On page 2 of the Romsey Advertiser (January 12), you report that our county council is facing a budget deficit of £132million in 2025/6. 

On page 10, you report a "£500k rural funds boost" for Test Valley Borough Council, a "central pillar of the Levelling Up agenda."

How can a sum, equivalent to 0.2 per cent of the deficit, be described in your headline as a "boost"?

Councils, which provide essential services to all, including many vulnerable people, have suffered real cuts year-on-year since 2010.

In 2024 we will finally get a chance, at the ballot box, to vote against continued austerity which blights our communities. 

Lindley Owen,
Wyndham Drive,
Romsey

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