The minister made the remarks when appearing on a BBC Radio 4 documentary, called Housing Britain, which addressed claims from the New Towns Taskforce that “significant upfront funding” is required.

“The government will commit upfront funding for new towns,” said Pennycook.

“This will not be development as usual, but we will be taking this forward in a way I don’t think previous governments have done — using the full powers of the state to deliver outcomes in the public interest.”

However, Pennycook did not give a figure.

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Elsewhere in the documentary, the government’s 1.5 million housing target was scrutinised with MP Garvin Barwell, a former housing minister under Theresa May, criticising the high profile nature of such target-setting.

“I wouldn’t have made that promise, because the truth is you can’t predict how many houses you will build,” said Barwell.

“As soon as you make that promise, you box yourself into a silly game.”

Housing secretary Steve Reed — who has championed the phrase “Build Baby Build” — defended the use of the slogan and baseball caps.

Claiming this was about drawing publicity and confidence to the government’s push behind housing, Reed did admit he would stand by earlier claims that he’d resign if the target was missed.

“I should be held to account for performance in my job,” he said.