North Yorkshire Council looks set to increase its portion of council tax bills by 4.99 per cent in 2024/25 — the maximum permitted before triggering a referendum.

The hike would mean the price paid by an average Band D property for council services would increase by £87.80 to £1,847.62.

The total council tax bill is made up of precepts charged by North Yorkshire Council, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and parish councils. Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe has yet to finalise an amount but has proposed increases of up to 9.3%.

The council has also said it needs to make £46 million in savings across the next three financial years.

Of that figure, it expects more than £36 million to come from the impact of local government reorganisation, which saw seven district and borough councils, including Harrogate, abolished last year along with North Yorkshire County Council and the creation of North Yorkshire Council.

It plans to use £6.5 million of reserves to balance its books in the next financial year.

The details are contained in a report by chief executive Richard Flinton and corporate director for strategic resources Gary Fielding to the council's Conservative-controlled executive next week.

The report says:

It lists the rising number and costs of SEND provision; extreme volatility and distress in the adult social care market, children’s placement costs, home to school transport services, high levels of inflation and supply chain expectations and workforce retention and recruitment challenges as key financial pressures.

Among proposed savings are changes to home to school transport, meaning families would be given funding for pupils to attend their nearest school rather than in the wider catchment area, and fees and charges are also set to increase to reflect inflation.

Other changes include cutting commissioning costs by reducing, for example, the number of high value care packages, and by bringing together highways services.

Council leader Carl Les said:

Cllr Gareth Dadd, the council’s deputy leader and executive member responsible for finance, added:

Members of North Yorkshire Council’s executive are due to meet on Tuesday, January 23 to discuss the proposed budget.

If approved, it will be considered at a full council meeting next month, before it is adopted by the council.

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