‘Radical reform’ needed for North Yorkshire NHS dentists, says councillor

A senior councillor has called for radical reform of NHS dentistry in North Yorkshire amid concern over access to appointments.

Cllr Andrew Lee, chair of North Yorkshire County Council’s health scrutiny panel, has written to the government’s health and social committee with evidence over “extremely problematic” access to dentists.

The Stray Ferret has highlighted long waiting lists for NHS dentistry in the Harrogate district in recent years.

Cllr Lee has written to Steve Brine MP, chair of the national health committee, who has called for evidence to support a public inquiry into the matter.

Cllr Lee said:

“For some years, the issues with being able to access an NHS dentist has been a high priority on the agenda for the scrutiny of health committee.

“Feedback consistently indicates it being extremely problematic to find, access and retain an NHS dentist.”

The move comes as North Yorkshire’s health scrutiny committee heard of inequalities in accessing dentists across the county.

For example, in North Yorkshire, Scarborough residents have a greater challenge in accessing dentistry than those in Harrogate, due, in part, to the difference in demographics.

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However, a review of NHS dentistry published in August 2021 found that there was just one NHS dentist practice per 10,000 people in the Harrogate district.

Cllr Lee added:

“Radical reform is absolutely needed. The solution lies in the management of dental services. Recruitment and retention remain difficult, and dentists themselves are frustrated with the service they can provide.

“The problem does not lie with recruiting dentists, the problem lies with a broken and dysfunctional dental contract with severe underfunding. Dentists themselves cannot rectify this and it is creating by default a two-tier system whereby those that can afford to go private do so and others struggle to access any kind of care.”

Road safety charity lodges complaint against North Yorkshire transport chief

A war of words has erupted over calls to introduce a default 20mph zone across North Yorkhire’s built-up areas, with the founder of a campaign group lodging a standards complaint against the county’s transport chief.

Road safety charity 20’s Plenty is focussing pressure on Cllr Keane Duncan after he questioned the group’s claims, accused them of using increasingly ruthless tactics and asked for time to thoroughly consider whether 20mph zones should become standard in towns and villages.

The authority’s executive member for highways and transport issued the statement ahead of a meeting of Conservative-led North Yorkshire County Council’s Thirsk and Malton Constituency Committee on February 3.

The meeting is scheduled to see a notice of motion proposed by opposition councillors considered, which calls to extend a proposed trial of default 20mph zones across the vast constituency.

The council, which last year sought to relax rules about setting up 20mph zones, is already examining a proposal to trial default 20mph zones in built-up areas around Harrogate, but its leaders have warned introducing it would cost about £1m and impact on its ability to fund road repairs across the county.

The charity’s founder and campaign director Rod King has declined to specify the nature of the complaint to the council. Campaigners in the group have stated it is based on criticisms Cllr Duncan made about the campaign group’s claims.

A 20s Plenty for North Yorkshire spokesperson said the complaint was “on the grounds of Cllr Duncan’s attempts to influence the due democratic process in the committee ahead of this Friday’s meeting  by means of unfounded claims on our integrity”.

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Members of the campaign group have suggested the outstanding standards issue would mean Cllr Duncan will not be able to vote on a notice of motion about 20mph limits at Friday’s Thirsk and Malton constituency committee meeting.

Responding to the suggestion, a county council spokesman said: 

“In the event of any complaint against a councillor, we would follow the relevant members complaints procedure.

“It would usually be a matter for a member to determine themselves whether they take part in a debate.”

‘Exaggerating opposition’

Ian Conlan, 20’s Plenty campaigner, who is also Mayor of Malton, said the group had consistently had 70% support over the years and its local surveys in North Yorkshire had backed that up and that Cllr Duncan was exaggerating the opposition to 20s Plenty.

He said 20s Plenty were pushing the issue at the moment in the hope of getting funding agreed for the pilot scheme in this year’s council budget.

Cllr Conlan said the council had had years to consider default 20mph zones and did not need more time to consider the issue and that Cllr Duncan was trying to influence the democratic process by spreading misinformation about 20s Plenty.

Cllr Duncan said rather than welcoming democratic challenge, the leadership of 20’s Plenty had “resorted to issuing a formal complaint against me and are attempting to block me from voting at Friday’s meeting”.

He added: 

“I will not be intimidated by what I consider to be heavy-handed tactics and I will continue to publicly challenge any misleading and exaggerated claims made.

