Relations with poor

Sir Ron may not be aware that some of us in have been working on council estates and in inner-city areas for many years. His appeal for units on "working-class estates" is timely, however, since many universities ignore these issues and others translate their rhetorical concern for such areas into tokenistic and short-term gestures.

What is needed is the development of systematic long-term partnerships with community organisations, and a range of action-research projects and learning activities. The current Higher Education Funding Council for England-funded "Widening Provision" projects are a minimal step in this direction, but Sir Ron's review must highlight the need for more permanent support for this kind of work.

Kevin Ward Deputy director School of continuing education University of Leeds