1The government has announced a major new plan to build half a million affordable homes.
2The housing minister said the plan is the largest building programme the country has seen in thirty years.
3Under the new scheme, the state will work closely with private companies and local councils.
4Many of the new homes will be built on empty public land near train stations.
5Young first-time home buyers will receive loans with lower interest rates from special state-owned banks.
6However, critics say the plan does nothing to help people who are homeless right now.
7House prices in the country's biggest cities have almost doubled over the last fifteen years.
8The opposition party claims the government has promised too much and failed on housing before.
9Government ministers expect the first of the new homes to be finished within three years.
10The plan will be debated and voted on in parliament before the end of the year.