Letter from Craven District Council regarding Local Government Re-organisation

We (the village email address) recently received the following letter from Craven District Council Leader, Councillor Richard Foster and Chief Executive, Paul Shevlin. Republished here in full for us all (the village people):

Dear Sir/Madam,

Have your say over the future of local government in York and North Yorkshire

I would like to invite you to discuss your views on the reorganisation of local government across York and North Yorkshire.

The Minister for Local Government has indicated that he would like to replace the existing district councils and county council with a unitary structure.  There are different ways this could be done, so the district and borough council leaders in North Yorkshire have come together to make sure we get this important change right. 

As part of our work on this, we are running a series of online discussions, in which you will be able to share your views on how local government should be best structured to be responsive to the needs of local people and businesses.

Your views will be taken on board as we develop a model which strengthens local services, increases efficiency from economies of scale, and retains local responsiveness and democratic accountability.  Once our model is developed it will go to a vote in each district and borough council.  This will provide the Government with a firm steer for the preferences of local communities in advance of legislation being prepared in the coming year. 

The County Council is proposing a mega-size unitary council covering North Yorkshire (the largest in England) to sit alongside the much smaller unitary council for York.  This mega/minnow model is unbalanced, and risks leaving local government too remote from the people it serves.  We are therefore working together to find a better solution, that strikes the right balance between efficiency and local responsiveness. 

I am enclosing a paper which sets out the first principles which we believe should apply when considering local government organisation.  You can also read more about our approach on our website: www.get-change-right.com

To have your say on this important issue, please sign up to join one of our online engagement sessions.  You can do this here:  https://survey.sogosurvey.com/r/LGR-engage

Each meeting will take no more than 45 minutes, and you do not need to do any preparation in advance of the discussion.

We look forward to hearing your views.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Richard Foster
Leader

Paul Shevlin
Chief Executive