Is council tax good value for money?

IF YOU are annoyed about the hike in your council tax then tackle canvassers for the local elections next month. Ask how much goes on staff salaries, councillors’ allowances and the public sector index-linked pensions. They only tell us how much is spent on refuse collections and street sweeping. Mrs R. CHAPMAN, Harrow, Middlesex.

HOW are people like my husband and I expected to pay the increased council tax payments? We do not even get weekly bin collections any more and have to pay an additional £30 a year for gardening and food waste to be collected. The monthly council tax payment is a quarter of our pension. We do not claim benefits because we have always paid our own way and have not looked to the Government to bail us out. The council is doing very little for all the money it receives. The local roads are in a deplorable state, as they only have a lick and a promise rather than a proper repair job. I have to remain anonymous, as I don’t want our neighbours to know we are struggling to make ends meet.

Name and address supplied. THE London Borough of Hillingdon has announced a council tax freeze for the tenth year. We have plastic sacks instead of wheelie bins. Recyclables, garden waste and our compost bin are collected weekly. Heavy items can be collected on request. Guess what, it’s a Conservative council.

BOB STEVENS, Ruislip, Middlesex.

ASK your council how many people benefit from its services and how many pay council tax. We need a system where everyone pays a small amount towards councils, which in turn should work for us and reduce their costs, just like any good business.

TERRY lYDEN, Staines, Surrey.