Councillor Tanner (Oxford Mail, July 28) seems not to know what his own department is doing. He claims that “people on benefits pay no charge regardless of whether they have a brown bin or a set of paper sacks”.

But the city council website says the following: “Are there any discounts on the purchase of the paper based compostable sacks?

No. There are no discounts available for any residents when purchasing the paper based compostable sacks.”

He says that he prefers people to use the bins as they are better for the crews, but then says that, had he not had to charge for garden waste, the council would still be using the hessian bag scheme, which bags had about twice the capacity, hence the weight, of the new paper sacks.

And as of July 12, from City Works themselves, not one single set of paper sacks had been given out free of charge – suggesting that, indeed, this discount does not exist. As for the new scheme being popular, about 30,000 households used the old green bag scheme, where as so far only 10,000, on Mr Tanner’s admission, are subscribing to the new service. Come on, Mr Tanner, follow your own advice and get your facts right.

Can I also remind him that, as he complains about the need to trim council budgets, that it was a Labour minister who famously said “There’s no money left”?

JEAN FOOKS, Liberal Democrat councillor for Summertown, St Bernard’s Road, Oxford