Government's building plans attacked

The government has been criticised for acting too late when it comes to dealing with the un-affordable nature of most of the UK's property stock.

Lib Dem shadow housing minister Paul Holmes has said that the government's continued discrimination against council housing means many would- be buyers will still be priced out even if the planned building targets are met.

Mr Holmes also criticised the government's attitude to making the UK's homes more environmentally friendly, a criticism also made last week by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

"The real challenge is not with new buildings - the Government has done quite a lot to improve standards of new build - the challenge is actually what you do with the existing buildings," said FMB director of external affairs Brian Berry.

Mr Berry said that the government was taking "the easy option" by talking-up its eco-towns policies instead of rejuvenating the existing stock.