MR LOCKE'S letter (Your Letters, November 25) contains many inaccuracies and distortions and cannot be allowed to go without correction.

While we are not complacent about our performance and are very well aware of the areas which need to improve, we are recognised by the Audit Commission as one of the fastest improving councils.

This is reflected in our position in the league table of district councils' performance, where from a position of 232nd out of 238 councils in 2001/02, by 2003/04 we had risen to 28th position. Such improvement, in a council, which is among the lowest funded in the country, is a credit to the commitment of all its employees.

Mr Locke's comments about council employees having twice as many Bank Holidays as others is patently untrue. Moreover, they do not receive pensions way in excess of private sector pensions and there are many examples of private sector pensions which far exceed local government pensions.

Mr Locke quotes figures regarding the Splash contract which belittle the extent of improvements to that facility. The original estimate for the refurbishment of the Splash was £1.3 million, of which SLM Ltd were contributing £500,000. Variations to the approved contract resulted in an extra £310,000 worth of costs. These additional works were necessary and have greatly enhanced the facility. The reasons for them have been scrutinised in depth by the council's performance and audit panel.

Finally, Mr Locke makes quite irresponsible comments and quotes wildly inaccurate figures about councillors' allowances. The details of the members' allowance scheme are publicly available. For the record, members of the council do not receive allowances for attending meetings. This stopped over five years ago.

The scheme now provides a basic allowance of £3,300 for all councillors. For councillors with additional duties, there is a range of special responsibility allowances (SRA) in addition to the basic allowance. In the case of the leader of the council, this SRA is £7,700. At the other end of the range, the chairman of a panel or sub-committee receives an SRA of £690. Only 15 out of the 38 members of the council receive an SRA.

An independent remuneration panel consisting of five persons independent of the council sets the level of allowances for councillors in Malvern Hills, Worcester and Wychavon. In 2004 this council decided to freeze members' allowances. In 2005 the council did not agree to increase the allowances as high as the panel recommended and as a matter of policy has agreed to apply the same percentage increase as its employees receive.

COUN DI RAYNER, leader of Malvern Hills District Council.