North Yorkshire buses ‘would have failed’ without government support, says transport chief

North Yorkshire’s transport chief has claimed bus services in the county “would have failed” without support from the council and government.

Cllr Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive councillor for highways at North Yorkshire Council, welcomed yesterday’s latest support from the Department for Transport.

It extended a £2 cap on single bus fares to October. The cap will then rise to £2.50 until November 2024.

Cllr Duncan told councillors yesterday the council had encouraged smaller operators to sign up to the scheme.

It has also stepped in to provide funding to allow the 24 bus between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge to continue.

He added:

“To be clear, without the action of this council over recent months and years against the odds and the action of government with a package totalling £3.5 billion since the pandemic, a great number of North Yorkshire routes would have failed already.

“Our network would have been vastly reduced and in a much worse position than it is right now.”

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He added that the council did not intend to duplicate any marketing on the government’s £2 cap scheme in light of the recent extension.

The scheme is set to go-ahead in the Harrogate district with Harrogate Bus Company, DalesBus and Connexions confirming their intentions to extend to the cap.

It comes as Cllr Duncan said the council intends to carry out a review of how the council supports bus services in the future amid concerns over passenger numbers.

In a statement to a full council meeting, he said the number of people using bus services “remain key” to the networks’ viability.

Cllr Duncan previously warned that government cash “cannot continue in perpetuity” to fund services.

Crime commissioner declines to respond to resignation call

North Yorkshire’s Police Fire and Crime Commissioner has declined to respond to a call for her to resign after a government watchdog found some vulnerable children “remain at risk unnecessarily” due to delays in police investigations.

Zoe Metcalfe, who is aiming to be the Tory candidate to be the first North Yorkshire and York elected mayor, said she would not be commenting on a notice of motion lodged by North Yorkshire Council’s opposition leader, Cllr Bryn Griffiths, which is tabled to be considered at a full meeting on Wednesday.

However, rather than debate the issue at the meeting, one option for the council’s chairman would be to refer the notice of motion to one of the authority’s scrutiny committees for consideration.

The critical Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary report followed its assessment last year which found the force was “not effectively safeguarding children”.

Last week, at a public accountability meeting Ms Metcalfe said the information she had been provided about the force’s progress over its failings was bogus.

She said: 

“We were led to believe that North Yorkshire Police were in a better position than they ultimately were and we accept this.

“And as a result, we have entirely overhauled our scrutiny and assurance process, I have clearly set out how I will hold North Yorkshire Police to account for delivery.”

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Cllr Griffiths called for Ms Metcalfe’s resignation to be debated at the meeting.

He said the second report, published earlier this month, had examined 33 child protection cases, of which 11 were found to be good, eight required improvement and 14 were inadequate.

He said: 

“For so many cases to be found inadequate is a damning entitlement not only on the police, but also on the overall management of the force by the police and fire commissioner.

“The police, fire and crime commissioner is elected to be responsible for generally overseeing both police forces and fire services. Clearly has failed and is continuing to fail to hold the North Yorkshire Police force to account and keep the public and in particular children safe.

“Urgent action is therefore needed to remove the existing commissioner immediately and replace with a far more effective manager.”

In response, a spokeswoman for Ms Metcalfe said the motion was being put to the council “for discussion only, and so we will not be commenting at this time”.

Some of Ms Metcalfe’s Conservative former colleagues on the authority said they believed the notice of motion was “political” and that they would not be supporting the call for her to resign.

The Tories said those behind calls for her resignation had misunderstood the situation as the reports referred to a time before she was the commissioner.

 

Ripon to stage public meeting on new tourism strategy

A public meeting is being held in Ripon next week to hear views on how to shape a new tourism strategy for North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Council, which came into existence last month, is devising a strategy to boost the county’s multi-million pound tourism industry.

As part of this, the council is staging three free workshops, including one at the Old Deanery in Ripon from 11am to 1pm on Wednesday.

A council press release this week said the events would “gather information and views from key organisations and enterprises involved in the tourism sector to develop the first countywide destination management plan”.

Attendees will be asked about their priorities and aspirations for the tourism industry as well as the strengths, opportunities and challenges being faced by North Yorkshire’s visitor economy.

