The long-awaited Housing White Paper will be published in January, it has been revealed.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid revealed the timeline in Parliament when asked about his departmental responsibilities by Conservative MP Mims Davies

He said: “I am sure that the whole House will welcome the latest official house building numbers showing housing starts at an eight-year high, but there is still a lot more we need to do.

“That was why the Autumn Statement contained billions of pounds of funding to get Britain building, and it is why our White Paper, which is due to be published in January, will set out a range of radical plans to boost the housing supply.”

Publication of the White Paper had originally been expected in November, and then this month.

However, its delayed publication should not be entirely unexpected. After all, it is nine months since former Chancellor George Osborne announced in his March Budget that “the Government will shortly publish a call for evidence, looking at the process of buying a home”.

That too has not materialised and was not mentioned in the Autumn Statement. So should we look for it in the long grass?

Since March, here are some of the things that have happened since the call for evidence was announced as happening “shortly”:

• EastEnders’ Peggy Mitchell died
• UK voted to leave EU
• George Osborne lost his job
• John Lewis released its Christmas advert
• Donald Trump won the US Presidential election
• Purplebricks announced it is in profit

It remains to be seen whether the call for evidence into house buying and selling will now be made part of next month’s White Paper. Anyone want to place a bet?