I REFER to your news story about the meeting of the York Older People's Forum with Hugh Bayley MP concerning the rise in council tax in York. (February 28)

Older people on fixed incomes are unsurprisingly concerned about the outrageous increase in York of 8.5 per cent put forward by the Liberal Democrat council, when the inflation rate for next year is anticipated to be 2.4 per cent.

The position is that much worse, because the Government increased its grant to York by 5.5 per cent, providing sufficient headroom to avoid the need to increase the council tax by more than three times the rate of inflation.

It is not the MP who should be called to account, but Coun. Galloway, the leader of the Liberals, who forced through this increase.

R L Towner,

Hobgate, York.

Updated: 10:13 Tuesday, March 16, 2004