A report to the Council’s Standards Committee shows that the number of complaints rocketed from 532 in 2006-07 to 847 in 2007-08. This is an increase of nearly 60%. There was little change in the number of complaints in the year before that.

The bulk of the increase appears to be in Adult & Community Services, which covers social care and libraries.

Cllr John Marshall, Lib Dem spokesperson, commented:

“Alarm bells should be ringing at County Hall. A 60% rise in complaints should be a cause for concern for any organisation. Most worrying is the rise in complaints about adult & community services, which have more than doubled.”

Cllr Marshall, from Harrogate, added:

“When the Standards Committee meets next week I will be asking what has gone wrong and what is to be done about it. The Conservative bosses at County Hall really need to give this their full attention.”

Liberal Democrat Councillor Polly English today spoke out against the decision by North Yorkshire County Council not to go ahead with the proposed rebuild of a new centre for adults with learning difficulties on the grounds of Stepping Stones.

On 25 March the Tory leaders agreed to have a full consultation with local members and carers. This has not happened.

Then on 25 April there were headlines in the Craven Herald confirming that this rebuild would not go ahead.

Craven District Council have been working in partnership with the County Council for 19 months to ensure the rebuild went ahead. But they have only just been advised that NYCC has pulled the plug on the venture after spending £1200 in officer time.

Cllr English said:

“I feel ashamed to be a member of North Yorkshire County Council, which rides roughshod over its local members, partner councils and most importantly, the most vulnerable people, the adults with learning difficulties in our area.”

At today’s meeting of North Yorkshire County Council Liberal Democrat councillors Gordon Charlton and Richard Hall asked the Tory Executive member what progress had been made on finding and developing Harrogate’s vital second Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Conservative Councillor Clare Wood said in response that they are still in negotiation with landowners.

Cllr Charlton commented:

“This is what we were told 12 months ago. So much for it being a priority.”

Cllr Hall added:

“There is still no assurance that Stonefall will be redeveloped even though we were assured four years ago that funding was ring-fenced.”

Yet again the Tories have let the people of Harrogate and Knaresborough down.

Liberal Democrats on North Yorkshire County Council have re-elected Councillor Bill Hoult as their Group Leader.

At the group’s Annual General Meeting in Harrogate last Saturday, Liberal Democrats from across the county unanimously elected Bill, from Knaresborough, to lead them for another year.

Bill has led the group since 2006. The 19-strong Liberal Democrats are the main opposition to the ruling Conservatives at County Hall.

Airedale Councillor Mark Wheeler will again be Bill’s deputy, whilst Ripon’s Bernard Bateman is group Chairman.

Cllr Hoult said afterwards:

“I am delighted that the group has put its trust in me again. I look forward to the challenges of the next year. With Council Tax rocketing and services being cut, it is more important than ever to hold the Tories to account.”

“Whilst the Labour group argue amongst themselves, and vote with the Tories more often than not, the crucial job of providing an effective opposition at County Hall is left to the Liberal Democrats.”

A lot has been said in the media about the performance of the Conservatives in elections early this month, and about how they are finally managing to make a breakthrough in the north.

However, the glowing plaudits are based on a superficial reading of results. Scratching beneath the surface reveals a rather less favourable story for them.

Even after eleven years of a very unpopular Labour government, the Tories have failed to have a single councillor elected in Liverpool, Newcastle, Gateshead or Durham City. They have very few in Manchester or Hull. And there’s more: this month they lost their remaining presence on Sheffield Council.

Much has been made about the Conservatives winning control of Bury (though they will rely on the Mayor’s casting vote to do so). But Bury is far from typical of northern Labour heartlands – it had two Tory MPs until 1997 and contains affluent Manchester commuter areas. It is certainly not Salford or Easington.

There is a reason for this. People in the north remember how bad it was under a Tory Government. Even a decade of Labour’s nannying, corruption, authoritarianism and general ineptitude has not persuaded the north to back the Tories again.

By contrast, the Liberal Democrats run councils in Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Sheffield, Stockport, Burnley and Durham, and are the biggest party in Warrington and York. It is clearly us who are the main opposition in the north.

A report to be submitted to Tory Chiefs at North Yorkshire County Council on the 6 May 2008 highlights failures in the County’s management of the estate of 53 lettings.

The report by Bruton Knowles was commissioned to review the Council’s policy on the sale of tenant farms implemented 10 years ago in 1998.

The failures may be summarised under two headings: Repairs & Maintenance and Diversification

Repairs & Maintenance

“There seems to have been some shortfall in attention to both repairs and maintenance and improvements driven by budgetary constraints.” Later the consultants highlight the fact that tenants have had to serve formal notices to get repairs done, normally a device of “last resort”.In some instances buildings previously suitable for conversion to residential use are so dilapidated that they are no longer thought capable of getting planning permission.

“The Council wishes to encourage the rural economy which is increasingly predicated on diversification or pluri-activity on farms but it may be concerned that an unduly successful diversification may add to compensation costs at termination. Elsewhere some landlords have adopted a more creative approach…”

Sale policy

The report concludes (section 5.3.11) that the policy of progressive disposal of the estate would be difficult to reverse as:- “The fragmentation of the Estate through the sales programme has exacerbated the difficulties of management and the limitations on productive amalgamations so that rationalising the policy to a long term, sustainable state is no longer a realistic opportunity.”

Cllr Hoult adds:

“Much is made on the income that the current sale policy has produced (£30m), but we must remember that the £18m value of the estate ten years ago was never tested and was likely to be much more on the open market. Also if sold outright for say £20m, that money invested at 5% in 1998 would have earned a further £11m in interest by now. To that we need to add all the management costs of the estate which have not been clearly identified.”

Liberal Democrats on North Yorkshire County Council have attacked the ruling Conservatives for placing a new housing development outside the catchment area for the obvious local school.

1200 new homes are to be built in Eastfield near Scarborough. This project has made the regeneration of the whole area a real possibility and the whole community has been involved in deciding just how that regeneration will take shape.

But the Council’s Children & Young People’s Directorate has decided to place the new development outside the catchment area for George Pindar Community Sports College (GPCSC). The ruling Tories seem to think that it would be better if local young people travel into Scarborough itself to attend both Graham & Raincliff schools.

A public consultation seeking opinions on Children & Young Persons Services in Eastfield and the new development published by the directorate left out the issue surrounding secondary school catchment areas. It focused only on primary provision.

Eastfield’s Liberal Democrat County Councillor Brian Simpson called this decision in for further scrutiny. However, at a special meeting yesterday the Tory-dominated Young People Overview & Scrutiny Committee voted to press ahead and ignore the question of secondary schooling. This is despite the Headteacher of George Pindar coming to the meeting to voice his concerns.

Cllr Simpson condemned the decision, saying:

“I fully support the consultation on Primary school provision, however I believe that by denying public consultation on secondary school provision the County Council is preventing the community from making its voice heard. By bringing the development into the catchment area of GPCSC, the County Council could have put community cohesion in Eastfield at the heart of the new development.”

“Instead the Tories seem to think it is better to have a divided community, with many young people travelling seven miles to schools in Scarborough.”