Newby Hall 1 by Mervin Straughan

Newby Hall. Pic: Mervin Straughan

The council’s Conservative leader, Cllr Carl Les, said:

“The opportunity to develop the first county-wide plan to promote tourism is a major milestone for North Yorkshire.

“The views of businesses and organisations involved in tourism will be key to developing the strategy and the future of the industry as a whole.”

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In-person events will also be held in Ripon, Skipton and Scarborough followed by two online sessions from 5.30pm to 7pm on Tuesday, May 23, and then from noon until 1.30pm on Thursday, May 25.

The draft destination management plan is due to be finalised by the end of June, before being presented to councillors the following month.

A bid is then due to be submitted to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in September for North Yorkshire to be home to a Local Visitor Economy Partnership, which would involve both the private and public sectors and would need to follow a new national process to be eligible for support and potential funding from the government.

Tourism in North Yorkshire accounts for 11 per cent of the county’s overall economy and employs 41,200 workers.

The county is home to two National Parks for the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, as well as Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, which is one of only two World Heritage Sites in Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire also has stately homes, including Castle Howard, Kiplin Hall and Newby Hall, as well as 23 English Heritage sites, including Whitby Abbey, Richmond Castle and Rievaulx Abbey, along with the recently acquired Thornborough Henges.

The county also has a wealth of famous food and drink producers responsible for brands including Bettys Café Tea Rooms, Wensleydale Cheese, Harrogate Spring Water and Yorkshire Tea.

Further details of the workshops are available here.

You can complete a 10-minute questionnaire on North Yorkshire’s visitor economy here.

North Yorkshire Police ‘still needs to improve’ on child safeguarding, say inspectors

Inspectors have said North Yorkshire Police “still needs to improve” following a highly critical report into how it safeguards children.

An inspection report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, published today, found the force had made some improvements since its previous report in March.

However, inspectors added progress still needed to be made to “provide consistently better outcomes for children”.

Today’s report comes after the watchdog published a highly critical inspection of the force where it found child protection investigations were poor and that the force did not prioritise safeguarding and child protection highly enough.

In a follow-up visit in December, which is the subject of today’s report, inspectors praised North Yorkshire Police for making progress in areas such as identifying children’s vulnerability and making good safeguarding referrals.

However, they added that supervision of investigations were not always effective and there were “excessive delays” in obtaining digital forensic evidence for officers.

The report, which was published today, said:

“North Yorkshire Police still needs to improve some areas of its work to provide consistently better outcomes for children. There has been some progress, particularly in the way the force has trained its workforce to identify children’s vulnerability and make good safeguarding referrals.

“Staff in the force control room have also made improvements so they are better at identifying risk and providing the right level of response to help vulnerable children.

“Despite progress against some of our recommendations, the force has yet to make all the progress necessary to complete its action plan.

“The force is developing performance monitoring and its governance systems, so it is clear leaders fully understand what still needs to be done.”

‘Police have let the public down’

In response to the report, Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said:

“North Yorkshire Police have had a year to progress their action plan following the first HMICFRS report on child protection. My team and I were regularly assured that all concerns would be tackled head on and improvements made at a significant pace but instead, 12 months later, the force is not in the position I expected them to be in. Not enough has been done and there is simply no excuse – North Yorkshire Police have let the public and the most vulnerable in our society down.

“As commissioner and a mother of two children, one of whom is vulnerable and has complex needs I share the frustration, deep disappointment and upset many people will be feeling. I know that it is my responsibility to increase the accountability of and pressure on the chief constable, to demand answers and not accept anything other than immediate and significant improvement.

“Whilst a debrief provided by the inspectorate in preparation for this report revealed North Yorkshire Police still had areas to progress, this progress has been much slower than anticipated – as a result, I am making arrangements for an additional layer of scrutiny – I expect evidence in relation to any assurances I am given.”

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Government accused over special educational needs in North Yorkshire

Tory-run North Yorkshire Council has accused the Department for Education of “extremely slow” action and unfair funding of school spaces for vulnerable youngsters with special educational needs.

An officers’ report to leading members of the council highlights the government awards the county just 61% of the national average figure for special schools building schemes.