“Most importantly, I will not allow the council’s review of 20mph limits to be rushed or unduly prejudiced. We will look at all factors thoroughly and only then will we make considered recommendations to improve road safety in North Yorkshire.”

North Yorkshire County Council issued legal warning over opposing fracking

North Yorkshire County Council has been warned its decisions over some major developments could be ruled invalid if it approves an opposition move to brand fracking as “inappropriate”.

Senior council legal officers have issued the advice to its decision-making executive ahead of it on Tuesday considering notices of motion tabled by Liberal, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors over potential fracking schemes.

The motions call for the council to agree fracking activities are inappropriate where a council has declared a climate emergency.

The Green motion says fracking would be in direct conflict with the council’s high-profile carbon reduction plan and its emerging climate change strategy.

The motions, which were tabled in November, follows City of York Council, with which North Yorkshire Council is set to form a combined authority to lead major decisions, voting unanimously that fracking “poses unacceptable risks to people, livestock, wildlife, the climate and the environment”.

In October, another neighbouring authority, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, voted to oppose fracking in its jurisdiction.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared his support for a moratorium on fracking in October and while there are no active planning applications to frack in North Yorkshire, energy companies have numerous licences to explore for oil and gas in the county.

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However, an officer’s report to the executive meeting highlights legal implications of a council stating its opposition to fracking.

It states while the council has declared a climate emergency, it has a statutory duty to consider any applications for fracking in the county and be seen to act fairly in the decision-making process.

The report adds, if approved, the motions could give the impression that the council and its members have a pre-determined view or are biased in dealing with planning applications for fracking.”

Cllr Arnold Warneken has criticised North Yorkshire County Council's draft climate change strategy.

Green Party Cllr Arnold Warneken.

The officer’s report warns planning decisions could be ruled invalid “by reason of pre-determination”.

It says: 

“A resolution of the council reflecting the terms of the proposed motion would be a public declaration of the council’s over all position on the issue of fracking.

“When members are sitting in a quasi-judicial role as they are with planning decisions, they have to be alert to how any views expressed by them individually or a collective view of the authority could impact their position.

“It is not just about being fair and impartial, but being seen to be so. The legal test when considering bias is not whether there is actual bias, but whether a fair-minded observer aware of all the facts would conclude there was a real possibility of bias.”

Green councillor Arnold Warneken, who proposed one of the motions, said if councils such as East Riding could put its opposition to fracking in place, so could North Yorkshire.

He said: 

“It could be done in general terms rather than planning terms. You could apply the pre-determination reasoning to anything, such as statements to cut carbon. This would be a policy statement rather than a planning statement.

“We want to move away from the extraction of any fossil fuels in our county. This is about making a statement about the council’s commitment to having an impact on climate change.

“The major impact the council can have on climate change is influencing third parties who we deal with. The council could say it would not support fracking because it goes against our strategy to reduce carbon.”

North Yorkshire transport chief accuses 20mph campaigners of ‘misleading’ tactics

North Yorkshire’s transport chief has accused the 20’s Plenty group of using “misleading” tactics in its pursuit of a new 20mph default speed limit in the county.

20’s Plenty for Us consists of 600 local groups campaigning for a speed limit of 20mph to be normal on residential streets and in town and village centres.

Councillor Keane Duncan said leading members of the group appear “blindly ideological” and are demanding a default 20mph limit be agreed before the council has been able to fully consider key issues such as enforcement, value for money and road safety implications.

Cllr Duncan, who is North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transport, was asked by the council’s executive in November to investigate the approach to 20mph speed limits.

But the Conservative said this detailed work was being undermined by 20’s Plenty campaigners demanding his review be cut short prematurely and for £1m to be agreed as part of this year’s budget to roll-out the new default limit.

He also said 20’s Plenty were “exaggerating” levels of public support, and motions submitted by opposition councillors, such as one considered at the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee calling for a 20mph pilot, were creating confusion due to “unclear” language.

Cllr Duncan said:

“20’s Plenty appear blindly ideological with just one aim and objective – 20mph as the default limit in every town and every village in North Yorkshire.

“This is a one-size-fits-all approach that cannot take into account the diversity of North Yorkshire’s local communities and their wishes.

“Such a radical proposal rightly deserves thorough consideration and public consultation. We do not know the views of the police. We do not know detailed costs. We do not know the road safety implications.”

