Her choice of words marks the beginning of a careful backtracking from a goal which many have considered unattainable for some time.
At least when the prime minister announced his target last year he had reason to believe it was hittable.

House building rates were going the right way: up. Lenders were lending and buyers were buying. Developers were confident that whatever they built would attract more than enough potential homeowners and net healthy profits.

We all know what happened next. The economy faltered and house builders began mothballing sites. Applications for new developments nosedived. And as our building through the downturn special this week shows, developers and housing associations are not expecting the market to pick up anytime soon.

Until now the only voice rising above the gloom was that of the government. Just one month ago Mrs Beckett’s predecessor Caroline Flint delivered a defiant warning to sceptics who demanded she ditch her targets. ‘We won’t give up that easily,’ she said.

A more realistic attitude from her successor is welcome. The pressure that this unattainable targeted exerted on already stretched housing association balance sheets will hopefully now ease. The Homes and Communities Agency, which must carry out Mrs Beckett’s wishes, will be freer to take a more practical approach to delivering housing amid the current economic crisis.

Targets are useful to maintain momentum when the wheels of a market are turning. But they make life even more difficult for organisations struggling in difficult conditions.

No one likes to be forced into an embarrassing U-turn, least of all ministers who are judged according to how well they keep their promises. But in times like this, a move away from rhetoric which fails to mirror reality is the only sensible option.

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