WE READ in this week’s edition of the Standard that Cotswold District Council is challenging research done by the BBC. The article tells us that Cllr Sue Jepson said the CDC research revealed a mean wage in the Cotswolds of more than £25,000, not the £18,000 claimed by the BBC. However, CDC is not comparing like with like. She said on their website, of the BBC, “They claim that the mean average wage is just over £18,000 but detailed studies we carried out... showed that the median earned income for full time employees was over £25,000.”

The mean average is the total of everyone’s wages shared out equally between everyone. The median is simply the middle wage when everyone’s wages are listed in order. To compare a mean to a median is nonsense.

I wrote to CDC ten days ago advising them of this dreadful error on their website, but it is still there for all to see. How embarrassing for CDC.

A GOLICS

Cirencester