The resignation of Stephen Byers this week opens the way for a fresh look at government's bankrupt housing policy. As our interview with David Thompson, Birmingham's director of housing, poignantly reflects, he was put in an impossible position by the mixed messages Byers continually sent out.

Although Byers had paid the price for transport errors and numerous other shortcomings, the housing world might be justified in thinking that his mishandling of stock transfer was reason enough for his dismissal. Speaking for the first time since the crushing rejection of the Birmingham City Council's stock transfer, Thompson's frustration will strike a resonant chord with many in the sector grappling with contradictions stemming from the DTLR.

The no vote in Birmingham clearly caught the government on the hoof but, even before the vote was cast, Byers had been flashing what amounts to a gold credit card at councils with unbridled hints of increased borrowing powers. It is unlikely that a prudent chancellor would sanction anything like the public spending spree needed to meet the decent homes target. But by holding open the door, even narrowly, to an alternative to stock transfer he played straight into the hands of the opposition.

It's not yet apparent whether his department's announcement on Tuesday that 13 new councils had successfully bid for funding to receive arm's-length management status amounts to a concrete shift in policy, or the last fling of a minister making decisions on the fly. Just how seriously the sector takes it will depend on how much cash comes with it in the summer's comprehensive spending review.

A plea to Byers’ successor – put housing at the top of the agenda

As Housing Today went to press, Blair had yet to announce who will be carrying Byers' red box. But one only has to look at the dire problems faced by councils in Newcastle, Hull and Birmingham to be reminded what a mammoth task the newcomer faces.

What these councils, and dozens like them, desperately need is clarity and a sense of direction. So a plea to Byers' successor – truly put housing to the top of the agenda and work with the sector to start up an open and far-reaching debate about stock transfer.

Now, happily, to a well-funded refurbishment – Housing Today. We hope you like the new format and expanded coverage aimed at readers across the housing spectrum. We've introduced controversial columnists to fire debate, dozens of experts to help you in your job, and hard-hitting stories like our cover feature on confronting antisocial behaviour.

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Housing Today