RATES AND OFFICIALS' EXPENSES.
SIR,—Pharos attributes Rutland's low rates to the fact that, since the county is so small, 'officials are happily precluded from charging such expenses as travelling and meals and nights away from home.' Were this true, it would imply that, in bigger counties, these costs materially increase the rates. But :
At least seven counties, all bigger than' Rut- land—Derbyshire, Durham. Holland, Norfolk, Northumberland, West Riding of Yorkshire and West Suffolk—have lower rates per head of population; In an 'average' county—Somerset—with a population of half a million and an area of more than a million acres, officials' travelling and subsistence costs total no more than 0.7 per cent. of revenue expenditure; and In the bigger counties, it is the practice to decentralise administration so that no official has far to travel from his office. Even in Lancashire, which is 90 miles long by 50 miles wide, overnight stays are rare.
Of course, bigger counties mean more travelling. But smaller counties would mean more offices, which would be much more costly.—Yours faithfully,
ALEC SPOOR
Public Relations Officer National and Local Government Officers Association, 1 York Gate, Regents Park, NW!
Previous page