At the same time, the council faces a shortfall of about 100 places from September and 350 places over the next three to five years.

The report states using DfE data and criteria for specialist provision funding, North Yorkshire ranked 118th out of 150 councils.

Officers said this academic year had seen “a very marked increase” in requests for pupils to be assessed for SEN.

So while 700 new assessments had been a reasonably stable level for a number of years, forecasts of the likely number of requests for this year were between 980 and 1,090.

In addition, the report states resources available to the council to invest in key maintenance projects have reduced significantly in recent years, so North Yorkshire Council only receives about £6.3m to maintain 200 schools.

Exacerbating this, all of the council’s applications to secure government rebuild programmes at its special schools have been unsuccessful.

Officers said capital funding from the government for high needs pupils had been “significant but disappointing in comparison to other authorities”.

Pupils in Kensington and Chelsea get five times more

They said they had “significant concerns” about how the DfE allocated £88 per pupil in North Yorkshire compared to £483 per pupil in Kensington and Chelsea.

The report states several schools are in pressing need of repairs and Welburn Hall School, near Kirkbymoorside, has been identified as being “at risk of catastrophic buildings failure”.

However, the report states the authority has insufficient funding to tackle “significant concerns about the suitability and condition of our special schools”, adding its “overarching priority with the limited capital resource envelope available is to respond to create more classroom spaces”.

The report adds although the DfE approved the council’s bid for funding to create a Special Free School four years ago, the latest estimated opening date for the school was 2025.

The officers wrote:

“Whilst we were successful in securing the Selby Free School through the DfE Special Free School programme, DfE’s delivery of the school has been extremely slow.

“This is disappointing given that the 100 places that the school will create are urgently needed to address overlap capacity shortfalls and provide access to a local provision to families from the Selby area.”

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A government spokesperson said delays in delivering the proposed new Selby school had included reaching agreement with the council for its contribution to the access road and abnormal works, and an unsuccessful procurement of a contractor to build the permanent school.

The spokesperson said it had strived to distribute high needs provision capital funding fairly and efficiently between local authorities based on both their size, and their share of estimated growth in demand for high needs provision between academic years

She added:

“Every child deserves to have access to education that meets their needs. Our recent improvement plan will reform the support system for children with special educational needs and disabilities, prioritising earlier intervention and creating consistent high standards across the country.”

 

Have your say on North Yorkshire’s autism strategy

Residents across the Harrogate district are being invited to help shape a new strategy to improve the lives of people living with autism.

The aim is to provide better support for autistic people, as well as improving attitudes towards the condition across the community.

The new North Yorkshire Council is working with the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board to host a series of events for people with autism, or those who support them, to share their ideas and experiences.

People will also be able to take part in a survey, which will run until the end of April, as an alternative way to express their views. Copies will also be available in North Yorkshire libraries.

Cllr Michael Harrison, executive member for health and adult services, said:

“The aim is to enable autistic people to live fulfilling lives by making sure the right support is available at the right moments.

“Autistic people’s ideas and experiences will be at the heart of the new strategy.

“That is why we are so keen that people attend the engagement sessions, and help us to ensure the new strategy is as thorough and as helpful as it can possibly be.”

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The new, all-age strategy will be implemented across the health and local authority sector, alongside voluntary, community and social organisations.

Inclusion North, a not-for-profit organisation that works with the public sector, has also been taken on to help the campaign.

Once adopted, the strategy is expected to remain in place until 2026. It will cover several key areas of improvement, including better access to education, transition into adulthood and employment aid.

Guidelines will be provided to help support families and carers.

The next Harrogate engagement event will take place at The Cuttings in Station View, Starbeck, on Thursday, April 27, from 5.30-8pm. Full details are available on the North Yorkshire Partnerships website.

We’re here to help, so use us, says local business Growth Hub

The range of support the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub offers came as something of a surprise to many members of the Stray Ferret Business Club at its first lunch meeting.

From accessing government grants, achieving carbon neutral or digital marketing support, Andrew Raby from the Hub outlined the broad range of help available for any business whether established or a start-up.

Mr Raby encouraged businesses to contact them with any queries — no matter how specific.  There was a lively discussion at the Stray Ferret Business Club following his talk with questions about the value of social media, to HR support and the end of European grants following Brexit.

