SIR – Coun Debbie Davies’s lame attempt to hoodwink people into believing the Conservative-led Government is giving Bradford a better deal than affluent parts of the South (Letters, November 22) is flawed on two counts.
By only accounting for the “formula grant” element, she conveniently ignores facts like massive cuts to other grants such as those for Children’s Centres, and that the distribution of money to freeze Council Tax disproportionately favours areas with expensive properties.
Coun Davies argues percentages provide a true reflection of Government policy and show Wokingham, the least deprived comparable authority, to be harder hit than Bradford.
But when the aforementioned factors are accounted for, the truth is between 2010-11 and 2012-13 Bradford’s funding was cut by more than 18 per cent and Wokingham’s 4.1 per cent, with corresponding percentage decreases per person.
On average, the ten least deprived comparable councils faced cuts of 8.9 per cent or £28.60 per person including a £9.60 reduction in Wokingham compared to over £132 per head in Bradford.
Percentages or pounds, Bradford gets a raw deal, with grants cut so wealthier places can freeze Council Tax.
Bradford Tories are backing Berkshire instead of demanding a fair deal from their Government. Cuts on this scale affect us all and with advocates like these, people might think about electing people who stand up for them more effectively in the future.
Coun David Green, Leader, Bradford Council, c/o City Hall, Bradford
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