Scarborough Borough Councillors Express Concern Over Plans for Mayor

Thursday, 8 September 2022 06:00

By Matthew Pells

Plans to create a mayoral authority for York and North Yorkshire will water down democracy according to some local councillors.

The proposed Mayor's Office would take on some powers from Westminster and would then have responsibility for those policy areas across York and North Yorkshire.

The proposal sets out that the mayor would have a small executive committee consisting of two councillors from North Yorkshire and two from York.

But some local politicians think that's a problem as York is a third of the size of North Yorkshire but would get equal representation in the decision making process.

Scarborough Borough Councillor Michelle Donohue-Moncrieffe has concerns:

Borough Councillor Heather Philips is less concerned about the proposals governance arrangements.

Borough Councillor Jane Mortimer has been looking at the plans and also has concerns about the arrangements for the governance of the combined authority.

Borough Council leader - Councillor Steve Siddons - feels the shared power arrangement does make sense despite the different population sizes.

The plan for the combined mayoral authority is part of the Governments proposals for devolution for the region.

In August the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced that the Government was minded to enter into a
Devolution Deal with York and North Yorkshire under which the region would benefit from £540 million of new Government investment to spend on local priorities to produce growth, together with a range of devolved powers. This Devolution Deal is dependent upon the City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council establishing a Combined Authority for the area with an elected Mayor

Both the Borough Council and County Council have backed the plans, there will be a public consultation starting in October.