31 those concerned by the Plan, by means of a planned survey that was subsequently abandoned. 105. Elsewhere, as in the Pas de Calais plan, information on needs is at best empirically based. The non-existence of timetables for achieving the objectives reflect these plans’ lack of ambition regarding a group of persons whom the law has identified as a priority. 106. As a result, despite the fact that housing action plans for the disadvantaged are mandatory, they are repeatedly modified, are assessed and all highlight the inadequacy of resources and outcomes, but they have no binding force. - Risks for the least well off in the management of the prefectoral housing quota 107. A quota of social housing is set aside for prefects to allocate “to priority groups, in particular the poorly housed and disadvantaged families”. They may allocate it direct or transfer their quota to mayors under Section 60 of the Act of 13 August 2004 – Section L441-1 of the Building and Housing Code (see §38). However, in cases where social landlords refuse to offer tenancy, it is not possible for prefects to enforce allocation in accordance with what they consider to be a legal and humanitarian priority. 108. ATD Fourth World considers that the “municipal protectionism” that is such a characteristic of letting committees’ practice means that the possibility of delegating this responsibility is an obstacle to the right to housing of the most deprived members of the community. - The procedure for allocating social housing lacks transparency 109. The problems attached to the arrangements for allocating social housing to priority groups stem from the lack of transparency in the selection of applicants for consideration by letting committees and the difficulties experienced by the most vulnerable families in renewing their applications within the deadline of a year from the lodging of their original applications. - Inadequate appeal procedures in the event of excessive waiting time for housing 110. The operating methods of the mediation committees act as a disincentive to highly disadvantaged families facing emergencies. Even if they are in difficulty, applicants who are not registered on the lists submitted to letting committees have no right of appeal. The only appeals procedure, which was introduced by the 1998 Act, concerns cases where the “normal allocation period”, based on the single département registration number, has been exceeded. The mediation committees that have been established have been slow to come into operation and are little known to the general public, and their opinions are not binding.