COUNCIL tax in Hampshire will rise by - on average - £45 this year.

Yet despite an ever-increasing council tax bill we are seeing continuing pressure to cut spending on local services.

This is because, in Hampshire, we receive £96 per person from the Government, when most councils receive at least £160 per person.

For many residents Basingstoke is a prosperous town.

We work hard to create and support employment, which creates the tax to fund the Government's spending plans.

But in return we do not get fair support from the Government to fund help for those who need it - schooling for our children, support services for the elderly and facilities for those with special needs.

All we want is a fairer way to fund local services to help ensure that people in Basingstoke have access to the support that they need.

  • I WAS delighted to be able to go into the Sports Centre in Festival Place to see first-hand the work that has been done for 10 years to support patients recovering from heart problems.

Building on this success, the centre will now trial portable ECGs which monitor heart functions and can pick up problems in advance.

  • SUNDAY mornings remind me of the wide range of sporting activity that we have on offer here in Basingstoke.

My youngest is learning to swim at Queen Mary's College and my middle son is in his third year of rugby at Down Grange.

But many youngsters rely exclusively on their school for their sporting activity and to develop a lifetime interest in sport.

Much excellent work is done by organisations like Basingstoke rugby club to link sports clubs to local schools.

Further support for this type of activity, involving sports experts, could really help increase interest, and consequently participation, in a broad cross section of sports.

  • TO CONTACT Maria Miller, call 0207 219 5749, e-mail millerm@parliament.uk or write to The House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.