When asked about evidence of impact the Growth Hub has on a business, Mr Raby discussed the results of a national evaluation of all Growth Hubs that took place from 2015 – 2020.  It reported “evident sustained growth” and found an impressive 17% increase in turnover for those companies who used Growth Hubs.

The Business Club lunch invited a range of discussion

As well as providing specialist business advice, Mr Raby also highlighted the number of resources the Growth Hub has on offer to businesses.

The organisation can direct businesses to relevant funding sources, research institutions and local support schemes.

So, if it’s accessing grants or apprenticeships, the Growth Hub can help you.

The discussion at the Business Club Lunch established the benefits all sectors can reap from the working with the Growth Hub.

Find out more:

The fourth in our series of networking events, with Banyan Bar & Kitchen, is a breakfast event on April 27 from 8am.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district.

Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

Let’s Get Better: NHS and partners launch new website for Harrogate district and beyond

This story is sponsored by Let’s Get Better.

Are you looking for help to improve you or your family’s physical and mental health? Do you want to take charge of your wellbeing and live a happier and healthier life? If yes, then read on.

If you live in the Harrogate area, Let’s Get Better is the ultimate destination for all your health and wellness needs. Our website, www.letsgetbetter.co.uk offers comprehensive resources, support and signposting to help you and your family Start Well, Age Well and Live Well.

The website has been put together on behalf of the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership – a collaboration of health, social care, community and charitable organisations in North Yorkshire and York, Hull and East Riding and North and North East Lincolnshire.

The launch of Let’s Get Better brings together lots of useful information and guidance to support you at every stage of your lifelong health journey – as well as help to take you to the “right care, first time” when you or a member of your family is unwell.

Whether you’re a young person looking for mental health support, a mum-to-be who’s looking for help to manage your pregnancy, or just want to get fitter, improve your diet, or manage stress, there’s something for everyone at Let’s Get Better.

We firmly believe in empowering people to take control of their health and wellbeing – and take steps to prevent ill health. With the right information at your fingertips, it will help you to play your part in looking after your health and the health of those around you – and help you choose the right care when you do have a health issue.

Dr Nigel Wells, clinical lead for the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, said:

“Our Partnership’s ambition is for everyone in our area to: start well, live well and age well.

“This means shifting the focus of our work from picking people up when they fall to helping to prevent them from becoming unwell in the first place and supporting more people to manage their health and wellbeing at home so they can get on with living happy and fulfilling lives.

“We hope the Let’s Get Better website will become the ultimate online health and wellbeing companion for everyone living in our area – and people’s first port of call when they need extra information and support to make decisions about their health and wellbeing.”

Stephen Eames, CBE, the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) Chief Executive added:

“We know that at the end of the day many people want to not only look after their health but also improve their wellbeing, both physically and mentally.

“There are lots of sources of health information available; the aim of Let’s Get Better, as more and more content is added, is to have an easy to navigate, dedicated online space where people can find out more about how to look after themselves – and where to go when they’re unwell.

“We want people to think beyond their family doctor – there are lots of other expert health professionals working in GP surgeries and many minor ailments can be resolved by going to see a local pharmacist. Or for more urgent care needs NHS 111 or an Urgent Treatment Centre can help, without having to go to a hospital’s Accident and Emergency department. Let’s Get Better explains all these services along with when you should use them and much more useful information.”

The Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership is one of 42 Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) which cover England to meet health and care needs across an area, coordinate services and plan in a way that improves population health and reduces inequalities between different groups.

We work across a geographical area of more than 1,500 square miles and serve a population of 1.7 million people, all with different health and care needs.

Find out more:  

In addition to the Let’s Get Better website, the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership has launched a new Facebook page, Do give us a like!

We’ll be regularly posting short videos, sharing hints, tips, advice and guidance and posting topical content.

Claim North Yorkshire Council ‘not in people’s faces’ about climate change

A Green Party councillor has said North Yorkshire Council’s plan to curb climate climate change does not go far enough.

In January the council published a draft climate change strategy includes ambitions such as becoming carbon neutral by 2030, increasing walking and cycling as well as planting 37,000 hectares of new woodland by 2038.

