SIR: Mr F Fogg (BEN, October 26) is the latest in a long line of contributors alleging gross overstaffing at the Town Hall. Bolton Council is a large business, supplying a complex range of services to a population of over a quarter of a million people, with an annual operating budget of over £200 million.

And Bolton is managed efficiently. If you compare the authorities across Greater Manchester, only Trafford and Wigan run with fewer white collar workers per thousand population served. That includes everybody from desk clerks to the Chief Executive. Other performance indicators show us in a similarly favourable light.

Your correspondent criticises specifically the number of staff in estate offices. Each estate office serves around 800 to 1,000 dwellings, and needs the number of people we provide. The in house organisation is doing the job because they were cheaper and better value for money than their private sector competitors.

Your correspondent calls for independent review of costs, staffing levels and working practices. Every year, an independent Government officer, the District Auditor, carries out value for money and comparative cost analyses measuring Bolton's performance against a range of similar authorities. Any suggestions he has for improvements are usually adopted. And Bolton regularly comes out well from his reports.

Cllr Peter D Johnston

Chair, Personnel and Equal Opportunities Sub-committee

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