North Yorkshire residents wants transparency over devolution – Yorkshire Post Letters

THE argument about devolution and its consequences in North Yorkshire stumbles on (The Yorkshire Post, October 12 and 13).

Some say this is not the right time. For them there will never be a right time. What better time can there be for local government changes than the moment at which central government admits its own failure and hands vitally important functions in fighting the pandemic to local authorities?

There are two proposals in the field, Continuity North Yorkshire proposed by NYCC and an East-West split set out by the district councils.

York itself is strangely quiet. Both proposals have strengths and weaknesses. Either can work, when they emerge. What is really important is that something does emerge and that the public are not left short-changed by local leaders dragging their feet.

It does not bode well for openness and transparency 
that, although documents 
have been circulated within the local government bubble have been circulating for some time, we have yet to see the all-important detail which shows how these proposals will 
produce better outcomes for citizens.

Do not rely on consultants – these firms did not get where they are by failing to tell clients what the client wants to hear.

As a former district council leader, I know the pressures council leaders are under. I also note the growing anxiety of North Yorkshire businesses that will be left behind.

“Representation” will not compensate for a lack of strategic insight into how to produce better outcomes for us all. It is not about drawing lines on the map. Where is the openness? Where is the vision?

From: Roger Backhouse, Orchard Road, Upper Poppleton, York.

I FEAR Julian Sturdy has taken a bad idea and made it worse (The Yorkshire Post, October 12). Creating two unitary counties in North Yorkshire is easily the most complex reorganisation and efficiency savings are fanciful at best.

Unlike Mr Sturdy, I’ve worked in councils undergoing reorganisations and I don’t recommend them. Former Labour Local Government Minister (Baroness) Hilary Armstrong observed that local government reorganisations stop any forward thinking. They disrupt services as officers naturally worry about their futures.

For a Conservative view that wise old bird (Lord) Eric Pickles, another ex-Local Government Minister, claimed he kept a pearl handled revolver ready for those suggesting local government reorganisation.

Government does not need to reorganise councils to devolve powers and funding, but that seems too simple for Ministers.

From: Steve Wilson, Bradford.

THE worst kept secret is now out; Susan Hinchcliffe, the leader of Bradford Council, is running for West Yorkshire Mayor (The Yorkshire Post, October 12).

In a world where mediocrity thrives, she has every chance assuming the Labour Party are so short of suitable candidates they actually select her.

She says it is a “role in which I feel could make a real positive difference”. I’m not clear whether she refers to the role itself, rejected decisively by the electorate in the 2012 referendums on a city by city basis, or her view of her own capabilities.

If it is the latter, then we Bradfordians who have seen 
our city reduced to a laughing stock since she assumed 
control in 2016, will find her application pitiful were it not so serious.

In Leeds the skyline is peppered with cranes; in Bradford the presence of one would warrant a tourist attraction. Is this the best this manufactured position can muster?

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Thank you

James Mitchinson