ALTHOUGH I have been critical of Bury Council and our elected representatives recently, I feel I must write to offer my public support for them over the proposed council tax increase.

As people may know, Bury is the smallest metropolitan borough in the country. Whilst this does have advantages, it works against us when it comes to the allocation of resources by central government.

When rate support grants are made several things are taken into account, but it basically comes down to the number of people living in the authority. Bury has always received an unfair allocation of support because of its small size.

It costs just as much, however, for the police and other emergency services in Bury as anywhere else in the country. It is no cheaper for a child's school place or to maintain elderly persons' accommodation. In fact, because small authorities cannot achieve the same economies of scale as the larger authorities they actually need more funding, not less.

As both the main political parties have recognised in Bury this is a major issue that must be addressed by central government. In order that services are not too badly affected it is crucial that the council raises the necessary funding through this very modest increase. Even with this, however, there will still have to be some reductions in the services provided by the council.

In every report carried out by external bodies such as the District Auditor and the inspectors of the local education authority, Bury Council has been found to give its ratepayers good value for money and to administer its financial affairs in an exemplary way. I hope the councillors who oversee the financial administration of our authority continue to do so in a better way than some of their colleagues on other committees.

May I make one final comment about the attack by Councillor Ray Watts (Your Letters, Feb 19) on members of the public who choose not to be identified when writing to the Bury Times about this or any other matter.

Any member of the electorate is entitled to hold their authority and, most important of all, their elected representatives, to account. They may have very good reasons for wishing to withhold their identity. This is called democracy, Councillor Watts, a concept that is novel to a few members of New Labour.

G. M. VAN HECKE,

Willow Road,

Prestwich.