In response to Peter Bartram (Letters, February 18), since David Panter was appointed at the council meeting of September 12, 2001, when the grant allocation was confirmed, he has the minutes and the reports on which the grants were based.

He should know the justifications now being given bear no relation to the discussions at that meeting.

The allocation of money between arts and advice depends on where the organisations are put in Brighton and Hove City Council's classification of organisations, which the grants office changes every year.

The precision of the statistics given by Mr Panter is an impossibility.

The leaseholder's file at the grants office was recently found to contain a memo of a call to The Argus at the request of Councillor Don Turner.

It instructed the grants office to contradict information we gave about the axing of the leaseholders' grant, which will now cease in six weeks

Why are the grants department and councillors co-operating in trying to discredit a voluntary sector they should be proud of? Who is paying for it?

-Shula Rich, Chairwoman, Brighton Hove and District Leaseholders' Association and Vice Chairwoman, Private Sector Housing Forum