Is it the end for Scarborough Council?
Scarborough Council’s leader says that local issues most be at the heart of any North Yorkshire devolution plan after it was announced that the borough authority is likely to be scrapped in a radical shake-up of local government.
Cllr Steve Siddons said that representation on the coast is vital as part of any countywide devolution deal.
The county’s seven district councils, which includes Scarborough Borough Council, have been told they must go if North Yorkshire wants devolution, which would bring more powers and spending potential to the county.
Following a meeting with Local Government Minister Simon Clarke last week it is proposed to create one or two combined authorities under a metro Mayor for the county in 2022.
The size of the new authority, which would also include York, is still to be decided but the combined 800,000 people living in North Yorkshire and York is considered too large for one stand-alone council.
Councils in the area have until September to submit their proposals for what the future unitary authority could look like.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Siddons said that things were moving fast but that for “many years” his Labour group had advocated for a unitary authority to “save money and make things more efficient”.
He said: “Essentially the government has indicated that they are not prepared to go down a devolution route without linking it to unitary status. So that means that if that’s the case Scarborough Council as a separate entity would cease to exist at that point of moving to devolution.
“We don’t have to have a Mayor but that is what [the government] would prefer and it is a model that comes with extra funding and power so I think it’s something that leaders across North Yorkshire and York are quite happy to do. So any proposal we put forward will have a Mayor at the heart of it.
“The way that it is split up is still up for negotiation but we will be looking at a model that protects the interests of our local residents.”
Under the present system, North Yorkshire County Council is responsible for education, highways, social care and transport. The seven district councils are responsible for the majority of planning matters, licensing, bin collections and council tax collections.
York has one council to run all services.
Any of the councils involved in the process can submit a proposal to the government to be considered.
Cllr Siddons added: “I think the most important thing is that there is local representation.
“I don’t think I would like to see anything where whatever unitary authority or authorities that are created is managed a long distance away so I would like to see something where there is local representation and a recognition of the different demographics of parts of North Yorkshire.
“Whatever happens I am sure there will still be a civic base in the Scarborough area. There will have to be as you are providing local services.”
Cllr Siddons said the government told council leaders that it doesn’t see any local authority with fewer than 300,000 residents as being “viable”, meaning that York, with a population of approximately 200,000, would not be able to go it alone and would have to join with the rest of the county in some way.
The government’s intention is to make the changes from April 2022, with Mayoral elections taking place in May alongside elections to the new unitary authority or authorities.
Cllr Siddons said: “We will continue with our programme of proposals until the government tells us there is a different deal on the table and stops us. It is business as usual as far as we are concerned. There are things that need to happen in the borough post-Covid to get the economy working again and I think that will be the same whether it’s the same system or a new unitary system. Those same problems will still be there.”
The government hopes to put the proposals for the new authority structure before Parliament in the new year.
The devolution progress has also been welcomed by Cllr Carl Les, the Conservative Leader of North Yorkshire County Council.
He said: “In North Yorkshire we support devolution and see it as an important mechanism to release more funding which will greatly strengthen our economic regeneration and recovery.
“We have always been clear that key decisions about our county are most effective when made here. We would therefore welcome more money and powers to move North Yorkshire’s economy and infrastructure forward in this way.”
‘We will be looking at a model that protects the interests of local residents’