How 2023 was an eventful year for North Yorkshire Council - George Jabbour

One realisation that united councillors from across the political divide was the need to increase council tax by the limit allowed by the Government to generate enough income to reliably deliver local services.

Although inflation was running in double digits and having a direct impact on augmenting the costs of the council, the rise in council tax of 4.99 per cent, including 2 per cent for Adult Social Care, was less than half of that of the Consumer Price Index.

In fact, the majority of local authorities across the country raised council tax by the same rate. Since then, the councils in Birmingham and Nottingham lost control of their finances and consequently their residents will face cuts to valuable services. The budget contained a provision to make council tax reductions more generous across North Yorkshire to assist local people struggling with their bills during the cost-of-living crisis.

The following Full Council meeting took place three months later when a motion about the shellfish die-off occurrences along the North Yorkshire and North East coast was submitted.

As well as the environmental concerns, these incidents resulted in serious hardship for individuals and businesses operating in the fishing industry and the local economy.

North Yorkshire Council agreed a series of measures to deal with this crisis such as joining the Dead Crustaceans Collaborative Working Group with other affected authorities.

Several Councillors travelled to the coast to explore additional ways to support the local community. I have participated in two of these visits and had the opportunity to speak with the energetic team at the successful Lobster Hatchery in Whitby.

In July, we considered the role that the Council could play to ensure that the electricity distribution network has the capacity and connections necessary to deliver projects that could lower carbon emissions in North Yorkshire. Subsequently, numerous discussions at many levels were held with Northern Powergrid, the operator of the distribution system that supplies electricity to users across Yorkshire, to achieve our objectives.

From the meetings that I attended, I am optimistic that the local and national steps taken will help attain our ambitions.

We concluded the Full Council meetings of 2023 with a resolution that seeks, amongst other things, to tackle the amount of sewage spilled into our waterways so that our rivers and waterbodies are cleaner.

A positive development in relation to this cause was announced earlier this month when Yorkshire Water committed to invest over one million pounds in a scheme to separate surface water from wastewater and decrease discharges from a storm overflow in Whitby.

I look forward to what 2024 will bring starting with the February meeting, which as usual will decide the budget for the next financial year.

George Jabbour is the councillor for Helmsley & Sinnington.