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Cllr Duncan accused campaigners of “using increasingly ruthless tactics” to get him to cut short his investigation prematurely and award them £1m before it has completed its investigations. He added:

“I am concerned that 20’s Plenty are preying on legitimate public concerns about road safety and presenting a default 20mph as the only possible solution, when improved enforcement and crossing facilities might be preferred in the first instance.

“I am also concerned that 20’s Plenty are misleading the public by exaggerating and misrepresenting the levels of support for their campaign.

“I take my responsibility for road safety in North Yorkshire very seriously. I am appealing for the council to be allowed to come to considered and well thought out conclusions.”

North Yorkshire fire chief admits ‘work to do’ following damning report

The chief fire officer at North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service has admitted there’s “work to do” following the publication of a highly critical report that questioned the service’s ability to respond to fires.

The report was published last week by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and it graded North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service following an inspection last year.

It found the service had deteriorated in most areas since its last full inspection in 2018/19.

The report said the organisation’s overall effectiveness “requires improvement” and more needs to be done to keep people safe and secure.

The inspection found that the number of available fire engines sometimes falls to below minimum levels.

It also said the way the service manages its finances is “inadequate” due to the “fragility” of the budget. It described the overall financial situation as “precarious”.

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While the report was largely critical of the service provided to the public, it did praise the organisation for its fire prevention work and how it responds to major incidents.

Chief fire officer, Jonathan Dyson, responded to the report at a public accountability meeting last week for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

He said progress has been made since the inspection took place and tried to reassure the public that it is able to respond to incidents.

Mr Dyson said: 

“We’ve work to do. There’s a reflection that it’s a bad report but the service has made improvements.

“We have a back to basics approach to ensure we are building an organisation from the foundations up. We provide competent fire fighters and a competent response and we’ll always deliver at incidents whenever the public needs us.”

Mr Dyson was appointed by Conservative Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe in May 2022, which was after the inspection took place.

Commissioner Metcalfe told the meeting:

“I’ve appointed a new senior leadership team and I’ve worked with the chief fire officer to implement a rigorous and ongoing programme of improvement to support this process and I will continue to hold the service to account. I am confident that marked improvements have already been made.

“I would like to thank staff and firefighters who continue to make communities safe and they have my full support to improve the service going forward.”

North Yorkshire’s first ‘knife drop’ bin installed in Harrogate

The first “knife drop bin” to be installed in North Yorkshire has been set up in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Police and Harrogate Borough Council worked together to install the orange bin between Asda car park and Dragon Road car park near to the recycling bins.

The facility is designed for people to dispose safely of knives, blades or sharp tools in a safe, anonymous way.

People wishing to deposit a knife are advised to wrap the blade in either thick paper or cardboard and secure with tape as a safety precaution. Once secure, take the knife directly to the bin location and deposit it safely by dropping it through the hatch.

Nicola Colboure, North Yorkshire Police inspector in Harrogate, said:

“While knife crime in North Yorkshire is very low compared to many surrounding areas, we do see the awful injuries knives and other bladed items can inflict if they fall into the wrong hands.

“This is an excellent way to ensure they’re permanently taken out of circulation, which in turn helps us ensure North Yorkshire remains officially England’s safest county.”

The force said the purpose of the bin is to give reassurance to the public that knives are disposed of, but also to reduce knife crime and violence.

A police press release said those who use the knife bin for its intended purpose of disposing of weapons will be granted amnesty to do so and will therefore not face prosecution for disposing of their knives.

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It added:

“Discarding knives by handing them directly into police stations can be a daunting prospect, which is why introducing this simple and discrete method of disposal will hopefully encourage people to utilise the knife drop bin, particularly when coming across old surplus kitchen knives or sharp work tools such as Stanley knives.

“Under the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 it is now also illegal to possess certain weapons in private places. Items that could have previously been considered as decorative, collectable or antique pieces are now unlawful to own and you will face prosecution if weapons such as samurai swords, shurikens and flick knives are found in your home.

“Many of these weapons are held in innocence or lack of knowledge of their illegality. We therefore want to urge those in possession of such items to take advantage of the knife drop bin.”

Explained: North Yorkshire Council’s plan for council tax

North Yorkshire Council looks set to propose a council tax hike as part of its first budget.

The authority, which will take over Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, is set to recommend a bill of £1,759.96.

However, the total bill will also include precepts for fire and police services which will be decided next month.

Here is all you need to know about your council tax this coming year.

