New council vital to pave way for devolution in North Yorkshire to help funding crisis

The leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Cllr Carl Les, stressed that wide-ranging changes to local government in the county are vital to pave the way for a devolution deal to transfer decision-making powers and millions of pounds of additional funding from the Government to a far more local level.

Ministers have said that without the launch of a new council to cover the whole of the county, a long-held ambition to secure devolution for York and North Yorkshire cannot be realised.

However, it is estimated that the new authority will start the next financial year with a £27 million deficit from the county council and seven district and borough councils, and the soaring inflation nationally has added an additional £50 million in costs.

But the move to the new North Yorkshire Council will mean that services can be streamlined and made more efficient, bringing savings totalling millions of pounds that will be used to finance key priorities and help cushion the monetary pressures brought about by the national situation.

Cllr Les, who will assume the leadership of the new North Yorkshire Council, said: “We have embarked on reorganising local government in North Yorkshire as the county would miss out on the chance for devolution without it.

­­“The creation of a single council will bring about significant savings, but there will still be major financial challenges ahead.

“But if we do not secure the hugely important decision-making powers and the millions of pounds in additional new funding that would be available, it would mean there is a very real danger of York and North Yorkshire being left behind other areas which already have devolution.

“We want to bring a host of benefits to more than 600,000 people who live and work in North Yorkshire, such as new and better paid jobs, more affordable housing and better transport infrastructure.

“To do that, we need to create the new council to secure devolution. The reorganisation of local government will in itself create millions of pounds in savings which can be used to finance key council priorities in the future and help tackle the funding issues we face.”

The new council will be launched on April 1 next year when North Yorkshire County Council and the existing seven district and borough authorities merge in the biggest shake-up of local government since 1974.

Cllr Les said current public engagement under the Let’s Talk North Yorkshire banner is vital to identifying people’s priorities to ensure services ranging from social care and education to waste collection, recycling and highways maintenance can be tailored to the needs of local communities.

Among the thousands of people who have already taken part in the Let’s Talk consultations is Maisie Holt, who lives in Scarborough.

The 24-year-old, who works in digital marketing, claimed that improving sustainability to combat climate change, more investment in town centres with support for independent businesses and greater career opportunities were her key priorities.

She said: “I would like to live in the North Yorkshire area as I’ve grown up here and I can drive which allows me to travel across North Yorkshire. However, if a job opportunity came up elsewhere which would better my career, then I would consider moving.

The chance for local government reorganisation in North Yorkshire presents a huge opportunity to ease financial pressures. Savings of up to £70 million a year are set to eventually be realised, with a total of £250 million in financial efficiencies spread over five years.

The scale of the new North Yorkshire Council’s operations will see it have an overall spend of about £1.4 billion, including £343 million on schools.

The proposed 30-year devolution deal would have an investment fund totalling £540 million that would be used to tackle key issues in York and North Yorkshire. A mayor, who would be elected in May 2024 if the proposed deal comes to fruition, would lead a new powerful combined authority that would oversee key strategic projects ranging from major transport improvements to providing more affordable housing and boosting skills and education.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his Autumn Statement in November that councils will be given the power to increase council tax by up to five per cent, including additional social care funds.

Council tax is now the most important source of funding for council services in North Yorkshire, and each one per cent increase would raise £4 million towards meeting rising costs and demand.

However, Cllr Les said that he was acutely aware of the financial pressures that households in North Yorkshire are facing, and every effort would be made to ensure that they are given the support they need.

For instance, a streamlined approach to providing financial support running into millions of pounds to households in the greatest need has already been approved to help to tackle the cost of living crisis.

A policy to unify the provision of financial aid for council tax bills will now be adopted from the spring of next year when the new council is launched to cover the whole of North Yorkshire.

Councillors backed the proposals, which will provide up to 100 per cent reductions on council tax bills for households on the lowest incomes.

Details for the Let’s Talk public consultations on the proposed devolution deal, the new North Yorkshire Council and its financial priorities are available at www.northyorks.gov.uk/lets-talk-north-yorkshire online. The Let’s Talk consultations are continuing until later in December.