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North Yorkshire Devolution Cash is just "Crumbs"

Tuesday, 7 March 2023 06:00

By Matthew Pells with additional reporting from Stuart Minting, Local Democracy Reporter

The financial benefits that North Yorkshire will see from a proposed devolution deal have been described as "crumbs" by one county councillor.

The devolution plan would see York and North Yorkshire have a combined elected Mayor from 2024, that Mayor would get devolved powers from Westminster along with £540 over the next 30 years.

But County Councillor Andy Brown, leader of the Green group, doesn't think it's a good deal.

At the most recent county council meeting many councillors agreed that the deal was far from perfect, but felt there was little option than to agree to it if the area wanted extra money from the government.

The council’s former leader Councillor John Weighell said:

“We all know that devolution as it’s listed for York and North Yorkshire is not perfection. Even though we are not getting what we would like it is better to get something than nothing.”

The authority’s leader, Councillor Carl Les, added the deal on the table was “just the start” of negotiations with the government to hand more decision-making powers and funds directly to the area.

He added:

“We have got to move on. The past is the past, this is the future. This is how government prefers to work. And if we negate that we are going to lose out yet again.”

Despite the criticism that the deal will deliver just financial "crumbs", County Councillor - John Mann - says the £18m a year it will deliver is just the start.

Councillor Stuart Parsons, Independents group leader, said of the £18m extra annual government funding the deal would bring, up to £4m would be spent on staffing the mayor’s office, while Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Bryn Griffiths said the mayor’s office would be

“yet another layer of bureaucracy to be funded by the poor taxpayers”.

Labour group leader Councillor Steve Shaw Wright said devolution would happen whether people in North Yorkshire wanted it or not

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