Member Article

North Yorkshire Council approves new budget, outsourcing services to commercial operators

Members of North Yorkshire County Council today agreed a budget that will lead to radical changes in services in order to bring about “unprecedented” levels of savings.

They have also rejected any pay increase. The council supported an amendment from the Leader, Councillor John Weighell, proposing that there should be no increase in allowances.

He said: “At a time when the authority is being forced to make significants savings across the board – some of which will inevitably impact on front-line services – it would be wholly inappropriate for us to award ourselves an increase.”

After three years of frozen council tax bills, the Council agreed to a recommendation from its Executive for a 1.99% increase. (For a typical Band D property, the increase from April will be approximately £21 a year, or 40p a week.)

Since 2011, North Yorkshire County Council has implemented and made plans for total cuts in its spending of around £170m.

A programme of savings totalling £94m is already in train, including cuts of approximately £20m which take effect in the 12 months beginning this April.

The savings represent a reduction in the council’s spending power of approximately 34%.

The council is preparing plans to deal with austerity measures which are likely to continue “at least until the end of the decade.”

Among the proposals approved today were the privatisation of libraries, closing of children’s centres, closure or privatisation of recycling centres, a £750,000 reduction in the winter maintenance budget further restructuring within the council, leading over time to a “significant” reduction in posts.

In addition to the savings, some areas of the Council’s activities will receive further financial investment.

They include Extra Care housing provision for the elderly, the Superfast North Yorkshire broadband programme, and a £5million programme of repairs and maintenance on the highways network, to help remedy the damage caused by recent severe winters and flooding incidents.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .