A COUNCIL accused of attacking democracy by reshaping its committee system looks set to respond by lowering the number of petition signatories needed to trigger a debate among its members.

North Yorkshire County Council leader Cllr Carl Les said he wanted to increase the opportunities for the public’s engagement in the decision-making process by cutting the threshold for debates at its six new area constituency committees to 500 signatures.

The council’s rules stipulate five per cent of the population of the committee’s area must have signed a petition to trigger a debate, which would mean as many as 897 residents in Hambleton and 1,586 in Harrogate.

Most petitions received by the council have between 300 and 500 signatures.

Ahead of the proposal being considered by the authority’s executive, members will hear no consideration has been made for the threshold for debate at a full council meeting, which currently stands at five per cent – 30,130 – of the county’s population.