The Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is urging the government to set a national target for house-building.

Speaking at the CIH's annual conference in Manchester, Housing 2014, Grainia Long, called for the government to build social houses and exert control over the mortgage market.

She said: "Three in four people believe it will be harder for their children to find a home they can afford than it has been for them. More and more children are living in temporary accommodation, even though we know this is a terrible start to any child’s life.

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"We have a generation of young people who cannot access housing that meets their needs at a price that they can afford. And the income gap between tenures is growing.

"If one our main aims as a society is to leave the world a better place for future generations, we must take action now to tackle the inequalities in our housing system and address the housing crisis head-on."

(CD/MH)