SIR – The Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is right to highlight the issue of ‘Council non-jobs’ (T&A, 7 July).

As a former Council worker myself, I have seen many white-collar jobs created out of thin air. For example, when I started work as a local government housing caretaker in 1980, I was accountable to the area manager and dealt with the estate management officer and repairs staff at the area housing office.

When I was forced to take early retirement due to ill health in 1998, in addition to the area manager, I was accountable to a senior caretaker and a caretaking services manager, and had to deal with the estate management officer, repairs staff and a property inspector.

Three extra white-collar posts created and with salaries way above the wages paid to housing caretaking staff. Senior Council officials are well-skilled in the art of duping local councillors and getting them to agree to create more politically-correct non-jobs.

Then Council officials seek higher training budgets to train the extra staff, and so on and on it goes, leaving the taxpayers to pick up the bill.

Alan O’Day Scott, Idlecroft Road, Bradford