THE tone of the letter from "Fair Play for Oldies" (April 9) gives me some concern.

First of all, the council is neither arrogant nor profligate in raising council tax by 7.7 per cent. There was extensive consultation and everyone was invited to submit their ideas. The vast majority of responses indicated a quite clear preference for a higher council tax to provide better services. Above all there was a cry of "no more cuts".

The second point to make it that the 7.7 per cent increase amounts to an average of 82p per week and leaves Bury still with a low council tax. This is at a time of low inflation and the lowest interest and mortgage rates for years.

With regard to older people, we have seen the reintroduction of free eye tests, guaranteed minimum income, a rise from £20 to £100 in the special allowance and the reduction of VAT on fuel.

I am somewhat dismayed by the correspondent's attack on education spending since in Bury it has always been below the national average. I must add that, during our consultations, the most frequent call was to help our schools. Street cleaning, untidy parks and cemeteries, stray dogs and dog fouling were other major issues. All of these we have set out to tackle.

So here we have a council responding to public demand and being attacked for it. Strange world, isn't it?

An an ex-headteacher, I support the call for manners and discipline, but surely the first place for these issues is in the home. Teachers can, and will, continue to do their best but they cannot put right all the ills of society.

COUNCILLOR MIKE CONNOLLY

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.