I was pleased to note that your editorial linked to the front page article on homelessness recognised that councils, as housing authorities, do their best to provide accommodation for those who need it most, and that The Rye is no place for people to live however desperate their housing situation.

Changing patterns of behaviour in today's society means that in spite of the considerable efforts and resources that councils are committing to homelessness, the problem continues to grow, requiring more and more resources just to keep pace with it.

Councils quite rightly have a mandatory duty to deal with homelessness and have to follow the Government's code of practice when discharging that duty.

To address the issue in a humane but responsible way whilst complying with the Government's requirements is by no means easy, but Wycombe District Council is constantly looking for innovative cost-effective ways to do so. As stated in your article, the people featured have been advised to make contact with the council's housing dep-artment where they will be treated in accordance with the statutory requirements that may apply to their circumstances, as all other homeless applicants are.

The well-publicised problems of lack of housing and its consequential effect on housing provision exacerbates the problem of affordability for a widening group of people requiring accommodation.

Over the years, and in partnership with other agencies, we have introduced initiatives to provide more accommodation for those in need, and that work continues to the benefit of our community's needs. However, until the Government addresses and eliminates the root causes of the problem, councils, and those they serve, will continue to lose out to this social problem.

Councillor David Carroll, Cabinet Member for Housing