Week after week, we read about problems with refuse collection, street litter and inadequate response to crimes by the police in Brighton and Hove.

It is patently clear the staff numbers to deal with the huge problems the city faces on the refuse and crime fronts are just not there yet we are faced with regular council tax increases - including the policing tax - which are in double figures.

Surely a rise in the amount of rubbish and crime should have been taken into account when Brighton and Hove City Council sought city status and the funds needed budgeted for?

-M Thompson, Buckingham Road, Brighton