North Yorkshire County Council is planning to formalise the appointment of two councillors as Young Peoples and Elderly Persons “Champions” for the county. Each will be paid a special extra allowance of over £4000 a year.

Both Champions are currently hired and fired by the single party Conservative Executive that runs the Council.

The Liberal Democrat Group think that, particularly for the Young Persons Champion, it should be the young people who vote for the councillor they want to represent them and not left to the Executive.

A motion is being put to the next Full Council meeting on the 20 February proposed by Councillor Bill Hoult (Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group) and seconded by Cllr Caroline Seymour (Liberal Democrat spokesperson on the Young People Scrutiny Committee).

Councillor Bill Hoult (Knaresborough) explains:

“This creates a great opportunity to involve young people in the democratic process, something the County Council and the Government are striving to do.”

“We think it is wrong that the appointment or dismissal of these champions is at the whim of the Executive which will act like a gag if the person wants to keep his/her job and allowance.”

“The person elected should be able to speak up for young people without always looking over their shoulder in case they are sacked by their political masters. That is real democracy!”

 Cllr Seymour adds:

“This is just the right time for action on this. District Councils in North Yorkshire are working with the County Council on Youth Participation Plans.”

“The Local Government Association, of which I am a member, is promoting a Local Democracy campaign called “sending the councillor back to school”. What better way of encouraging young people to become involved than letting them elect a representative?”

The motion also proposes that elections for the Elderly Persons Champion should also be instituted following agreement on the electorate and the electoral system.

A Liberal Democrat has hit out angrily at North Yorkshire County Council’s failure to manage the budget for the new school at Richmond.

Richmond County Councillor Stuart Parsons has expressed surprise and anger at the revelation that the massive investment programme at Richmond School has, in under four months, already gone 18% over budget.

Cllr Parsons also expressed disappointment that the Conservative Executive member responsible, Councillor John Watson, failed to let him know that there was a problem.

Lib Dem County Councillor Stuart Parsons said:

“It is incredible that such an important project could find itself in serious difficulties already. Councillor Watson must bear full responsibility for this debacle.”

“It just goes to prove that putting Conservatives in charge, whether at County Hall, Richmondshire District or Hambleton District, guarantees one thing: total incompetence.”

“The Tories must call an emergency meeting of all partners to resolve this scandalous problem. Yet again it is the pupils and teachers who will suffer, and that is quite unacceptable. The Council owes them better than this.”

Liberal Democrat councillors at North Yorkshire County Council today were alone in opposing more allowances for councillors.

The Tory-run council voted at its meeting today to start paying allowances to two “Member Champions”. Previously these “Champions” have never been paid.

From next year the Council’s “Champion for Older Persons” and the “Champion for Young Persons” will each receive £4,518 per year. This is in addition to their basic allowance of £8,772.

Lib Dem Group Leader Cllr Bill Hoult  (from Knaresborough) said:

“Once again Tory and Labour councillors combined to vote to use Council Tax payers’ money on a barmy idea.” “Councillors are elected to serve all the people in their own wards and object to the Tory leadership trying to appoint “placemen” who will interfere with the role they were elected to do”

Richmond Cllr Stuart Parsons added:

“In the current climate of ever-rising Council Tax bills, it is foolish for the Tories and Labour to start paying yet more money to councillors.”

“This is not an attack on the individuals involved. But they put themselves up for the job so why should the Council Tax payer suddenly need to start paying them?”

Liberal Democrat Councillors at North Yorkshire County Council are again appalled by the failure of the Conservative-run authority to secure a site for the recycling of household waste.

It was stated in the report of the Executive Member’s report responsible for this facility that the Council is now advertising for possible sites! In the past the Council has paid consultants to find sites. Eleven were identified but this came to nothing.

At today’s meeting of the Council, Lib Dem Councillor Gordon Charlton (Harrogate Saltergate) asked the question as to how much the external consultants had been paid, and for what.

Cllr Charlton said:

“It seems that considerable sums of money have been wasted for no result. Lib Dems believe this is outrageous and no assurance was given in response to the question as to the future of a second recycling site.”

“A second recycling site for the district is desperately needed because at the moment  the only site in the area, on Wetherby Road, Harrogate, is the busiest in North Yorkshire.”

Liberal Democrat Councillor Brian Simpson today questioned senior Tories at County Hall about the crisis at George Pindar Community Sports College (GPCSC) in Eastfield, Scarborough.

Cllr Simpson is concerned that new housing developments in Eastfield will not be in the catchment area for GPCSC. This will mean half of the young people of Eastfield having to go to Scarborough schools instead of the one in Eastfield.

Cllr Simpson said:

“I am disappointed with the response I received from the Tory portfolio holder. He ignored the issue of community cohesion, which I thought was supposed to be a County Council priority. He ignored the current situation at the college, claiming that the school is only overcrowded by five pupils. The reality is the college is having to teach children in a church hall. The Headteacher no longer has an office, as it is now a classroom, and children are being taught in corridors.”

