Madam, I refer to letters on the potential council tax rises, the decision on which will be taken by the full council tomorrow (Friday).

There is a clear understanding of the burden this presents locally but there needs to be an understanding the only alternative is a major cut in the levels of service.

This is a national issue. It arises from a revamp by Government of the distribution of revenue support grant. Other authorities all face council tax rises above or about the same levels as Herefordshire.

It does not mean the council has 17 per cent more to spend. Roughly 10 per cent of the rise is driven by changes in the grant system. This shift from central to local tax is best illustrated by a comparison between last year's budget and the current proposed budget. Last year 32 per cent of the council's total expenditure was met by the council tax payer. In the current financial year, the council proposes to spend precisely at the Government's assessed level and maintaining that level means 37 per cent will be met by the local council tax payer.

Herefordshire Council is not a profligate authority. It has since its commencement in 1998, levied year on year the lowest council tax within the whole of the West Midlands. We know already that, even with the increase, it is likely to be well within the lower quartile nationally. All that is against the national assessment as a "Good" performing authority.

One writer drew an unfavourable comparison on with neighbouring Gloucestershire but made the understandable mistake of comparing only the county council figure. Unlike Herefordshire, Gloucestershire is a two-tier area and the county figure must be combined with the district figure which produces a tax significantly above that likely here.

There has been some very effective coverage of the Government's approach to grant redistribution in the national press. That has illustrated the disproportionate impact on effective good performing councils within traditional counties such as Herefordshire.

This letter can do no more than illustrate the harsh impact of grant redistribution on the county and cannot wholly allay the unpalatable nature of increases of the order proposed. There is very little room for local manoeuvre short of major reduction in services and/or impact on the future financial stability of the council with inevitable consequences for levels of council tax in future years.

N.M. PRINGLE, chief executive, Herefordshire Council.