I AM grateful to Cllr Geoffrey Hulet for calling me a ringmaster - at least that implies that I possess some administrative and organisational abilities.

Seriously though - perhaps Cllr Hulet can offer an alternative epithet for an administratiion that appoints committee chairmen - with the connivance and agreement of the Labour Group - who have repeatedly demonstrated are not up to the job.

The scrutiny process has been set up by his own government to provide a mechanism by which the executive cabinet can be held to account for its actions. This device, in theory at least, should empower the ordinary backbencher to question the manner in which decisions that affect us all are taken. By appointing chairmen at both main committees and task groups, who are totally out of their depth and cannot answer a single question of detail on their own briefs makes a complete farce of the whole scrutiny process.

Turning now to the 27 per cent council tax increase imposed in 2002/3. As I am sure this will not be the last time this will be thrown at me, I shall reiterate the facts - as I have many times in the past, which appear not to sink in with the Labour Group.

Their own government issued Bromsgrove District Council, as well as other authorities, a shopping list of additional responsibilities which would have cost this authoritiy just under £1m to implement.

The same year the government grant was the lowest Bromsgrove had ever received and did not even cover the inflation increases budgeted for the staff salaries of the authority. Where were we to find the funds to meet this challenge? We made strong representations to the appropriate ministers but were rebuffed.

We were told by our auditors, that we could not raid the reserves to make up the difference as they were then considered inadequate (a view which has since been successfully challenged). We did not have the luxury of £21m capital reserves, as the current administration enjoy, as we had not yet sold the council housing stock. There was limit as to the amounts by which the various council services, car parking etc could be increased. So the only avenue left was to increase the council tax by the amount that we did. I well remember during the vital group meeting before the final decision was taken, that one member of the then controlling group actually said "Well if things are that bad why don't we bite the bullet and go for a 35 per cent increase"

I am sure your readers will not want to read this explanation again, but it will be trotted out again when I am next blamed for the 2002/3 council tax increase.

Cllr Nick Psirides

Independent - Rubery