Last month, it then launched a survey called Let’s Talk Climate that asked residents a series of questions about the strategy

However, Arnold Warneken, Green Party councillor for Ouseburn division, said the survey has garnered just over 1,000 responses, which he called disappointing.

He blamed the number of responses on a lack of promotion by the council and said it should be offering more, particularly around agriculture which is estimated to contribute one third of the county’s total emissions.

Cllr Warneken said:

“Air quality is often overlooked and as far as agriculture is concerned we’re taking no action. The council owns its own farms and there are things we can be doing. I don’t think we’re offering enough and the survey isn’t getting the responses it warrants.

“They haven’t pushed the survey hard. I like the officers but I don’t think we’re in people’s faces enough with it.”

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Cllr Warneken called on residents to fill in the survey before the deadline.

He added:

“We’ve got another two weeks where people can spend 10 minutes filling in a form that gives a real chance for county to lead the way on biodiversity and climate change and give our children and grandchildren a better quality of life.”

North Yorkshire County Council’s Conservative executive member for managing our environment, Cllr Greg White, said:

“We remain committed to tackling the threat of climate change, and we recognise that this is the biggest challenge that we face both in North Yorkshire and as a country as a whole.

“We have launched a county-wide engagement with the public to seek their views on a draft climate strategy for the new North Yorkshire Council.

“This includes the first ever public engagement specifically targeting young people, seeking the views of people aged 16 to 25 on the draft climate strategy.

“There are a host of ways for everyone to take part in the latest Let’s Talk engagement campaign about climate, including online as well as face-to-face events and support from the 42 libraries across the county.

“The engagement has also been publicised to the media, and details have been sent to staff, councillors and partner organisations to ensure that the widest possible audience is reached.

“The new council has an ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030, and we have also endorsed an ambitious bid for York and North Yorkshire to become the first carbon negative region in the country, meaning more carbon dioxide emissions would be removed from the atmosphere than are emitted.

“Work which has already been undertaken in the county to tackle carbon emissions includes the installation of energy-saving LED street lighting, energy efficient improvements to buildings and trialling the use of electric vehicles.”

You can take part in the survey on the council’s website here.

Call for review into ‘grossly unfair’ fuel price disparities in North Yorkshire

A councillor has called on the government to intervene on fuel prices because some motorists in North Yorkshire are paying 10p per litre more on petrol or diesel than others.

The Competition and Markets Authority found last summer there were “significant differences in price” between forecourts across the UK.

The issue was raised during a recent meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee.

Nick Brown, the Conservative councillor for Wathvale and Bishop Monkton, said he was surprised to recently pay £1.359p for a litre of fuel at Bishop Auckland in County Durham whereas in Boroughbridge the price was 10p more expensive.

Cllr Brown asked Julian Smith, the Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, if he could lobby the government to launch a review into the issue. 

He said:

“There is effectively a rip-off for customers of petrol and diesel. Could you press for an urgent review by government into fuel prices?

“I can’t believe that a 10p difference is justifiable for 40 minutes down the road. The RAC have been banging on about this for quite a while but nothing has been done. There needs to be a proper review.”

Mr Smith said:

“I do agree there’s huge inconsistencies in rural areas. We can lose out. I’m happy to write to the business department about that.”

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The main factor for petrol prices is whether there is much competition nearby, including from supermarkets who offer cheaper fuel.

Companies that run petrol stations in remote locations also argue they sell less fuel so have to charge higher prices to cover their overheads.

Fuel prices have remained high since the Russian invasion of Ukraine although they have fallen since last year when petrol and diesel could be bought for over £2 a litre for the first time ever.

Asda petrol station on Dragon Road during the fuel supply crisis in September 2021.

Asda petrol station on Dragon Road during the fuel supply crisis in September 2021.

In last week’s budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt extended a 5p cut in fuel duty for another 12 months.

Andrew Williams, independent councillor for Ripon Minister and Moorside, said “there’s no competition” for fuel in Ripon, which has meant motorists at the pump have suffered. 

He said:

“The fuel price in Ripon is usually 3p higher than in Boroughbridge and there’s a difference of 8p between Ripon and York. It seems grossly unfair.”