YOU carried an amazing report of the recent meeting of Worcester City Council.

You made it look as if the Tories are responsible for retaining the Playscheme Officer and the subsidised fireguards and stairgates service. The reality is that they only very reluctantly agreed to unanswerable Labour Group arguments for this vital support for playschemes throughout the city - and the home-safety equipment was agreed at council because it was I, from the Labour side, who proposed it there.

As for concessionary fares, the Tories and Independents actually combined to vote against and defeat our Labour proposal to earmark specific identified funds for an improved scheme.

Instead, what we're left with is a much more nebulous position - further negotiation with the bus companies, with an extra funding - unspecified as yet - to come from sources also unspecified.

I very much hope that the result will be improved concessionary fares.

But why, when offered the option by Labour, did the Tories and Independents refuse to set aside funds at this stage - the very meeting where we were agreeing the budget for 2001-02? Labour councillors will be monitoring developments very carefully indeed.

COUNCILLOR DAVID BARLOW,

Labour Group Leader,

St Barnabas Ward.