Your reporter is correct to highlight the uncertainty faced by East Cambridgeshire District Council over its future finances but is entirely wrong in his assertion that the New Homes Bonus is being top sliced.

The chancellor revoked this ill-thought notion when publishing his autumn statement.

For residents the crunch will not become a reality until the 2017/18 financial year and is in part a consequence of the poor financial decisions taken by the Tory-run council in its pursuit of vanity projects which have sucked up substantial funds with no visible end result in sight.

The crisis has not been helped by ministers and Whitehall mandarins at the Department of Communities & Local Government who, while protecting their own jobs, consistently starve local authorities of funding needed to implement the stream of directives and legislation that emanate from parliament.

Much of the electorate may be willing to continue with the continual degradation of the society it has come to cherish but only to a point when it impinges on them personally.

It seems ironic that following council leader James Palmer’s article in your paper warning of a severe cutback in council finances, he is prepared to continue holding the annual chairman’s civic reception. A council junket that provides free food and alcohol for invited cronies from around the county.

CLLR NEIL MORRISON

District councillor, Littleport West

Via e-mail