Green campaigners have raised concerns that the replacement of Caroline Flint as housing minister with Margaret Beckett could further delay progress on the zero-carbon homes strategy. The communities department is preparing to consult the industry on ways of defining zero carbon, necessary if the industry is to hit the government's goal for all new homes to be carbon-free by 2016. The consultations have already been delayed once. David Strong, chief executive of green consultant InBuilt, said the change could mean further delay, but that it was "incumbent on Beckett to ensure this doesn't happen in such a key policy area". Simon McWhirter, senior campaign officer at green lobby group the WWF, said that further delay would be "a real body blow" to the zero-carbon agenda. The Callcutt review of housing supply said last autumn that it was vital a definition of zero carbon was in place by the end of this year. Flint held the housing portfolio for eight months. The change means that Beckett, 65, has become the third incumbent since Gordon Brown made housing one of his policy priorities last summer, and comes amid predictions that housing output will fall below 100,000 homes.
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