North Yorks police commissioner candidate urges MPs to oppose police bill

The Liberal Democrat candidate for North Yorkshire police commissioner has called on the county’s MPs to vote against the government’s police bill.

James Barker, a City of York councillor who is standing for commissioner at the elections in May, described the legislation as “draconian”.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill includes measures for noise limits on protests, stronger powers for police to break up “unauthorised encampments” and longer sentences for serious crimes.

MPs will vote the legislation, which is at its second reading, tonight.

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Mr Barker said the right to protest was a “fundamental part” of democracy and called on MPs to oppose the bill.

He said:

“The bill contains some proposals that are worthy of support, such as maximum sentences for low-level assaults against emergency service workers being doubled to two years and community sentences for less serious crime to help address underlying problems in offenders’ lives, but the government has got it badly wrong in trying to stifle people’s freedom to protest.

“The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of any functioning democracy. 

“The police already have extensive powers in this area and I am concerned that what is being proposed in this bill will impact on people’s freedom of speech and right to protest. For this reason I am therefore calling on North Yorkshire’s MPs to oppose this bill.”

Voters in the Harrogate district will go to the polls on May 6 to elect a new police, fire and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire.

Julia Mulligan, who currently holds the role, will not be standing for re-election.

The main political parties have confirmed candidates as follows:

The deadline to register to vote in the May elections is April 19. You can register to vote here.

Political parties confirm candidates for police commissioner elections

Political parties have revealed their candidates for this year’s North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner elections.

Voters will go to the polls on May 6 to elect a new commissioner.

Some of those standing had already announced their candidacies ahead of the polls, but today the Liberal Democrats confirmed their candidate.

Elections for the PCC were delayed last year due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Julia Mulligan, who currently holds the role, will not be standing for re-election.

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The main political parties have confirmed candidates as follows:

The full list of those nominated for commissioner will be published on April 9.

First introduced in 2012, police and crime commissioners are elected to represent the views of people on policing and crime in their area.

They appoint the chief constable, set the budget for the police force and commission local victim support services.

It comes as polls for the police and crime commissioner will be the only local elections held in North Yorkshire in May.

The government announced that elections for the county council will be postponed until 2022 amid a consultation over scrapping the two-tier local authority system.

The deadline to register to vote in the May elections is April 19. You can register to vote here.

Uncertainty surrounds county council elections

Uncertainty surrounds elections for North Yorkshire County Council ahead of polling day in May.

Ministers gave the go ahead for local elections after polls were postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But the county council has asked the government to delay elections until next year because of the impending wholesale restructuring of local government in North Yorkshire.

Voters are set to go to the polls on May 6 to cast their ballots for local councillors and police and crime commissioners.

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Under government guidance, people who vote in person will have to wear a face covering at polling booths and bring their own pen to mark their ballot paper.

However, ministers have encouraged those who are shielding, or prefer not to attend a polling station, to apply for a postal or proxy vote.

In a written statement, Chloe Smith, minister for the constitution and devolution, said the government has set out a plan for elections to go ahead in a covid-secure way.

Ms Smith added that £92 million of grant funding will be given to local authorities to help run the elections.

She said:

“Safe and secure elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. 

“The government has long been clear that there should be a very high bar for delay, but it was responsible to keep the situation under review in order to take into account the views of the electoral community and of public health experts.”

Elections for North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner will go ahead as normal, with the candidates set to be confirmed on April 9.

But whether or not the county council will hold its elections remains uncertain.

Officials at the authority requested that its election be postponed when they submitted proposals for a single unitary authority in December.

County council bosses said in the proposal:

“In submitting this proposal, we include a request to postpone the county council elections from May 2021 to May 2022 regardless of whether the new unitary authority commences April 2022 or 2023.

“Ideally, the government will have announced the new governance structures prior to the publication of the notice of election, so that the electorate can be clear what organisation they are electing members to serve.

“This may not be possible if the election takes place in May 2021.”

It comes as the government is expected to go to consultation on council reorganisation this month.

The Stray Ferret asked the county council whether its elections will be be going ahead this year, but had not received a response by time of publication.

The deadline to register to vote in the May elections is April 19. You can register to vote here.

‘Not the time’ to pay more for North Yorkshire policing

Now is the not the time to hand North Yorkshire’s taxpayers another significant increase in the police precept, the county’s police commissioner has said.

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said the force had already had increases in the police precept in recent years and is expecting further funding for more officers.

She told a meeting of the North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel that it was not the time to put a “significant tax burden” on the county during a pandemic.

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The panel agreed a 1.99% increase in the precept for 2021/22 – which will set the rate at £271.06 for a band D property.

Commissioners across the country were given flexibility to increase police precepts by a maximum of £15, which would have resulted in a 5.64% hike in North Yorkshire.

But Mrs Mulligan said the force was well funded and would have to deal with a smaller budget this year.

She said:

“I am really, really mindful at the moment that having had significant increases in the past and the service being relatively well funded that now is not the time to put a signifiant tax burden on the public of North Yorkshire and York.”

Ms Mulligan added that she recognised the proposed increase of 1.99% was “not generous”, but said the force would have to “work hard” to offer services within its budget.

Meanwhile, Michael Porter, chief finance officer for the commissioner, said the response to precept consultation showed that the public was not as supportive of an increase as in recent years.

It comes taxpayers in Harrogate could be set to pay an average of more than £2,000 on their council tax bills this year.

North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council have planned increases in their share of council tax.

Councillors on both authorities will vote on the proposed increases at budget meetings later this month.

How much Harrogate council taxpayers could be paying in 2021

Harrogate district taxpayers could face paying a council tax bill of more than £2,000 this coming year.

Officials at Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner are set to decide on their proposals in February.

In total, if approved, the final bill for the 2021/22 financial year would come tot £2,007.17 – a 3% increase on last year.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said there had “never been a more difficult time” to ask the public to pay more for council services.

Each authority has tabled an increase in its share and will vote individually on its proposal.

A breakdown of the potential council tax bill for Harrogate district in 2021/22.

A breakdown of the potential council tax bill for Harrogate district in 2021/22.

Local town and parish councils will also levy a parish precept on the bill..

In Ripon, local councillors decided to freeze the precept for 2021/22 meaning residents will pay £71.89 to the city council.

Meanwhile, Knaresborough Town Council has agreed a 1.99% increase in its precept to around £25 for a band D property.

Uncertainty over council funding

The hike in council tax comes as local authorities face a strain on resources amid the coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty over future funding.

Gary Fielding, corporate director of resources at the county council, told councillors recently that there “had never been more uncertainty than there is at the moment” for councils.

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Meanwhile, Cllr Les told an executive meeting of the county council that there had never been a tougher time for the council to make a decision on increasing council tax.

He said:

“I don’t think there has ever been a more difficult time for us to do this exercise.

“Never have our services been more needed, but equally never has the economy and society been under such pressure.

“So we really need to get the balance right between what we need to deliver in services and what the community of North Yorkshire can afford to pay for those services.”

He added that the council will continue to lobby government for fairer funding following a decade of cuts to local authority grants.

The pandemic has forced councils to think more carefully about finances.

So far, the county council has spent £80 million responding to covid. Meanwhile the borough council faces a £5.9 million cost due to losses in car parking and leisure centre revenue.

This has left officials proposing to hike council tax and dip into reserves to balance the books.

The county council plans to use £8.2 million of its own funds to offset a shortfall next year, but officials have warned it cannot continue to use its reserves in the long run.

North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner will make decisions on their budgets next month.