TWO senior leading academic economists have backed Worcestershire's claim that we are discriminated against.

This has been brought about by the non-payment of the so-called ACA (Area Cost Adjustment), which heavily penalises not only our schools (to the tune of £4m) but also our other key services (£6m).

I would hope that the Government Ministers concerned would do the decent thing and take immediate steps to rectify the situation.

Never mind reassessing the situation in 18 -24 months' time. The reimbursement should be of immediate effect, as ACA is an "add-on" that does not affect the complicated basic funding formula, or any other county's payment and can be paid to Worcestershire as soon as the Ministers see fit.

Finally, people should be aware that the economists commented in the report summary that the latest ACA adjustments for Worcestershire were impossible to check properly, as the Office of National Statistics declined to release the data they needed.

I will leave people to draw their own conclusions as to why.

HELEN DONOVAN,

Evesham,

Worcestershire.