I always find your magazine a rewarding and revealing read. But Liz Ormston's comments have spurred a response ("Tower Hamlets urges ODPM to plug transfer funding gap", 13 June, page 15).

Tenants want the government to invest directly in our homes. The deputy prime minister and his cohorts tell us this is impossible, but go on to explain that debt write-offs for transferring authorities, estimated at about £12bn by the National Audit Office, are de rigueur. Ormston and her team tell us that this is only right.

Now she is whinging because of the lack of public subsidy to help her sell off our homes. We know it costs about £1300 per home more to carry out improvements after stock transfer than having the council carry out the same work. She seems unwilling or unable to explain to tenants in Tower Hamlets why taxpayers' money should be used to subsidise the privatisation of our homes – hence only four of the 84 areas our council has contrived to sell off have shown even a reluctant acceptance of stock transfer.