YOUR correspondent Keith Barry (Postbag, March 23) is wrong to equate the Liberal Democrat/Labour- controlled country council and the Liberal Democrat-controlled town council with the Conservative Independent Group-controlled Malvern District Council.

When control of the district council changed in May 2000, the Conservative Independent Group inherited a budget deficit in excess of £1 million. In the past 12 months, savings have been identified which would have resulted in a 16 per cent reduction in rate charges, had it not been for the previous budget deficit and the actions of the present government.

New legislation has forced the district council to introduce a concessionary bus fares scheme, which will be of no assistance to a large number of the District's ratepayers who have no bus service, but adds around 12 per cent to rate charges. To make matter worse, the government then impose a financial penalty on the district council for increasing rate charges above 9.2 per cent. Further, the Rate Support Grant was not increased in line with inflation, which effectively means a decrease.

With reference to the letter of A H Sargeant, I can give an assurance that the Conservative/Independent Group on the district council are fully aware of the burden placed on Council Taxpayers of year-on-year increases above inflation. Despite the setbacks mentioned above, it remains the district council's intention to achieve balanced budgets and not to increase rate charges about the rate of inflation. The district council is not responsible for the increased charges of the county or town councils, but they have the burden of collection and distribution to the various authorities.

COUN ALEC WALL, Bank Street, Stoke Bliss, Tenbury Wells.