You write

SIR - My council tax has increased by 14.3 per cent this year which I feel is excessive. I contacted the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) and was informed they had several complaints regarding this increase by the Durham councils and all those concerned should complain strongly to their representatives on the councils in writing.

This tax, when introduced, had a capping system to avoid the situation we in Durham now find ourselves. The Labour Government had this removed to free up local councils' spending needs as it was seen as restrictive.

The only controls on excessive increases, the DTLR told me, is that the Government frowns on those councils which implement them and the value-for-money audit.

As it stands we, the voters of Durham, have little redress other than the ballot box.

Unless we can get the Government to address this issue, all council tax payers could be looking at increases well in excess of those pressed on us this year by Durham councils which appear at odds with central government in this regard.

H G Hansen, Pity Me

Big bill you can't avoid

SIR - Having just received our council tax bill for 2002-3 we feel we must write to complain about the size of this year's rise.

We feel 14.2 per cent is disgusting considering it is the only bill that you cannot do anything about. If your phone bill is too big you can use the phone less, but with the council tax you either pay it or you go to court.

No doubt we will pay it, as we do every year, but a rise of £10 a month surely cannot be justified and our efforts to recycle are just a waste of time, as this year's bill proves.

Is this rise anything to do with people who do not pay their council tax? We hope not.

C Simpson, Consett

The truth about Tories

SIR - I refer to Paul Taylor's letter entitled Remember The Tories (You Write, March 23).

I am sure that this letter was written in good faith but it does contain a number of inaccuaries which I feel must be corrected.

This kind of propaganda is dangerous. Many people are likely to take it at face value and it is quite possible that it could influence voting practices during elections.

He states that of the challenges facing the Labour government in 1997 there were four million unemployed, inflation was at five times what it is today and that interest rates were 15 per cent.

The truth is that unemployment stood at approx. 2.3million, inflation was 2.4 per cent and interest rates were 6.25 per cent when Labour came to power.

He also mentions privatisation. Since the privatisation programme began in earnest, I am paying less now for my telephone, gas, electricity and water than I was in 1987. This cannot be a bad thing when one considers that since 1994 my council tax, under a Labour-controlled authority, has more than doubled.

Yes I remember the Tories - very well indeed!

Simon Carey, Pity Me

Tax is value for money

SIR - I don't enjoy paying council tax any more than Mr West (You Write, March 16). However, he is mistaken to think that Durham City Council is planning big increases in spending.

In fact, expenditure on services is rising by the Government's guideline figure of 4.4 per cent. Unfortunately, the grant allocation system and a reduction in the use of balances translates this into a 12.5 per cent rise in council tax.

The Government are currently reviewing the way grant is calculated.

Since Labour came to office we have a new hospital, reduced infant class sizes and the minimum wage. Working Families Tax Credit helps those in low paid employment and the winter fuel allowance means that pensioners have less to worry about.

Durham has received £6m of extra Government money to breathe new life into areas of greatest need, £15m of Lottery and European money for the Millennium scheme including the Gala Theatre and new bridge, and £lm has been invested in the new Life Long Learning Centre, giving everyone access to the Inter-net and improved library facilities.

Amongst its many services, the city council provides a care service for 6,000 clients, carries out CCTV monitoring across the city, maintains 7,000 houses, runs five leisure centres, empties waste from 36,000 properties each week and pays housing and council tax benefit.

It is clear that Durham City residents benefit from Labour's policies at national and local level. However, we will not be complacent in our effort to obtain the best deal for people we represent.

Mick Bennett, Durham City Labour Grou