North Yorkshire Council cannot be complacent about its performance - Carl Les

Performance in North Yorkshire Council is recognised as strong, but we can never be complacent. Where performance raises concern we put in place measures to counter it. We are answering the phone faster, but will continue to do so; we are collecting the cash we need to do the work (council tax and business rates) more efficiently, so your tax is not subsidising those who don`t pay on time; and significantly less rubbish bins are ‘missed collections’ (only 0.08 per cent) and are recollected almost immediately.

Unfortunately fly tipping is up by 7 per cent (785 incidents) but wherever possible we will prosecute those who do this illegal activity. These may seem minor points for me to focus on here, but they illustrate the rich jigsaw of services.

Worryingly we are seeing an increase in homeless people seeking temporary accommodation and our people-focused services are seeing increased demand as I mention later.

One area that is very topical is winter maintenance. Set against perennial demands to do more, we have one of the largest road networks in England, over 5,000 miles, treating the largest proportion of any network in the country, and we do it more often. As I say there are always demands for more, but we have protected the winter maintenance budget over many years, buying new and ever more efficient equipment to cut down on waste, to meet the challenges of inflation in fuel and salt prices. Our fleet of 70 gritters and ploughs are all modern kit, computer aided and supported by a large number of farmers who turn out at short notice. Our highways depots and managers are operational 24/7 when needed and Met weather forecasts are backed up by our network of weather stations and roadside cameras. I take my hat off to the men and women who turn out to keep our roads open. It is only severe forces of nature that close them.

Of course no assessment of performance can be separated from a consideration of costs. Finance is the glue that sticks the organisation together. This quarter we have identified a £1.7m overspend in our budgeted spend. Not in itself considerable, for we as an organisation have a turnover of around £1.8bn, but it adds negatively to the challenge we have to find £40m of savings.

More importantly, if it is the early sign of a trend, then that is worrying. What is worrying is the rise in demand for very specialised interventions in areas of care, both for elderly adults and children with special educational needs. We have an ageing population, living longer which is great news for them and their families, and a generation of children who have lived through the most turbulent of times. In both cases, government funding is not enough to match the rising demand, and I`m pleased the government has recognised there needs to be a fundamental review of care for both.

The second item of business, the something for the future, was the review of the electoral boundaries within the county. This is done periodically, about once every decade as the population grows and shifts. When the new council was formed we argued that the number of unitary councillors should be significantly reduced from the 350-odd in the old two-tier system. This was fixed at 90 with an early review. We have since agreed this should be 89; some wanted more, some, myself included, argued for less as modern communications allow for easier representation. However the consensus was 89 which the Boundary Commission, the arbiters in this case, are minded to accept.

The necessary follow on to this is that ward boundaries have to be redrawn, to arrive at a similar number, so that each vote counts equally. This has been a huge piece of work by a group of councillors representing all political shades and none, and all areas, and a proposal has been submitted.

Other groups, organisations and individuals can also submit a proposal, but it must work across the whole area. This is about representation, not service delivery. The lines are lines on a map, it doesn`t alter where the roads are, who grits them, where the school is, where your doctors are, where you shop or work. There will be further consultation when the Boundary Commission publishes its proposals next year having analysed all submissions, the new divisions (wards) will be in place for the next election in 2027.

Carl Les is the leader of North Yorkshire Council.