The government is standing by its housing targets despite the downturn, according to housing minister Margaret Beckett. In a message to the NHBC annual lunch Beckett made it clear that she was aware that some people wished her to scrap the targets but “it would be a cheap and irresponsible move. I don’t see last year’s housing green paper as water under the bridge.” The housing minister stated that an ageing population and supply and demand issues made the government’s goals still essential. <br><br>She added that she wished to work with the industry in maintaining capacity so that it could respond when the market returned. On the zero carbon debate, she commented that the question was not whether industry could afford to embrace the agenda, but whether it could afford not to do so. But she added that the government must also adjust to changing circumstances. “It is in both our interests to work towards these objectives, but there is no sense in being dogmatic about how to get there,” Beckett said. “We have to be adaptable. There is something to be said about making a virtue out of necessity.” <br>