The Football Association appointed me to Chair one of their committees earlier this year and since then I have been compiling a report into various aspects of the game. One area of particular concern has been racist and other abuse of players, officials and spectators from the Premier League down to grassroots kids football.

One big issue that is emerging is about the cost of policing at football matches, with there being huge variations in the numbers of police involved. At the moment the clubs only pay for the policing that they request inside grounds, but the police are beginning to demand additional payments. No doubt Chief Constables see the inflated salaries of the Premier League and believe that their additional policing costs are very affordable by these clubs. Football is of course resistant, but I predict a growing and more public argument over this next year.

Another dilemma with policing is the cost of the environmental protests such as the recent one at the Nottinghamshire power station. Protests about the environment are quite legitimate, but the idea that a few protestors can tie down huge police resources - million of pounds - whilst they attempt to commit illegal trespass is a nonsense. Doubtless many of the protestors live in areas that are free from some of the anti-social behaviour that we have suffered from, but it is policing on our streets that suffers from this misuse of money.

I am shocked to learn that there is an attempt to cut the pay and conditions of thousands of county council employees, many of them are on low wages, including cleaners and care workers. I regard this as being as nonsensical as the cutting of local town hall staff who are responsible for cash collections and adding them to the dole queue.

Now I hear that there is an attempt to cut the number of bin collections. The consequence of this is quite simple- more fly tipping and we will have to pay someone to sort it out. It is like the logic being applied to the new charging system being introduced for pest control, which I hear will require payment in advance preferably by credit card.

Who is going to pay in advance to have rats caught knowing that the rats are coming from someone else's lack of cleanliness? I have warned before about the growing number or rats in the area and I warn again that there number will continue to grow.

Surely refuse collection and vermin control are precisely the services we most require and rely upon from our councils?