MAY I please respond to your correspondent Mr P Whitelegg (Letters June 6) in respect of our intention to buy ourselves out of the previous government’s now discredited housing subsidy system.

Mr Whitelegg queries why no other councils are intending to follow this route – in fact virtually every council in the country that retains housing stock is doing so – in what will amount to an excess of £20billion of long term debt being transferred from government to local authorities.

The existing system is appalling value for money particularly for our 12,000+ tenants who are in fact taxed to the tune of nearly £4m of the rent that they pay to the council then being taken by the Treasury.

The money is supposed to be redistributed to other councils who have failed to invest in their housing stock the way that Bournemouth has done – but over time the Treasury has retained hundreds of millions of pounds for general expenditure.

On every possible financial scenario, including considerable rises in interest rates over time, the council will be tens, but possibly more than one hundred million pounds, better off over the long term of 30 years; money which will be used to deliver much-needed affordable housing.

It is a commitment that was in our election manifesto which was overwhelmingly endorsed by the residents of Bournemouth at the recent local election.

CLLR PETER CHARON, Leader and Strategic Housing Portfolio Holder, Bournemouth Borough Council