Councillor Simpson asked for public consultation regarding catchment areas, however the Tory portfolio holder was unwilling to commit to this.

“In the short term there needs to be action to alleviate the overcrowding. The public need to be properly consulted over catchment areas  for new housing developments in the area.”

Liberal Democrat Councillor Gordon Charlton today highlighted the failure of the ruling Conservatives at County Hall to fight for the post office network in the county.

In February this year the Lib Dems proposed a motion which would have committed the Council to opposing any further closures of post offices in North Yorkshire.

However, Tory and Labour councillors let the Government off the hook by supporting a Conservative amendment which watered down the motion to say that the Council “opposes any further closures without alternative appropriate provision being made.”

At today’s meeting of the North Yorkshire County Council Lib Dems were given no further assurance that there is a commitment to maintain the post office network.

22 post offices are earmarked for closure across

North Yorkshire, and it is apparent from local knowledge that there is enormous outrage among local communities that these facilities are likely to be lost.

Cllr Charlton said:“Everyone should make their voice heard by emailing consultation@postoffice.co.uk or by writing to the National Consultation Team, Post Office Ltd., Freepost Consultation Team. No postcode or stamp is needed.” 

“In Harrogate and Knaresborough the Liberal Democrats have organised a huge petition to defend the five post offices that are under threat there. Residents wishing to sign should contact Phil Willis’ office at Ashdown House on 01423 528888

Liberal Democrat councillors at County Hall are to make a donation of £100 to a local charity instead of sending each other Christmas cards.

At their December 2007 group meeting, Lib Dem members opted to each donate £5 to the Sensory and Physical Support Service’s Children’s Fund. The organisation is raising funds to take 24 sensory impaired children from North Yorkshire to Lapland to meet Santa in December 2008.

If anyone else wants to make a donation, they can do so by contacting Vicky Taylor on 01609 534397.

Liberal Democrats at County Hall are pleased that the Conservative-run
County Council yesterday dropped plans to split an important Harrogate committee in two.

In July this year there was a proposal by Tories on North Yorkshire County Council to split the Harrogate County Area Committee into two. This would have created two committees, one serving the rural areas of Harrogate borough and one the urban part.

The claim made by supporters was that the committee is too big (18 County Councillors  plus Parish, District and voluntary sector members). It was also claimed that rural issues were being sidelined.

At the meeting of the County Area Committee on the 8 November it was made clear that there was little support for the idea. Indeed, the only support was from a few Conservative county councillors.

Liberal Democrat county councillors, parish council representatives, district councillors and people from the voluntary sector all criticised the proposal as having more disadvantages than advantages.

Opponents to the change quoted increased costs of running two committees, the risk of a “disconnection” between rural and urban areas creating a “them and us” mentality at a time when County and District Councils are attempting to meet Government requirements to work closer together.

Parish and voluntary sector representatives have also pointed out the difficulties that they would meet in having to attend and contribute to two committees rather than one.

Knaresborough County Councillor Bill Hoult (Leader of the Lib Dem group at County Hall) comments:

“I am very pleased that the Executive has supported the Harrogate Area Committee recommendation that this idea be dropped. Clearly the proposal was  strongly linked to the bid for county unitary status, but that has now failed.”

“It made sense to look at splitting the committee when the County Unitary bid was a possibility but it makes no sense now.”

The Liberal Democrat Group on North Yorkshire County Council today launches its own website – www.northyorkslibdems.org.uk

The aim is to help keep the public of North Yorkshire informed about what the Lib Dems are doing at County Hall, and to allow local residents to contact their councillors more easily.

The Lib Dem group has 19 members and is the main opposition to the ruling Conservatives at the County Council. Many members come from Harrogate, but there are also Lib Dem councillors right across the county, from places such as Scarborough, Ripon, Airedale, Knaresborough, Stokesley, Whitby, Skipton, Richmond, Settle and Norton.

The website will include a news section, contact details of all councillors and a facility to email the group directly.

County Councillor Bill Hoult, Liberal Democrat Leader at County Hall, explains:

“More and more people are using the internet as a way of communicating and finding out information, and we have to respond to that.”

“We want people to be able to quickly find out what we are doing to hold the Tory administration to account.”

“But more importantly, we want people to be able to contact us easily if they have issues or concerns.”

At last Thursday’s meeting to discuss the Liberal Democrat “call-in” of the £3.8 million overspend on the highway depot review, Tory and Labour councillors joined forces to defeat a proposal by Cllr Bill Hoult to refer the matter to the County Council’s Audit Committee.

The reason given was that the contract (£16 million in total) is just too small to be important enough, and that the Environment Directorate “had already learnt its lessons.”

County Councillor Bill Hoult, Liberal Democrat Leader at County Hall, explains:

“It is a shocking decision. There was an acknowledgement that there were faults. My view is that the County Council would benefit from an impartial audit of the process.”

“This is the third time this year that we have uncovered faults in project management at County, the NY Times newspaper and IT in schools being the other two.”

“£16 million is a huge amount of money, and we must ask “what have they got to hide?””