Might I add some context to your report on Friday “Council bust-up over fictitious budget”.

The council is run on a day-to-day basis by a cabinet of eight senior Lib-Dem, Labour and Independent councillors.

My job as Leader of the Opposition is to question and scrutinise their reports and deliberations, and hold them to account on behalf of the taxpayers.

The matter being discussed that evening was the council’s budget for 2017-18 where the cabinet were agreeing three major changes.

The first was downward reduction in expenditure of £1.6million due to changes in income and cuts. The second was upward cost pressures of £1.1million inflation to provide the current level of services next year. The third was growth in services of £252,000, about which there was much self-congratulation and back-slapping around the cabinet table.

But on closer examination of the proposed growth to services, it transpired that £102,000 was for locality budgets to enable each councillor to spend £2,000 on improvements in their ward.

But this scheme has already been running for many years, so could never be defined as growth. Furthermore its value has been reduced from £120,000 to £102,000. I was therefore wholly correct in describing this “service growth” as utter fiction.

The second item of supposed growth was more complex in accounting terms.

The Government gives Colchester a New Homes Grant as a reward for the housebuilding programme.

Approximately half is used to prop-up the general service budget and half is spent on one-off projects.

The “growth” proposal was to cut the amount of this grant allocated to the council’s general budget by £150,000, and to increase the amount spent on one-off projects by a similar amount. At best that was a transfer of funds, with no overall growth in expenditure whatsoever.

Rather than owning-up , the cabinet tried to bluster its way to the next agenda item by threatening to sue me for defamation, then engaging in a frenzied series of verbal attacks, without offering me the right to reply, just for doing my job and holding them to public account.

The cabinet was well and truly caught out, and should now make an unreserved apology to the people of Colchester.

Cllr Dennis Willetts Leader of the Opposition Colchester Council

  • Give blood by appointment

In response to the recent letter, Chance for blood donors wasted, I would like to thank Kathleen Madden for her commitment to donating blood and explain a bit more about how we run our blood donation sessions.

We appreciate that some donors, especially new donors, would like to walk in to our sessions and donate blood.

While we do welcome donors who want to just walk in to donate, this can make it difficult to predict the number of donors, amount of blood we will collect and potential waiting times.

Walk-in slots are limited as we plan our sessions so that we collect enough blood of the right type to meet patients’ needs.

We encourage anyone who wants to give blood to book an appointment.

If there isn’t an appointment slot free at the venue on the date you want to donate, use our search to see if you can find an alternative that works for you. Blood donors can search for sessions and book or amend appointments at www.blood.co.uk or call 0300 1232323. You can also download the free NHS Give Blood app.

Dominic Sutherland Head of Donor Marketing Operations- East NHS Blood and Transplant

  • We need George back at the U’s

Like thousands of people each day I enjoy reading my Daily Gazette. It perfectly compliments the national dailies in bringing us all the local news. One particular item that caught my attention in Monday’s edition was from a report on Braintree Town’s FA cup win against Bromley.

Two down and facing defeat they fought back to win 4 - 2. I read that the Iron defended heroically none more than Colchester United loanee George Elokobi. While I appreciate that the U’s current problem is scoring goals, can we really afford not to use a player of George’s ability?

He is an attacking full back, perhaps just what we need now bearing in mind the injury situation.

Norman Bailey Cambridge Road, Colchester