I write in response to C Taylor’s ‘What becomes of Council Tax’ (You Say, April 1).

The government requires any organisation which takes a share of the council tax to produce certain information about how it manages its finances.

In Dorset, these organisations are each of the six district/borough councils, Dorset County Council, Dorset Police Authority, Dorset Fire Authority and local parish/town councils.

These organisations work together to produce just one leaflet, tailored for each of the six district council areas, that contains all this information. This is required by law.

The way we break down the financial information is dictated by the Government so we are not able to be very flexible about how we present it.

Looking at councils in particular, they provide a very wide range of services. The council tax leaflet is not meant to provide a detailed breakdown.

Instead, we use many different ways to let local people know what services they receive for their council tax – these include council newspapers (the county council produces Your Dorset), websites and information we send to the local media.

Through these channels we’re able to give a lot more detail about individual services and show how public money is being spent in your area.

We also produce a joint A-Z phone directory of council services every other year which lists over 200 individual service areas provided by both county and district/borough councils and their phone numbers.

The council tax and our grant from the Government are our two main sources of income.

Although the funding we receive from Government is well below the average, Dorset County Council spends an average level of money on services for Dorset residents compared to other councils.

Our wide range of services includes schools, social care for children and adults, looking after the county’s roads, libraries, trading standards, disposing of waste, helping maintain the coast and countryside and services for young people.

You can access more information on a day-to-day basis about Dorset County Council’s services by visiting www.dorsetforyou.com/county

Angus Campbell, Leader of Dorset County Council.