BRADFORD ON AVON Town Council's recent newsletter informs readers that the Bradford element of the council tax for 2002/3 will be about £1.07 a week for a band D property, an increase of 35p a week.

This is not much in terms of pounds and pence but represents an increase of slightly over 49 per cent.

I have little doubt Bradford taxpayers would be delighted if they were able to demand a similar increase in their income. I suspect that for the majority, one-tenth of 49 per cent would be very welcome!

T L CHORLEY,

Huntingdon Rise,

Bradford on Avon.

THE County Council has made much of their claim that the rise in county council tax of 9.9 per cent is due to the poor funding for Wiltshire from central government.

However, the prospect of the much greater rise of 12.6 per cent raised by Glyn Bridges (Wiltshire Times, March 22) to pay for a new Record Office in Devizes would be entirely due to the current county administration.

This massive tax hike would be forced on the council tax payers of Wiltshire just so the facility could be built in Devizes.

This "Devizes Tax" would not need to be paid if the Record Office was built in Trowbridge, because the county town, unlike Devizes, would meet Heritage Lottery Fund criteria.

It is also likely that Trowbridge, unlike Devizes, would be an acceptable location for the former partner in the project, Swindon Borough Council, who were due to put up £1.1m of the cost.

Why should the people of Wiltshire have to pay this "Devizes Tax" for a facility to be built in a location that was ranked last in the WCC's own Options Review, and declared by sustainable transport organisations to be "inaccessible"?

ANNE RILEY,

Bath Road,

Bradford on Avon.

It appears yet again local councils have to take the blame for increases in the local council tax. Why? when the Labour Government is under funding the Police, Education and Social Services.

Here are a few facts:

Council tax bills in England and Wales are set to rise by their largest amount since the tax was introduced in 1993. Tax on the average band D home will rise by more than 8 per cent this year from £891 to £963.

The Local Government Association estimates that the government has under-funded the teachers' annual pay deal by £380m.

Police authorities say the police pay bill has not been fully funded either. They have identified £371m of under-funding.

People living in Wellingborough will be asked to pay the biggest increase. Their bills are set to go up 18 per cent. Wandsworth still has the lowest band D tax in England and Wales of £402. In Scotland the average band D demand has gone up by four and a half per cent to £971.

It appears the ordinary tax payer is being hit yet again by the mis-management of the economy by the Labour Government. The government is expecting people to blame local councils rather than the government.

Steve Squires,

Chair Trowbridge Liberal Democrats.