IN seeking to contract out some of its administrative activities, including the sensitive work of its housing benefits staff, Blackburn with Darwen Council is ignoring competent tendering procedures.

Forming a 'partnership' with the only contractors who are being allowed to tender a price will remove from ordinary councillors vital elements of their public responsibilities.

If, as elsewhere, a few elite councillors share seats with the contractors on a board of directors, they place themselves in the position of both gamekeeper and poacher. They would not be able to serve exclusively the interests of the taxpayer.

They say that this partnership/company might create 500 new jobs in Blackburn and the council would receive a commission, a share of profits, from the sale of services to other local authorities and public bodies in the area.

Of course, to achieve such a dream, there would have to be job losses in Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale, Hyndburn or any other authority stupid enough to create local job losses.

When I first raised these concerns at a meeting of the Blackburn Conservative Association executive last month, I was not surprised to learn that ordinary councillors had not been furnished with financial statements or independent status reports.

The company which has been given an open goal by the secret cabinet is Capita plc, which recently was given a multi million pound contract to run the planned new Criminal Records Office in Liverpool.

Capita has had a very bumpy ride in the London borough of Lambeth, where it has been handling housing benefits for the past three years.

I am not against contractors bidding for local government contracts, but it should be in open, fair competition. Contractors should be controlled by councillors and not enjoined in some cartel.

The council should not forget its responsibilities to members of the public, many of whom are old and vulnerable.

We are told by the town hall spin doctors that the outside auditor's report was full of praise for the council (LET, December 16). So why is there any need for change?

Others tell us that change is needed, but it is too costly. This comes from a council sitting on £14 million of reserves -- a staggering average of £280 per household.

This is just another grubby, badly thought-out idea fuelled by new power and greed. Where are the people who had public spirit and served our towns and cities?

Today we have £10,000 and £20,000 a year glory boys and girls who have forgotten what democracy is. Stop hiding the truth from the people. Come out and debate in public, Councillor Doherty -- I challenge you.

ARTHUR HOLMES, Langho.