LEADERS of rival proposals over the future shape of councils in North Yorkshire have welcomed a Government decision to keep all options on the table as a public consultation was launched.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick has confirmed he will consider the views of residents, businesses and a range of a bodies, such as health providers and the police, before deciding whether to accept a proposal to maintain the boundaries North Yorkshire County councils or another to split the area on an east-west basis.
Launching an eight-week opinion gathering exercise on how vital services such as adult social care, children’s services, roads and transport, planning and waste collection and recycling will be delivered across the county, a Government spokesman said: "The Secretary of State will carefully consider all views expressed, including from local residents, as well as from named consultees."
The Government move not to provide any analysis of the proposals to help inform residents, despite having had them for more than two months, has drawn criticism from some councillors.
Months of wrangling between the six district and borough councils behind the East-West plan and those supporting the county council's single authority blueprint has seen contrasting and sometimes contradictory claims, such as over the volume of savings that can be achieved and how localised service provision would be.
It is widely thought the Government's final decision could be based on which proposal generates the largest amount of savings, freeing up money for the Chancellor to spend elsewhere.
North Yorkshire County Council leader Councillor Carl Les said he welcomed the Government's decision to consult on both schemes.
He said: "They could have done an evaluation and stated a preferred option, that's what we elect Government to do, to make decisions on our behalf, but if they want to hear what the people and the businesses and other organisations in North Yorkshire and York think about it before they make they make their minds up that's an honourable position."
Cllr Les said residents would not have to read through the 300 pages of evidence the county council had submitted with its proposal, as its arguments could be condensed into simple points such as keeping North Yorkshire's identity, maintaining the quality of services and reducing costs.
The leader of Richmondshire District Council, Councillor Angie Dale said residents and businesses would now have the opportunity to read the consultation and see which proposal suited them best. Cllr Dale added she had found logging on to the online consultation "simple".
She said: "I'm East-West all the way because for me it's about location, smaller areas, not this big beast where you could get lost in."
Those behind the East-West proposal say it would create two authorities serving similarly sized populations on a balanced combined authority, but its critics have dismissed the argument as "a red herring" and point towards the Government's negotiations with Surrey for a unitary authority for a population of 1.2 million.
Cllr Dale said: "It boils down to who people speak to on a daily basis. Our East-West model has a lot more elected members, so it keeps that local ethos. At the moment Richmondshire only has five county councillors, but it has 24 district councillors."
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