The Government has been urged to embark on major reforms to ease intense financial pressures in North Yorkshire, as the council estimates a deficit of between £50m and £90m in the next four years.
The plea came from North Yorkshire Council’s deputy leader Cllr Gareth Dadd, when he spoke on Tuesday (October 22) at the Local Government Association’s annual conference.
Due to the escalating demand and the cost of providing council services, it is predicted that North Yorkshire Council will have an annual deficit of about £48m by the 2026/27 financial year.
In an opening speech to the conference, Cllr Dadd highlighted the opportunities that the launch of North Yorkshire Council in April last year has presented, including devolved powers.
But Cllr Dadd warned that how funding is delivered to councils by the Government needs to be overhauled to ensure that local authorities can remain financially viable.
He said: “I believe that North Yorkshire Council is well-run - particularly when it comes to money, but despite a sound track record, we too have our financial challenges with our annual deficit estimated at more than £48m by March 2027.
“Something has to give and reform, alongside changes to funding, are essential.”
Between £30m and £69m in savings were outlined in the business case for launching North Yorkshire Council, which was formed when the previous county council and seven district and borough authorities merged last year.
During his speech, Cllr Dadd spoke about the specific pressures that councils are facing, such as the “unrelenting demand” for care for older people, working-age adults, and children and young people.
He stressed that there is not enough capacity to cope with the demand for care, and costs have soared at the expense of the taxpayer.
Cllr Dadd added: “These savings result from lots of structural changes, but we know that reorganisation can be a catalyst to doing things differently and more creatively as we now have all the council levers in one place.
“Without this, I struggle to see how we would be able to wrestle with the pressures we face and most of you do not have the opportunities of local government reorganisation that we have been afforded."
Cllr Dadd also spoke of the importance of tourism in North Yorkshire, as the visitor economy is responsible for a £4bn boost to the local economy every year and supports 38,000 jobs.
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