South East Arts (SEA) recently sent me a huge pink form, similar to a census form, to complete if I wished to stay on its mailing list. Questions include an ethnicity one.

SEA claims this is to ensure arts funding benefits "a representative cross-section of the community", which makes me wonder whether it operates an ethnic quotas system.

Surely arts funding should be administered on the basis of art quality, not in this politically-correct way.

Besides, I note that whereas SEA is scrupulous to distinguish those from Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani backgrounds and has a plethora of boxes for those of mixed race to choose from, no comparable distinction is allowed among whites.

For people from Australia, white African, French, Italian, Dutch, New Zealand, German, Spanish, white Caribbean, Danish, Canadian, American, South American, Scandinavian and other such backgrounds, there is only one box to tick: "White."

I've binned the form. All I wanted anyway was details of poetry gigs.

-Graham Chainey, Marine Parade, Brighton