Dear Editor - Rubbish!!! Having read the uninformed comments made by Cllr Peters, I should like to set the record straight.

Cllr Peters must have a very short memory as he was at the full council meeting on June 17 which made the decision to go ahead with the new refuse collection system that had been proposed by the officer responsible.

These proposals had been ratified by the executive cabinet on April 16 and put forward for discussion at the next council meeting.

Cllr Peters did not comment during the discussion other than to ask for something that he knew he could not have. In fact during that meeting we withdrew one of the recommendations and asked the officer responsible to reconsider it.

The Government told all councils that they must modernise in order to speed up the decision making process.

The Bromsgrove electorate voted to have an executive cabinet with scrutiny committees and this is what Bromsgrove District Council implemented.

The scrutiny committees are there to scrutinise decisions made by the executive in order to prevent the abuse of power, not to scrutinise decisions made by the whole council.

Cllr Peters obviously does not understand the democratic processes of this country. Once a decision is taken by a majority of the elected members, it cannot be scrutinised by the minority that lost simply because they do not like it. They can get involved and help but so far I have not had any volunteers, not even Cllr Peters, who claims that he is so worried about what is going on.

The residents of Bromsgrove are not being presented with a refuse collection system that is going to change whether they approve or not. The system has to change because the Government has said it must in order to meet its re-cycling targets. They will be consulted extensively about the implementation.

Cllr Peters also said that he wanted to scrutinise the system so that we can learn from other places with similar systems. Where has he been hiding?

The new system is based on one that has operated in Daventry for 10 years, a fact that he knows full well. The system that has been chosen is one that the Government itself believes to be one of if not the best in the country.

Our officers are also working closely with, not only Daventry, but also Bath and North East Somerset, Worcester, Malvern, Wyre Forest, Wychavon, Redditch and Hereford to ensure that we learn from each other's experiences and mistakes.

I myself sit on the Worcestershire Waste Forum, together with officers from Bromsgrove, and we have also employed a consultant, who has successfully implemented similar systems for several councils throughout the country, in order to ensure that this happens.

"We all know that an edict has been issued to stifle debate," says Cllr Peters. I am not sure who issued it because they forgot to tell me.

The officers and I are only too happy to discuss people's problems and worries. All they have to do is write to me at The Council House, Burcot Lane, Bromsgrove, B60 1AA and I will be only too happy to discuss their worries with them.

Roger Hollingworth,

portfolio holder for

environmental health.