SIR - Correspondent Bob Watson (Letters, March 18) thinks that splitting Bradford Council will bring back our services and all will be rosy in the Aire Valley again.

The services he lists need proper funding but this Government is committed to reducing to zero all Revenue Support Grant money to local authorities by 2020.

This will mean that whatever authority we are under will only have two main sources of income left, council tax and business rates.

Now some would say, probably correctly, that outlying areas provide more council tax but conveniently forget that the City area provides more business rate income.

I doubt Mr Watson will want to pay more council tax to offset the business rate shortfall and lack of Revenue Support Grant any succeeding authority would have to face.

The loss of our valued services lies with the unnecessary years of austerity, savage cuts to Bradford’s grant and the rising cost of social care.

P Ashton, Sandals Road, Baildon