SIR - The Worcester News (and its readers) deserves praise for its regular reports on the plight of the homeless in Worcester and for helping raise money for the Maggs night shelter.

There is a housing crisis in our city. A recent

report commissioned by the city council showed that an after-tax income of £32,575 is needed to buy a starter home and £23,102 to buy half a home and rent the other half. The average income of Worcester residents is about £20,000.

So it is not just the homeless and the 3,000 people on the council's waiting list we need to worry about - every parent with children living at home will be concerned about how their sons and daughters will ever be able to afford to set up their own homes.

The city council needs to do much more. It has already received more than £1.5m from the sale of former council houses during 2004/05. It will have received more than £7m by 2009. Not a single penny of this cash is being invested in more affordable housing.

Labour councillors tried to amend the council budget so that a relatively modest £2m would be invested in social housing over the next five years. Housing associations are then able to borrow a similar sum so that £4m could be invested. Unfortunately, every Conservative and Independent councillor voted against this proposal.

Worcester people are entitled to ask what could possibly be a more important priority for their local council than investing in housing for its own residents. Perhaps Councillor Stephen Inman, the Conservative leader, or Councillor Mike Layland, the Independent leader, might care to answer this question.

PAUL DENHAM,

On behalf of 10 Labour city councillors.