East-West or one North Yorkshire, this is how the rival visions for council services compare

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick will next year take a decision which will have far-reaching consequences for the local council services used by people across North Yorkshire every day.

The Conservative Minister has asked political leaders in England's largest county to submit bids on a new system of local government to replace the current two-tier arrangements.

The county council has submitted plans for a single unitary authority covering all of North Yorkshire while district council leaders propose creating two councils of similar size either side of the A1.

The Government, which said in July that North Yorkshire’s two-tier system of government would have to end as a condition of the devolution process, will now evaluate the rival bids before launching a consultation next year.

And whichever outcome is chosen it will mean a dramatic shake-up of local politics in North Yorkshire and the city of York, which could be subsumed into a wider authority with Selby, Ryedale and Scarborough under one of the proposals.

Currently there are seven district councils in North Yorkshire providing services such as housing, planning and leisure, while the county council provides other such as education, transport and social services.

City of York is already a unitary authority so provides all local services. Under the county’s proposals, a single unitary authority would be created for all of North Yorkshire and York would remain untouched.

The district councils have put forward a counter proposal where a council would be created for Harrogate, Craven, Richmondshire and Hambleton and a separate organisation created to serve York, Selby, Ryedale and Scarborough. If a devolution deal is agreed with government, the councils would sit under a mayoral combined authority.

Here The Yorkshire Post examines the two rival bids.

Cost

With town halls around the country forced to cut huge chunks from their budgets in recent years, both sides emphasise how much their solutions could save the taxpayer.

According to the county council, “a single unitary authority for North Yorkshire will require fewer councillors and senior managers, smaller support functions, fewer offices and IT systems than the current or alternative structures”.

It says replacing the two-tier system with a county-wide authority excluding York would deliver at least £31.9m in savings a year, or as much as £68.5m if combined an “ambitious transformation programme” which “would enable the new council to refocus its operating model around its key priorities and outcomes”.