Prime minister Theresa May has confirmed that her government’s renewed focus on housing will be reflected in the title of the Whitehall department that oversees the sector in the post-Grenfell Tower era.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) will now be known as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with Sajid Javid remaining as secretary of state.

Housing minister Alok Sharma has been moved to become employment minister and has been replaced by Dominic Raab as Minister of State.

Mr Javid told The MJ: 'Fixing our broken housing market is my number one priority.

'The new Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government reflects our commitment to deliver the homes this country needs, but we remain determined to build the strong communities that are the backbone of this country and fully recognise local government’s vital role in helping us deliver on this.

'I will continue to be a  champion for councils and everyone that works for them, doing everything possible to help them serve their communities.'

Mr Javid will be expected to deliver a much larger volume of new homes, as well as continue to oversee the Government’s response to the Grenfell Tower fire, in which 71 people died in June.

Ms May has previously described the housing policy brief as her ‘national mission’.

As part of the reshuffle, Marcus Jones has left his post as local government minister, replaced by Rishi Sunak.

Mr Jones, a former leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth BC, had served at DCLG since May 2015.