SIR – As leading parish councillors, we are concerned at the recent decision by Bradford Council to transfer on to parish councils some of the costs it would unavoidably incur in running its own elections.

The parish councils had proposed previously that they should pay all the additional costs associated with a contested parish council election. What we do not accept as being reasonable is that a parish council should also pay towards the costs that Bradford Council would incur in running its own elections held at the same time.

Invariably, all Bradford elections will be contested and need to be paid by Bradford. If there is a parish council election on that same day, it is easy to identify any extra costs, such as additional ballot papers, that are associated solely with the parish election. And the parish councils are perfectly willing to pay these additional costs.

As examples of the consequences of Bradford’s decision, the parish councils, in wards where there is also a contested parish council election, will now be required to pay half the cost of printing district council ballot papers, half of the cost of issuing poll cards and half the cost of the postage for postal votes.

We feel it is an abuse of Bradford’s position to use a loophole in Electoral Law to require parishes to pay costs that Bradford cannot avoid and which it will pay in all wards when there is no parish election.

Councillors John Huxley (Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council), Peter Allison (Wilsden Parish Council), Alan Sykes (Harden Parish Council), David Mullen (Steeton with Eastburn Parish Council)