Government invites North Yorkshire Councils to submit devolution plans

The Government has today (Friday 9 October) invited councils in North Yorkshire to submit proposals for unitary local government, responding to a request from councils in the area.

Councils in North Yorkshire now have the opportunity to develop and submit their proposals for how they want to restructure local government in their area to establish unitary local government. This would mean moving from a two-tier system of county and district councils, to a system where there is a single tier for any given area.

The Councils which have received the invitation in North Yorkshire include Craven District Council, Hambleton District Council, Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council, Richmondshire District Council, Ryedale District Council, Scarborough Borough Council (Whitby Scarborough Filey), Selby District Council and York City Council.

As well as North Yorkshire, invitations are also being issued to councils in Cumbria and Somerset. These three areas have been selected as they are all advanced in their discussions about local government restructuring and councils in these areas have asked for an invitation to be issued. Formally inviting them to submit proposals is the first step in the legal process towards restructuring.

Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

“Councils in North Yorkshire are already working on developing their locally-led unitary proposals and I am now giving them the opportunity to submit them for consideration.

“Where there is local support, changing the structure of local government can offer better value for money and improved services for residents. We have always been clear that any restructuring of local government must continue to be locally-led and will not involve top-down solutions from Government.”

Councils in North Yorkshire will now have the opportunity to decide whether to develop and submit their locally-led proposals with the aim of any new unitary councils being established in these areas by April 2023.

Councils in North Yorkshire can submit proposals to the Government individually or jointly with others. The Local Government Secretary will formally consider any proposals and, subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval, implement them if he considers appropriate.

The government says it may receive more than one locally led proposal for each area reflecting the local debates. In the event of this, the Local Government Secretary will consider all proposals received and decide which, if any, subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval, to implement.

The government added that he will assess any locally-led proposal he receives against the longstanding criteria for unitarisation. These are that a proposal should be improve the area's local government, command a good deal of local support across the area and cover an area that provides a credible geography. The size of any unitary council will be considered, but should always take into account local identity and local geography, as well as economies of scale.

Unitarisation is not the only option for councils looking to improve decision-making and deliver better value for money for local residents. Alternatively, councils can opt for different administrative reforms including merging district councils, joint committees or delivering cost-savings through efficiency measures.