These are testing times for local authorities, with stringent government austerity measures putting a squeeze on public spending such as has not been seen for many years.

As a result, councils such as Bradford are constantly having to come up with new ways to save money. The latest suggestion from City Hall is that the Passport to Leisure scheme should be scrapped.

This is an initiative which has run for more than 20 years and which allows pensioners, students and those on low incomes to access sporting, leisure and arts activities at a discounted rate.

Perhaps the Council’s claim that the take-up for the Passport to Leisure cards is low is a valid reason for considering this scheme for closure, but this is an argument that loses some validity due to the fact that the Council doesn’t actually know how many people are signed up to it.

The fact that the Council has to guess how many people take part in the programme is puzzling – surely someone, somewhere in the local authority organisation must have been responsible for keeping records on the take-up of an initiative that has been running for two decades.

With a fairly weak argument for scrapping the scheme not backed up by hard facts, this inevitably seems to be a cut that once again targets those who can least afford it, especially those on low incomes.

If the scheme is indeed closed down and that discourages people from using leisure centres and thus staying fit and active, then the decision will be especially short-sighted and counter-productive in the longer term.