SIR – As Bradford Council reels in agony year after year from the savage attack on its services and employees imposed on it by the Tory-led coalition, Councillor Glen Miller seems to have become obsessed with the Council’s subsidy for union officials.

It has been suggested that it costs around £250,000 per year to pay for union officials, a figure most likely exaggerated. The Council has to achieve savings of £89million over the next two years!

If Councillor Miller could be bothered to consult with the managers and HR at the Council, he may find that having full-time union officials actually saves the Council well over the figure suggested through joint working, consultation and mediation, so “axing them” would actually see the Council’s industrial relations costs increase and everything would grind to a halt!

Come on Coun Miller, you’re beginning to sound like a broken record.

Toby Rackham, GMB B30 Branch President, Lilythorne Avenue, Idle