HAVING grown acclimatised to reading the daily horror stories that emanate from the city council, can I say how pleasant it was to read in The Sentinel (March 18) that the Audit Commission considers that there has been considerable improvement in the performance of Newcastle Borough Council as to how the council uses its resources and spends our money.

To have jumped two grades and to be told that the council has improved faster than any other authority in five key areas is indeed a feather in the council's cap. Congratulations are indeed called for and may I tender them.

Since they share this achievement with one other district council, North Shropshire, one cannot help but wonder that they might have been crowned champions if they had followed the good sense of the recent interim financial director and a recent cabinet member for finance who recognised the risk involved in keeping our money in Icelandic Banks and acted prudently on our behalf.

Whoever then decided to re-invest in those same banks which, as it has been reported, now put at risk some two million pounds, needs some explaining.

Is it possible that Lord Myner has been advising the council on financial matters as well as the Government? Because obviously somebody failed to ask some very pertinent questions.

Then there was the matter of a loss of interest on monies due from Staffordshire County Council estimated at some £70,000 to the residents, lost forever.

It might be desirable that at some date in the future there should be an Audit of the Audit Commission.

R FARR

Wolstanton