What will my council tax be?

For 2023/24, taxpayers will no longer pay council tax to Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council.

Instead, tax will be paid solely to the new North Yorkshire Council.

As part of its first budget, authority officials are proposing a band D rate of £1,759.96 for the year – an increase on last year by 4.99%.

That does not include the precepts for fire, police and parish councils which will be decided separately by those organisations.

Why has the council chosen to increase council tax?

The council is proposing the sum in order to meet costs for providing public services across the county.

It has also decided that council tax rates will be harmonised for the next two years – meaning taxpayers will pay the same sum across the county.

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The council has calculated that council tax for the average band D property in Harrogate would normally be valued at £1,783.35.

But, the harmonised average for the county – which includes a 4.99% hike – will be set at £1,759.96.

The council also says it has to make income in order to tackle a £30 million blackhole caused by inflation and spiralling costs.

What has the council said about the proposal?

Despite an increase in funding from the government, the new authority is set to start the next financial year from April with a predicted shortfall of more than £30 million in its budget.

The council is set to receive an additional £22 million from government as part of the announcement.

However, soaring inflation and the impact of the covid pandemic is still set to leave a blackhole in the authority’s finances.

A council press release said the shortfall would be met “by the one-off use of reserves as well as some savings”.

Senior councillors will meet to discuss the council’s first budget, including council tax, on January 24.

Conservative Cllr Carl Les, who will assume the leadership of North Yorkshire Council from April, said: 

“We are facing the greatest ever financial challenges in North Yorkshire, which means we have a huge task in ensuring that services can be delivered effectively and efficiently for the public.

“However, without the opportunities presented with the launch of the new council, the situation would be a great deal worse, and it is vital that we take full advantage of these opportunities.

“We have the chance to make millions of pounds in savings by reorganising the way services are delivered, meaning that we get the most out of every pound of taxpayers’ money in North Yorkshire.”

North Yorkshire councillors claim 50% pay rise is too little

North Yorkshire County Council has been warned it will become more unrepresentative of its population unless it pays more to councillors.

Opposition parties have claimed elected members of the incoming North Yorkshire Council face being paid less than the minimum wage after a proposal to limit their basic annual allowances to £15,500 was revealed.

They argue it will mean only those with significant income streams will be able to be councillors.

The allowance level put forward by an independent panel would mean nationally, among comparative councils, only councillors serving Leeds would be paid more than those in North Yorkshire.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive on Tuesday will hear the proposed allowance for the 90 members of its successor, North Yorkshire Council, from April represents a £5,184 increase on allowances paid last year to county councillors.

The creation of the unitary council will mean the end of allowances being paid to hundreds of district and borough councillors, so while some district councillors elected to the new authority may see a slight overall rise in pay, others will see their council work income drop.

However, the independent panel making the recommendation said with the abolition of district and borough councils and the number of county councillors reducing from 319 to 90 for the new unitary authority would mean a significant increase in workload.

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If the proposals are accepted it will mean a net saving to the public purse in North Yorkshire of £707,633.

Under the proposals, special responsibility allowances would be at least four per cent higher than the current county council allowances, depending on the role.

The chair of the panel, John Thompson, said: 

“Councillors volunteer for their roles. They are not employees and are not paid at a commercial rate for their time. However, the allowances should not be set at a level which acts as a disincentive to conscientious performance of duties, or which does not reflect the considerable time commitment required for the role.

“When considering the appropriate level for the allowances, it is also important to take into account the need to continue to attract the required calibre of candidate from a diverse range of backgrounds, to stand and serve as a councillor.”

The authority’s Conservative leader, Cllr Carl Les, said it was important allowances were set at a level which would not prevent anyone from standing to represent their community, regardless of their age, personal circumstances and whether they are in work.

He said: 

“It will be a matter for each councillor to decide, at the full council meeting in February, whether to take all, some or none of the proposed allowances.”

Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the Independents group on the authority, said many elected members were already coming to the conclusion it was not worth taking a day off work to attend council meetings, which are all held during the day.

He said: 

“The job is becoming even more full-time than it was and that £15,500 is supposed to compensate you for the time and energy you are putting in.

“They are certainly not going out of their way to encourage people from diverse backgrounds to participate. What they are hoping for is more grey-haired, retired Tories who use this as a plus on their pensions.”

Leader of the Green Party group, Cllr Andy Brown, said attending council meetings in Northallerton from his Airedale division typically took about six hours each, and that was before reading reports, going on site visits and helping his residents.

