A lifetime in social housing should no longer be an automatic option for people in need, Ruth Kelly signalled yesterday, as she responded to a report into the low-cost homes crisis.

The communities secretary said some new tenancies might be awarded only for a limited term. She is also proposing that priority be given to people moving home in pursuit of work. Ms Kelly's comments came as the government-commissioned report spelt out the degree to which the subsidised rents of social housing, and its concentration in deprived areas, had become a barrier, rather than the intended aid, to social and economic mobility.