MUCH coverage has been given in your newspaper to winter pressures and bed blocking as it affects people in York District Hospital. Many cannot be discharged because local authorities do not have the cash to buy ongoing care in residential or nursing homes.

The £319,000 which the Government has now provided to ease the problem, together with the £314,000 which is the local share of the NHS payout, is indeed welcome.

Unfortunately, half of this money will not be available until April and will come with "strings attached".

Also, there is no guarantee that this money will be available next year should a similar situation arise.

The Government is not looking at the underlying causes of the problem which is that it under-funds the social services budget in York by 16 per cent.

City of York Council fulfils all requirements for Government form-filling and is praised as an efficient authority. Nevertheless, it continues to be one of the worst-funded councils.

Nor is the council a "master in its own house" because the Government is increasingly ring fencing grants to force the money to be spent on what it sees as its priorities. These are not necessarily the key issues identified by the local community.

Until the Government acknowledges and addresses these problems, York residents will continue to get a service driven by a requirement to balance budgets rather than to meet people's needs.

Coun Sue Galloway,

Liberal Democrat,

Shadow Executive Member for Social Services,

Stirrup Close,

Foxwood Lane, York.