Council merger could help counter financial woes, North Yorkshire leader insists

A new authority is set to launch in April as seven district and borough councils merge with North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) in the biggest local democracy shake up since 1974.

Coun Carl Les, who will assume leadership of the new North Yorkshire Council, said it is vital in paving the way for a devolution deal to ease the impact of current financial crises.

Streamlined services and efficiency savings could also cushion monetary pressures, he argued, allowing the new authority to focus funding on key priorities.

He said: “We want to bring a host of benefits to more than 600,000 people who live and work in North Yorkshire. 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.”

Soaring inflation tolls alongside the aftershocks of the pandemic and Brexit are already compounding intense pressures on public finances, with the new authority set to start the next financial year with a £27m deficit alongside an additional £50m in inflation costs.

A proposed 30-year devolution deal would see an investment fund totalling £540m, with a mayor to lead a powerful combined authority overseeing priorities.

But ministers have long insisted that devolution for York and North Yorkshire cannot be realised without the launch of a new council to cover the whole of the county.

Such a merger of authorities is an essential stepping stone, insisted Coun Les, paving the way to a transfer of decision-making powers and millions in additional funding.

Services could be streamlined, he suggested, with efficiency savings cushioning pressures and focusing finances on key priorities around skills, jobs growth and affordable housing.

Savings of up to £70m a year are set to eventually be realised, the authority has outlined, with a total of £250m in financial efficiencies spread over five years.

A public consultation, Let’s Talk North Yorkshire, is seeking views and opinions on the proposed devolution deal, the new authority and its financial priorities.

Engagement is vital before it closes this month, Coun Les insisted, in outlining what the future holds for the county and its new authority.

“Even before the current national financial situation emerged, it was deemed that keeping the status quo for councils in North Yorkshire was not sustainable for the future,” he warned. "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."