Should Scarboro’ council be replaced?
New report says one council should run services in North Yorks
Authorities such as Scarborough Borough Council should be abolished or merged with a large council, a think tank says.
Authorities such as Scarborough Borough Council should be abolished or merged with a larger county council to save money, a leading think tank has claimed. Getting rid of district authorities in North Yorkshire and replacing them with a single authority would boost the North’s economy and help the county’s businesses and public services, according to ResPublica.
North Yorkshire County Council’s leader said the report, which was published on Monday, showed the “benefits and increasing importance of working both locally and at scale”, though he said any such changes would have to be discussed with the affected authorities.
It comes a decade after similar plans to create a single council covering all of North Yorkshire by disbanding the district councils were rejected by the Labour government.
Currently, North Yorkshire uses a two-tier system for local government, with North Yorkshire County Council responsible for functions such as education, transport and social care and seven district councils, including Scarborough, providing other local services.
ResPublica says both types of council are responsible for economic growth and public services, with the resulting overlap creating waste and confusion.
It says cities have largely abandoned this system in favour of single ‘unitary’ local councils responsible for all plans and public services.
In its report Devo 2.0: The Case for Counties, the think tank says reforming the system could mean North Yorkshire gets devolved powers similar to those in London and Manchester.
One suggestion is that district councils are abolished, with some of their budgets and buildings given to local parish and town councils.
Alternatively, the leaders of the district councils could become a ‘cabinet’ for North Yorkshire County Council, making decisions together on what was best for the county overall.
Phillip Blond, director of ResPublica, said: “The needless confusion that frustrates the ambitions of business and government alike in our county areas must end now.
“With Brexit on the horizon and our city-regions already benefitting from devolution, we can’t afford the waste and complication that the current system creates.
“Single councils at the county scale are the future and we call on the Government to move rapidly to encourage them.”
Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said: “The ResPublica report raises some important issues about how local government is organised and how it can operate more effectively.
“Undoubtedly, at a time of austerity local councils must always consider how they can deliver services more efficiently and in a more integrated fashion and how decisions truly reflect the needs of communities.
“The report highlights the benefits and increasing importance of working both locally and at scale – which county councils like North Yorkshire can do.”