I SEE from my Council Tax bill that the amount I will pay to the Fire and Rescue Authority in 2018/19 has increased by three per cent.

I am not objecting to this.

The Fire and Rescue service is an important provision and needs to be adequately resourced so that emergencies, which cannot be predicted, can be dealt with.

What I do object to is the cut in the grants to the Fire and Rescue Service from central government.

From 2010 to 2015 there was a reduction of 35 per cent, and further cuts mean we now have, in real terms, a 50 per cent reduction.

To cope with this there has been a decrease in the number of fire appliances, a cut in staffing and a reduction in the amount of cover.

An example of this is the proposal to make Wallasey Fire Station a daytime only facility.

This fire station is in the centre of a large conurbation and is the nearest fire station for the M53 and Wallasey tunnel.

The fire authority and local council will be blamed for these decisions, but in their own words they have to choose the least worse option.

Responsibility lies with the Government.

These cuts are carried out in the name of 'austerity' but hiding behind it is the Conservative Government's desire for the reduction of public services and the diminution of local government.

John Oldershaw, by email