Madam, I am not surprised that Cllrs Atkinson and Rone found themselves comprehensively out voted on a resolution to reduce county councillor's allowances. The payment of councillors is to enable anyone, from any walk of life, to participate in the democratic processes of this country, irrespective of their personal wealth. I certainly do not wish our candidates to be limited to the wealthy, the retired or those sponsored by outside bodies such as trade unions or lobbyists.

Councillors do not have to claim the payments due to them if they do not wish to and many do not take full advantage of what is on offer. From experience of my wife's involvement at town council level, (unpaid), I know what a huge time commitment is involved.

Herefordshire County Councillors are entitled to a basic £7,400. Almost half of what is paid to those of Monmouthshire (over £12,000) I believe. Figures for what individual councillors have claimed in the past are available at http://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/documents/s31081/ALLOWANCESFORMEMBERS2012to2013.pdf">http://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/documents/s31081/ALLOWANCESFORMEMBERS2012to2013.pdf . I was very pleased to see Cllr Atkinson elected as I believe he brought much needed youthful energy and enthusiasm to the council but on this particular matter I feel he is being very naïve. It will be interesting to see if Cllrs Atkinson and Rone stand by their principles and take a voluntary 10% cut.

Julian Utting, Ross

Madam, Last week, Herefordshire Council considered a Notice of Motion which called on Councillors to take a voluntary 10% reduction in their attendance allowance and also consider not claiming all available expenses. The motion was defeated overwhelmingly, with only two Councillors voting in favour.

I voted against the motion for several reasons. One –no Councillor has to take all their allowances and expenses at the moment and the motion would not have changed that. Two –Councillors' allowances and expenses are set by an independent panel and I want nothing to do with setting them myself. Three – such a motion would have put unfair pressure on Councillors who are less well off. (The basic Councillor allowance is £7244 per year, after basic rate tax this equates to £111.44 per week.)

I am lucky, I have not needed to claim travelling expenses for the last two years. My allowances claims have been amongst the lowest in the Ross area since I was elected in 2007. But I do not claim to be better than those who do claim travelling expenses and I do not begrudge Councillors who receive additional payments for additional work, such as chairing Committees or being members of the Cabinet. Look at the Herefordshire County Council website and follow the 'Councillors' link for information on our allowances.

Lack of space prevents me from expanding on these issues, but as ever, if anyone would like to discuss them with me, they are welcome to give me a call on 01989 563299.

Councillor Chris Bartrum