Sir.–I cannot accept the remarks concerning the Budget by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council leader Councillor Andrew Finney, where he criticises the Government for not applying the three-year National Insurance exemption for new businesses to London and the south-east.

It is very disappointing that Cllr Finney, and The Gazette’s editorial, think the south-east should qualify for the same employment incentives as elsewhere.

This NI incentive is part of Cllr Finney’s own party manifesto commitment to “rebalance the economy”.

Despite the recession, Basingstoke, along with many parts of the south-east, remains prosperous with low unemployment levels.

Cllr Finney’s remark “engine of the UK”, referring to the south-east, may be offensive to some in the midlands and north who, after all, helped to make Britain the prosperous nation it remains today.

The largest ‘industry’ in the south-east is the banks and financial services that have done their best to gamble away that legacy. I wouldn’t want that engine in my car.

Universal benefits, such as the fuel payment, are widely criticised for their broad-brush approach and for subsidising the well-off. In my view, the NI exemption should be targeted. To do otherwise would put this in the same category as the universal benefits.

–Peter Bloyce The Mead, Old Basing.