DEREK Ryder (Letters, March 17) alleges that open government "does not apply to them", by which he means Labour MPs and councillors.

I think we are fortunate in having two MPs in Ivan Lewis and David Chaytor who are frequently featured in the local press and who lose no opportunity to keep people informed of their aims and activities.

The same applies to the council; indeed we are often criticised for "blowing our own trumpet" when we do precisely what Mr Ryder asks: to tell people what we are doing.

Furthermore, Bury Council was one of the first in the country to introduce a public question time at meetings of the council and its committees, including Area Boards. Councillors' attendance records are available to the public, as are councillors' voting records where a named vote has been called for in a full council meeting.

Secondly, Mr Ryder's stricture on "tripping" claims would apply to any highway authority in the country. It is only since the advent of the Labour Government that we have had enough funds to be able to start tackling the backlog of highways maintenance and there is evidence for all to see of footways being reconstructed. It will, however, take several years for the financial benefits of this to show through reductions in insurance premiums for "tripping" claims.

Thirdly, does Mr Ryder not think that the achievements of Bury's children in our schools are worth paying for? I mention educational achievement in schools because it is the largest call on the council's budget and is achieved within a council tax which is still below the average for Greater Manchester, the north west and England as a whole.

And lastly, Mr Ryder's estimate of the average council tax bill is, to say the least, somewhat inflated at £1,300. The real figure the council approved was £1,172 for a Band D house and that is well above the average council tax for a house in Bury, which is approximately £891 per annum.

COUNCILLOR DEREK BODEN