Housing minister, Beatriz Corredor, has announced that the government has €300 million euros to invest in buying privately-owned land to build protected housing.

Meetings have been arranged next September with the regional governments and the Spanish Federation of Towns and Provinces (FEMP) to agree selection criteria though the minister revealed that preference would be given to land ripe for development as well as in areas of especially high demand.

Ms Corredor went on to state that, as well as fulfilling promises made in the socialist's general election manifesto, the initiative is also designed to alleviate the severe crisis currently affecting the construction sector.