Hardly a decent outcome

Your article “Peabody left to struggle alone” (15 October, page 11) reported that the trust is selling homes as part of its asset management strategy.

Peabody has been talking to the ODPM and the Housing Corporation about its asset management strategy since the late 1990s. I’ve been at Peabody for six months and can say that it has a first-rate record of investing in its older homes and building new homes for Londoners.

Our annual review, published in July, reported that we’ve invested £208m in residents’ homes since 1993, three quarters of this from our own resources. The point is, we have a legacy of 19th-century buildings, more than any other association in the country, built without public money thanks to the generosity of George Peabody.

We feel obliged to make the strongest possible case for our residents, and those who will need our homes in the future, by taking part in the debate on decent homes. In January Peabody submitted evidence to the Select Committee Inquiry into Decent Homes together with a number of other associations.

We also contributed to the National Housing Federation’s submission that argued for government funding.

Decent homes will mean fewer Peabody homes for people in need, and we feel deeply about that. But we’re getting on with it. I have no doubt that we’ll meet the target.