I WISH to correct one aspect of your report on the launch of the street environment service ('City introduces its new clean-up team', September 25).

The new street environment officers were not "appointed as part of York's Pride in the City Campaign".

The plans to appoint the six officers date back to a decision of Labour's executive on August 15, 2002, with detailed proposals agreed in December.

Funding for the service was then approved as part of Labour's budget this January, and the arrangements moved forward during the following months.

All this far predates Coun Galloway's Lib Dem Council.

Coun Galloway rightly describes the service as a "radical development", but it was a Labour initiative. The service has simply been rebranded by the Lib Dems, demonstrating Coun Galloway's continuing spinning, so familiar from his Focus leaflets, now he is in power.

Labour fully supports the new service, and wishes it well.

Together with the additional cash in this year's budget for improved street cleaning, road, footpath and verge maintenance, "alleygating" and extending doorstep recycling, it is a key step to improving the co-ordination, responsiveness and delivery of services outside residents' front doors, which was one of Labour's political priorities in our last year of office.

Coun Dave Merrett,

Leader of the Labour Group,

White House Road,

Tadcaster Road, York.

Updated: 13:09 Tuesday, September 30, 2003