SIR - I notice that once again the Government is increasing the amount that it gives to Bradford to spend on elderly care services. From April 2002 the amount will increase from £48.2 million to £50.2 million.

Why then is the amount that Bradford spends on the elderly going down every year? Last year Bradford spent £43 million on old people (out of the £47 million they were given). This year it's gone down to £41 million.

Does this mean that when they get their hands on this £50 million they will only spend £39 million of it?

Bradford Social Services has spent a lot of time and energy recently going round the district holding meetings with elderly people's groups to see what they need and what Bradford can provide. One thing they haven't said at these meetings is that they are spending the elderly care budget on something more important.

Bradford is a city with a lot of problems and not enough money to take care of everything. But why are elderly people always at the back of the queue?

Why is nearly a fifth of their money being taken away every year? Are the numbers of needy old people reducing so quickly in Bradford, or is it just that City Hall thinks no-one is watching?

Andrew Makin, Norwood House Nursing Home, High Spring Gardens, Keighley.

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: "The Council is and remains committed to providing support to the priority care needs of older people. The Council is spending significantly more on supporting older people at home this year and this trend reflects entirely the views and priorities expressed by older people themselves. We currently anticipate that Social Services expenditure on older people this year will be £42.5 million and this excludes expenditure in the region of £2.5 million on older people from various additional Government grants.

SIR - Just who is Alan Watkins, writing to "Letters" from somewhere down "sarf" (January 4)?

What a distorted and disabled view he has of this country: 96 per cent thugs and illiterates in Great Britain? He must have spent a lot of time counting the same ones over and over again!

While I agree that worrying over 19 cats is not too much of a worry, I would not like to live next to them myself, especially if they were all toms. But 96 per cent?

We are still the country that most other countries call on when they have problems despite having our own peculiar set of problems - not least having and allowing to remain here people like him!

Phil Boase, Elizabeth Street, Wyke.

SIR - With regard to the Biblical query (T&A, December 21) "Where did Cain get his wife?" It is possibly the most commonly-raised question by people who claim that the Bible contradicts itself.

The Bible tells us that Adam and Eve had many children, not just two, and "meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters" (Genesis 5:4). With that information, from where would you say that Cain got his wife?

One of Adam's sons was Cain, and one of Adam's daughters must have become Cain's wife.

At that time in human history when humans still had outstanding physical health and vitality, as indicated by the length of their lives, the likelihood of passing on defects as a result of marrying a close relative was not great.

When mankind's physical condition had greatly deteriorated, God gave laws forbidding incest.

This question illustrates one reason why some think that the Bible contradicts itself, but they do not have all the facts.

When they have the complete picture, such seeming contradictions disappear.

M Connor, Carlton Road, Shipley.

SIR - It didn't take long for Eric Firth to inflict his arrogance on the new year (Letters, January 5). It is, of course, his divine prerogative to express opinion about religion and its failings. But he really should respect my beliefs as much as I respect his right to non-belief.

Where I wonder did Mr Firth spend December 25? What sufficed as his main meal on that mundane day? Did he pull a cracker or carve the turkey?

Did he find some immunity from the 2,000-year-old lovely mystery? Perhaps he hid away until the emphasis of habit had lessened somewhat. Or did he, after all, take the spice and the half penny?

Cheer up, Eric - your continued friction with all things and all people is souring your mind. Do try and enjoy this precious New Year - just for a change.

You may find that it's not such a bad old world after all.

Frank Dickinson, Nab Wood Crescent, Shipley.

SIR - I respect Mr Firth's right to his opinions (Letters, January 5) but I wish he would not attribute to me words which I would never use.

I believe in God whose nature is revealed in Jesus Christ; I do NOT believe in a God who can be described as a vibratory energy pervading all known space.

That kind of belief may be New-ageism; it is more probably old-fashioned pantheism.

The God in whom the Christian believes is a personal God; a God whose nature includes everything that is involved in true humanity (eg knowing, caring, loving), but to an infinite degree, and uncorrupted by any evil.

It is to Him we owe our existence; the mind-blowing complexity of the human body, brain and consciousness could not have been designed and brought into existence by anyone or anything less. He has designed us to live in a personal relationship with Him, and it is in this relationship that our life finds its complete fulfilment.

I have lived for 82 years, and I know this with greater certainty than I know that the moon is a quarter of a million miles away - or anything else in this world.

Rev Douglas E Legge, Farmstead Road, Bradford 10.

SIR - In response to Kenneth Higgins's letter about the height of buildings in New York. Yes, they are tall, but Osama bin Laden also chose the Pentagon, which is not a tall building, and he wanted to then put a plane into the White House, so it was something on American soil he wanted to destroy.

And yes, the twin towers stood out, but everyone here in NY hopes that a memorial park is built in honour of the dead. The World Trade Centre will be replaced by four 50-storey buildings.

The committee that is to be formed will consist of relatives of the missing and dead, state and city officials, as well as the business owners and planners of this land.

New York real estate is very expensive, and no-one wants to work in a building like that again, so the planning will be chosen very carefully. No-one will forget what happened on September 11, 2001.

Diane Duguid, E. 4th St, Deer Park, New York, USA.

SIR - On Ward 21 at the Bradford Royal Infirmary, my friend was given the best possible treatment. Thank you to the nurses and staff for their dedication to the well-being of all the patients.

Dennis Rhodes, Allerton Road, Bradford 15.