Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said he was determined to end snobbery about social housing - after experiencing prejudice as a child.

Mr Javid, MP for Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, revealed his school told him not to bother applying for university because he lived on the wrong side of town.

And although he ignored the advice and got a degree, he also encountered snobbery when he applied for jobs.

Mr Javid said: “I got the sense that the interview panels had never before met someone who lived in the overcrowded flat above the family shop.”

The MP is reported to have asked Chancellor Philip Hammond to authorise borrowing of £50 billion, to pay for a massive home-building programme.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday, Mr Javid said: “What I want to do is makes sure we’re using everything I have available to deal with the housing crisis.

“Where that means, for example, we can sensibly borrow more to invest in the infrastructure that leads to more housing, take advantage of some of the record low interest rates that we have, I think we should absolutely be considering that.”

Mr Javid also suggested the Government would not relax protections for the green belt.

It came after he told a Birmingham audience that he knew from personal experience that people were judged “on what kind of house you live in”.

He said: “I grew up on Stapleton Road in Bristol – also known as ‘Britain’s most dangerous street’ or a ‘moral cesspit’, depending on your tabloid of choice.

“And I remember my school careers adviser telling me that there was no point in aiming high because kids from my neck of the woods simply didn’t take A-levels or go to university.

“Society had low expectations of us, and we were expected to live down to them.

“It was the same years later, when I was applying for jobs with merchant banks in London.

“I got the sense that the interview panels had never before met someone who lived in the overcrowded flat above the family shop.

“That’s just my experience. It’s just one person’s story.”

Mr Javid said the UK once valued social housing, which includes council housing and homes managed by housing associations.

And he said he wanted to return to the days when social housing was “seen the gold standard for accommodation”.

Mr Javid said: “We need to challenge outdated, unfair attitudes.

“We need to return to the time, not so very long ago, when social housing was valued. It was treasured.

“Something we could all be proud of whether we lived in it or not.”