IT is difficult to comment on anecdotes involving housing allocations, such as the ones recently mentioned by Stuart Marlet, without knowing the full circumstances of the case. However, Mr Marlet's letter also serves to highlight the extremely high level of housing need in the area.

Brighton and Hove Council has policies in place to ensure scarce housing resources go to those in the greatest need. Out of 856 new lettings last year, 543 were to priority homeless households the council had a legal duty to rehouse.

The other 313 were let to applicants from the council's housing register. Housing applications are carefully assessed, with the highest priority given to those who need to move because of medical problems, overcrowding or inadequate accommodation.

With 4,500 households on the register, it is simply not possible to meet all housing needs in the area. However, our housing strategy has enabled us to attract increasing levels of investment to improve housing conditions in the private sector and build affordable homes, as well as continuing in our role of landlord of over 13,000 homes.

If Mr Marlet contacts me via the council's switchboard to discuss the details of the case, I would be happy to check the background to this particular application.

-Gary Thurston, Assistant director (City Services), Brighton and Hove Council, Environment and Housing