Whichever way you look at it, a devolution deal for North Yorkshire will include a mayor.
Below the mayor, there is an ongoing debate over whether the county should have one single unitary council or a few large authorities.
But what does devolution actually mean and why should we care? Here are the reasons why.
What is a mayor?
The devolved authority would have a mayor which is directly elected by the public.
They would be elected in 2022 and would normally serve for four years as part of an election cycle.
The mayor would hold significant power and influence over areas such as bus services, transport and setting up development corporations to buy and sell land.
Read more:
- Council leaders prepare for North Yorkshire devolution
- Districts to launch alternative council reorganisation bid
- County to draw up plans for single North Yorkshire council
A new mayoral tax
When the government introduced more directly-elected mayors in 2016, it also gave them powers to introduce precepts to pay for the functions of the office.
Different mayors have different powers, but all of them can charge extra on top of council tax bills to fund what they do.
What about council tax?
Council tax would still be paid to the local authority, which would continue to run daily services such as bins and filling potholes.
However, some powers would be taken on by the elected mayor, such as public transport and buying land for employment developments.
The powers of the devolved mayor are focused on employment and boosting the economy.
Why should I care?
A mayor of North Yorkshire would be accountable to residents across the entire county.
Any changes of services in their remit or use of public money would be answerable to those who elected them.
For example, the mayor would have new powers over bus routes, timetables and fares in Harrogate and elsewhere.
Mayors also have the power to set up development corporations to buy and sell land, as demonstrated in the Tees Valley where the former Redcar steelworks has been bought by the authority’s corporation.
How close are we to a deal?
It is early days, but government has already set its sights on resolving the issue of devolution by 2022 to coincide with mayoral elections.
At the moment, the county council and its seven districts are voting on a list of “asks” which outline their proposal for devolved powers. Government will take those requests and propose a devolution deal to the county which will then be voted and consulted on.
