Britain’s biggest builder said that it would raise the number of sites it is working on from the current 380 towards 450 to boost building rates.

This would ramp up site staff numbers, including subcontractors, to around 21,000, up from 18,000 at the end of 2013.

The increase in employment comes on top of the 3,000 jobs that the company created last year as it stepped up the number of homes under construction, with the rate of sales on the company’s sites rising by around 40%.

Earlier in March, Barratt also announced that it would recruit 1,100 apprentices, graduates and trainees over the next three years to ensure that it had access to the rights skills.

Mark Clare, CEO, Barratt Developments said: “As the land we are buying today is for the homes we will be building in 2016 and beyond, the industry needed a longer term framework for Help to Buy.

“We can now invest with more confidence and continue to increase production creating 3,000 new jobs on our sites, and also supporting the 5,500 supplier companies that work with us.”