Concerns that committee changes could '˜dilute' local democracy

The authority is looking at reducing the number of area committees from seven to six to tie in with parliamentary constituencies rather than district council boundaries.

North Yorkshire County Council said the plan to create Constituency Committees would strengthen the forums, and make them more equal both in terms of the number of people each represents, and the number of elected members on each committee.

Currently the seven area constituencies are coterminous with the seven district and borough council areas, for example Ryedale, Selby and Richmondshire, yet the populations for each district varies significantly from 52,000 to 157,000, and the number of county councillors on each committee ranges from six to 18.

Changing to boundaries based on Parliamentary Constituencies would mean the population of each committee area would be similar, from 96,000 to 108,000, with each having a similar number of county councillors.

North Yorkshire also hopes the plan would encourage local MPs to attend the meetings, “so that there can be the best democratic representation for their communities”, enabling both the MPs and county councillors “to hold each other to account and to facilitate dialogue about issues facing the locality”, a report on the proposals said.

However, the proposal has been met with concerns by independent councillors in Richmondshire, who will discuss it at its area committee on Wednesday. They fear the plan would hit hardest in the Richmond parliamentary constituency area, which is England’s longest, measured east to west at 70 miles, and that residents would not travel to the meetings, where local issues from healthcare and transport to education and policing are discussed.

North Yorkshire county councillor John Blackie, who branded the proposals as “ludicrous”.

He said: “These were supposed to be local committees - you can hardly call it local when it covers over 70 miles. If you had an issue in Hawes, the area committee could be heard 55 miles away in Stokesley. These are powerful sounding boards to lobby for change at the county council, to hold them across massive areas will dilute them.”

He said the Richmondshire committee is the only current committee under shared control, with the others in control of the majority Conservative party, and he feared the decision to change the make-up was intended to further strengthen the party’s hold over the committee structure.

“This is blatant political gerrymandering masquerading behind the banner of localism”, he added.

North Yorkshire Leader, Coun Carl Les, said area committees had been in place for 15 years, and it was time for “revolution not evolution” to make the bodies more meaningful.

He said the proposals included an opportunity for the meetings to be held anywhere in its area, as with the current system.

“The big issue here is making them more meaningful,” he said. “We need to be looking at all the issues effecting people in North Yorkshire, and listening to their concerns.”

Following feedback from each area committee, the proposals will be refined and submitted for approval by the full council by May 2018.