I do not live in York therefore I am not a supporter of its MP, Hugh Bayley.

So it was a pleasant surprise for me to receive a letter from him together with a photocopy of a Hansard report which he had enclosed for my perusal.

I supposed the correspondence was a reaction to my letter on the subject of the so-called council tax rebate (March 23), which was announced by our Chancellor in his Budget speech last month.

Still sticking to my guns, I maintain the cash which will be added to pensioners' 2005 winter fuel payment for the over 65-year-olds is not a rebate as such.

It is a handout whatever the Chancellor may believe - or expects the rest of us to believe.

I suggest Mr Brown's speech-writers consult the Concise Oxford Dictionary: "Rebate: deduction from sums to be paid: discount: draw back."

No mention of a hand-out.

It is a long time since my schooldays. When I started my formal education the official school-leaving age was 12.

Nevertheless, I do know the difference between a hand-out and a rebate even if some parliamentarians and their assistants do not.

Ida Mary Goodrick,

Woodlands Avenue, Tadcaster.

Updated: 09:38 Wednesday, April 13, 2005