Lib Dem Councillor Caroline Seymour is dismayed at the Tory council’s poor provision for young people in Stokesley this summer.

The Youth Service. working with the police, has done much work to reduce youth nuisance in the town.

However, the youth worker has gone on maternity leave and been told that there no replacement planned for the summer holiday.

County Councillor Caroline Seymour, who represents Stokesley and the surrounding villages, raised the issue with the Conservative portfolio holder for the Youth Service at today’s meeting of the Council. Cllr Seymour was told that action was being taken to provide cover but that it was “unlikely” to be in place for the summer.

Cllr Seymour commented:

“This is not an unexpected staff absence. The Council should have been able to make alternative arrangements in time for the summer holidays, the very time when this service is most needed.”

Cllr Seymour added:

“This poor level of service is even more upsetting to people in Stokesley in view of the Council’s £115,000 underspend by the Youth Service, and the £8.3 million underspend last year by the Council as a whole.”

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.”

Liberal Democrats on North Yorkshire County Council have announced their intention to “call-in” the Council’s decision to freeze the level of the school clothing allowance at £60 a year. This means that the decision will be sent back to a committee to be looked at again.

The Executive Members of the Conservative-run Council decided last week not to increase the support to less well-off families in line with inflation, but to extend the scope of the allowance to include children whose parents are in receipt of the highest rate of Working Tax Credit.

Liberal Democrats feel that this will increase financial pressure on poorer families.

County Councillor Caroline Seymour, from Stokesley, said

“In reality this is a reduction in support for disadvantaged families. Around 700 families in North Yorkshire will be affected. It is quite wrong to do this at a time when heating and food bills are increasing faster than normal.”

”It is typical Tory penny-pinching which will hit less well-off families.”

“Whilst we welcome the extension of the scheme to families receiving the maximum level of Working Tax Credit, we feel that the rate should be increased in line with inflation. We have a duty to call-in this decision and ask the Council to reconsider its policy.”

“The Tories have just used inflation as a justification for raising the charges for home to school transport. Yet they seem to think it doesn’t apply to those people who will be hardest hit by a similar rise in the cost of living.”

Conservative and Labour councillors at County Hall today joined forces to defeat a Liberal Democrat motion which would have allowed North Yorkshire’s school pupils to directly elect their “Young Peoples’ Champion”.

The Liberal Democrat councillors think that it should be the young people who vote for the councillor they want to represent them and not left to the Executive of the Council.

But the Conservatives, and all but one of the Labour members present, voted down the Liberal Democrat motion at the Council meeting today.

“I am very disappointed that the Conservatives and Labour have thrown away this excellent opportunity to involve our young people in the democratic process.”

“Again we see stale, unimaginative leadership at County Hall from dyed-in-the-wool Tories who are not open to new ideas.”

Stokesley Lib Dem County Councillor Caroline Seymour seconded the motion, adding:

“This would have been a way to encourage young people to learn about and take part in the democratic process and would have cost very little to do. It is a great shame that this opportunity has been missed.”

The County Council Champions will now continue to be appointed by the Conservative-run Executive of the Council.

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 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.”