I have written to the Deputy Leader of the Council (Labour) to ask if he will look into cutting mileage allowances for Councillors. At present councillors can claim 48.9p a mile , which is more than the government allows tax free and significantly more than most people can claim if they can claim at all. And councillors can claim just for going into county hall to “READ” – what is all that about? – we have smart phones, laptops, tablets etc now – surely a £100,000 bill for councillor mileage is a bit of a luxury this county cannot afford, so hopefully we will see some movement on this.

I really don’t see why residents should pay the £20 Garden Tax when some councillors are claiming thousands in mileage claims.