Cutting costs

Regional government is in dire straits and political parties should be explaining how they intend down-sizing authority to prevent taxes haemorrhaging away.

Some parliamentary candidates are pacifying the electorate, promising a two year freeze on community charge, showing they have not grasped how serious the debt problem is.

When county and city councils announce cuts, the old and vulnerable are affected. Fiscal cuts should target executives and high echelon managers as the system is top-heavy with overpaid administrators.

If politicians were committed to saving public money they would close borough, town and parish councils, allowing the sale of prestigious civic buildings.

With fewer councils community charge could be cut, and their services along with extra cash transferred to county and city councils as they provide most services anyway.

Instead, officials have been permitted to build fiefdoms, evolving away from being public servants, to being our masters with exorbitant salaries and unfettered powers to issue fines for putting bins out on the wrong day, or parking a vehicle two inches over a specified area.