In response to John Hatton's letter (The Argus, April 12), I asked the council how much extra it is having to meet from its budget to pay for increased pension contributions.

I was informed that since 1997/98, the council's employer superannuation contribution rates have increased by £5.85million per annum.

additional money that is having to be met is directly attributable to Gordon Brown's tax on pension funds.

-Coun Geoffrey Theobald OBE, Brighton