Re Councillor Russell Brown’s claim in last week’s Keighley News that it is insensitive of the council to fund a community development worker (CDW) for Keighley West ward – Insensitive for council to fund officer for ‘help and advice’ (February 6).

Coun Brown is rather playing ‘politics’ here and seeking to wind up Worth Valley residents about a non-issue.

In the week when it became clear the future of Tree Tops (and several other children’s centres) has been secured for another year, it is a shame his letter was not welcoming this, rather than trying to divide the Worth Valley from the rest the of Keighley area.

I am sure he is aware the CDW – Karen Wadsworth – replaced an existing CDW based on the Braithwaite Estate in Keighley West ward.

Bradford Council has commissioned a number of voluntary organisations across the whole district to provide community development support to a range of groups and neighbourhoods for some years (starting before the Labour administration took control).

The future funding of such commissions will be part of the budget debates to be held shortly in full council. Thus, this is not new funding but a replacement worker for an existing commission for the West ward area, which still had some months to run when the previous worker left.

Karen’s base had to change as the previous CDW was based at Merlin Top Academy in the Kingfisher Centre, which was taken back under the full-time control of the school in the gap while Karen was recruited.

I would just love to see local Tories lobbying via the local Conservative MP about the damage national cuts are doing to all parts of Bradford district, rather than trying to blame the Labour leadership of the council from cutting services, when the reductions to the district’s budgets are imposed by their coalition government.

Councillor Jan Smithies Keighley West ward