CHRIS STEWARD (Letters, February 21) thinks council tax should be frozen. He should wake up to the reality that there is no free money on offer.

Freezing would have been equivalent to taking out an expensive loan: borrowing now and paying more back later.

Plus inflation at 3.6 per cent is far above the council tax rate increase of 2.9 per cent that has been chosen for York: 3.5 per cent is the maximum rise before a referendum because of capping rules from Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.

Council finance officers have confirmed that if we took the Government’s “buy now, pay later” council tax funding option, it would lead to £2.2 million extra in cuts over the two years. Or a further £300,000 of cuts this year and a 4.5 per cent council tax increase next year.

Coun Steward needs to get his calculator out before recommending the approach offered by his party. It is better to pay less in total now and have a gradual rise in taxes. This is a more sustainable, sensible approach.

York’s budget is a sound piece of work – a carefully reasoned response to swingeing central government cuts.

Coun Anna Semlyen (Labour), Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward.