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The job of housing minister is one of the busiest and most high profile in government. On my first day, I found an in-tray packed with challenging issues – from eco-towns to the future of the housing revenue account. And all that before we even get to the small matter of the three million new homes the country needs. So I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on my priorities for the coming months. For me, it's about putting people first. While many people have benefited from rising house prices over the past few years, too many others are missing out. Hundreds of thousands of potential first-time buyers just can't get a foot on the property ladder. Similarly, many families are struggling to upgrade into a bigger home suitable for growing children. Quite simply, there is a fundamental mismatch between supply and demand for housing in this country, which is putting homeownership out of reach of many. This risks letting down hard-working families, frustrating their ambitions and widening wealth inequality. If the only people who can afford to buy a home are those lucky enough to rely on their parents help to scrape together a deposit, then there will be a serious brake on social mobility. While, in the short term, market conditions may be more challenging, by setting out the ambitious targets, making clear our commitment to the issue, we are giving house builders the confidence they need to invest for the long term. Leading independent advisors agree. The only way to resolve this problem is to build more homes. This is why delivering those three million homes is my first priority. I'll be looking to local authorities as well as industry to live up to their responsibilities here. Many local authorities welcomed the proposals we set out in the Housing Green Paper. But now it is time to turn good intentions into delivery. Of course, we don't just need more homes, we need better homes. In particular, we need greener homes that help to tackle climate change. Our homes currently contribute over one-quarter of all the UK's carbon emissions. That's why we've committed to building all new homes to the zero carbon standard from 2016 and ratings against the Code for Sustainable Homes will be mandatory for new homes from May. There's a whole range of measures that will help us achieve that goal. But I think perhaps the most exciting proposal is the eco-town programme that has the potential to revolutionise the way people live. We had more than 50 bids for eco-towns, demonstrating the genuine enthusiasm for this programme. Over the past few months, we've been rigorously assessing these bids, particularly against tough criteria on local environmental impact and transport infrastructure. I will soon be publishing a shortlist of proposals, which, we think, have the potential to be successful. But only the strongest will survive. Weak bids where the greenest element is the recycling of failed proposals won't make it through. And, of course, as well as full public consultation on this shortlist, each eco-town will be subject to the same rigorous planning processes as other developments. I see eco-towns as an opportunity to radically rethink how we design, plan and create genuinely sustainable developments. Eco-towns must cut down on car use with better public transport and major facilities in walking distance. Combine high levels of affordable housing with attractive parklands. Make sure that existing communities benefit and that these are well-designed places to be proud of. Of course, many local authorities already do have very stretching targets for housing delivery. With the acute housing shortage, I make no apologies for those. But I do recognise the need to be pragmatic. So depending on local progress towards that target, part of the eco-town may count towards the existing or emerging housing numbers. Finally, I want to make sure that housing really lives up to the expectations of 21st century families. For example, with the recent ageing strategy, we're putting a new emphasis on making sure that homes are appropriate for older people as well as young families. By 2011, we want to make sure that all public housing is built to new ‘lifetime standard' and by 2013 we hope this will apply to private housing too. Improving the quality of our homes has been a major achievement of this government. When I was first elected in 1997, some of my constituents still didn't have inside toilets or even central heating. But we are well on the way to ensuring that 95% of social housing meets the decent homes standard. And over the next three years, we'll be investing more than £10bn through the regional housing pot – not just for regeneration but to vastly increase the levels of affordable housing. However, housing must be about more than just bricks and mortar. And I think there is more that we could do to improve the service offered through social housing. I don't think we should give tenants a set of keys and leave them to get on with it for the next 30 years. This is why I have posed the question: is there more that we could do to ensure that social housing provides not simply a roof over people's heads but is also a springboard to opportunity. There was some heated debate when I first started talking about these ideas. Contrary to some reports, I was talking about expectations for new tenants – especially young people – not the elderly or the vulnerable. Indeed there are already good examples, particularly the Foyer Federation, where housing is provided on the basis of ‘something for something' and the success they have is inspiring. Social housing will always have a strong role in supporting the most vulnerable. And I don't underestimate for one minute the challenges that some people face in their lives, or the levels of support they might need. But there are also many who are currently unemployed who could find work with the right training and support. In fact, more than half of all working age social tenants aren't working. I think that there is plenty of latent talent on some of these estates – and we can't afford to neglect them. I held a seminar recently with groups from across the sector, including Shelter, Crisis and some local authorities, and I was really excited by some of the work that is already being done and the possibilities for the future. So my priorities are clear. My first goal is working towards delivery of those three million homes. But it's more than just a numbers game. We have to be increasingly ambitious and sophisticated in the way that we build our homes and run our services – responding to the higher expectations of 21st century families. I'm very clear that this isn't a job for central government alone. The strategic housing role for local authorities means that they have a bigger part to play than ever before. I look forward to working with you on this extremely challenging – but extremely exciting – programme. Caroline Flint is minister for housing

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Putting people first

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