SIR – The current hive of activity in council-funded work indicates that money is being spent not on the basis of actual immediate necessity, but to fulfil a budget and justify an increased requirement for next year.

Therefore an innovative way of reducing the council deficit and obviating social cuts would be for all council departments to base their next year’s budget on no more than the annualised spend from April to Dec 2014 Perhaps some council number cruncher could tell us what benefit would accrue from such a realistic rather than opportunist budget requirement.

It would be interesting to learn how much over the last few weeks is being spent from the current budget in using new stone to rebuild a long stretch of retaining wall on Baildon Road to mansion standards.

John Pashley, Westcliffe Avenue, Baildon