in turn confusing the public. Mr Shapps denies the allegation.

Affordable homes, which can be rented or bought, are for people whose needs are not covered by the regular property market.

The term covers cheap rent, which cannot be more than 80 per cent of the local market rate, social housing, and affordably-priced homes for purchase.

Coun Val Slater, Bradford Council’s executive member for housing, said: “Despite the economic difficulties we are investing £17 million to ensure more than 400 new homes are built over the next three years and we are bringing more empty homes back into use.

“The unfortunate reduction is a result of worsening economic conditions as developers are not building as many homes which cuts off a large part of the funding for affordable homes.”