He said:

“We have been campaigning for proper pay for councillors since the days of the Chartists. It’s far better to have honest councillors who are focused on doing the job than echo what happens in parliament where people take second jobs to improve their standard of living.

“It should be something that it is possible to do mid-career and have an average standard of living.”

New taxi fares for North Yorkshire revealed

All hackney carriage vehicles in North Yorkshire look set to be allowed to charge a maximum of £7.40 for a standard two-mile journey.

Currently Harrogate Borough Council and the other six district councils in the county set their own fares for hackney carriages.

But the new North Yorkshire Council, which will become the sole licensing authority on April 1, will align the maximum fares when senior councillors meet next week. A report to the councillors is here.

The proposed new county-wide fare structure is based on what customers currently pay in both Harrogate and Selby districts.

Out of 350 local authorities Harrogate and Selby currently stand at number 76 in the national hackney carriage fare table — meaning the taxis will be more expensive than in almost 80% of other places.

Under the proposed tariff, a two-mile journey within North Yorkshire would cost a maximum of £7.40 between 6am and midnight. The price will go up after midnight and at Christmas and new year.

A maximum soiling charge of £100 – should a vehicle need to be cleaned – has also been set to align with the current charges in Richmondshire, Craven and Ryedale. The rate in the Harrogate district is currently £80.

Cllr Derek Bastiman

Cllr Derek Bastiman

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for open to business, Cllr Derek Bastiman, said:

“We need to ensure all businesses, residents and visitors across North Yorkshire are subject to the same maximum fare, regardless of where they live, work or visit.

“The setting of taxi fares is a statutory duty for the licensing authority and our aim is to strike a balance between setting a fare that is acceptable to the customer and to the taxi driver, and not create confusion by varied fares in the licensed area.

“The proposed fares are the maximum hackney carriage drivers can charge. They can, of course, charge a lower fare, should they wish to do so.”

If approved by North Yorkshire County Council’s executive on Tuesday next week, the proposed fares will be subject to a statutory 14-day consultation period.

Once a tariff of fares has been set, a driver cannot charge more to passengers than the charge shown on the meter apart from in certain exceptional circumstance, such as where a journey ends outside of the council area and a fee has been agreed in advance.

Private hire vehicles set their own fares and cannot be regulated by the licensing authority, so customers should agree the fare before the journey commences.

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More than half of violent crime in North Yorkshire is against females

More than half of recorded violent crimes in North Yorkshire and York are against women and girls, it was revealed today.

North Yorkshire Police chief constable Lisa Winward told a meeting the under-reporting of such offences meant the known incidents were “just the tip of the iceberg”.

Ms Winward told the area’s police, fire and crime panel watchdog the force was aiming to expose what has been a hidden crime by talking with victims even if they do not wish to report an offence.

Chief constable Winward, who has led the force since 2018, was speaking following a report by police, fire and crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe about the force’s progress against its strategy for addressing violence against women and girls, particularly in the wake of the murder of York woman Sarah Everard.

Last October, a year on from her predecessor Philip Allott being forced to resign after saying women needed to be more streetwise, the commissioner outlined various initiatives launched to improve women’s safety and ensure that they are listened to.

Ms Metcalfe told the panel a new victims’ centre was being developed on the outskirts of York to house North Yorkshire’s sexual assault referral centre and child sexual assault assessment services alongside a video-recorded interview suite for victims.

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However, members of the panel said without details about the scale of the violence against females it was impossible to assess the actions of the commissioner in holding the force to account.

Speaking on behalf of the commissioner, her office’s chief executive Simon Dennis said in York 2021/22 there had been 5,615 violent crimes, of which 52 per cent were linked to a female victim and 34 per cent were marked as domestic abuse.

He said the statistics for North Yorkshire were almost exactly the same.

Mr Dennis said a full picture of the scale of violence against women and girls was difficult to outline due to under-reporting, which was a known issue being addressed by public sector organisations across North Yorkshire and York.

Lisa Winward

Chief constable Lisa Winward

Chief constable Winward added:

“This is a hidden crime across society, nationally and in North Yorkshire, predominantly in domestic settings we find a significant amount of under-reporting because of the fear of police involvement, the fear of reprisals on the victims and this is why we are very closely linked to the national agenda violence against women and girls agenda.

“I think it is the tip of the iceberg, the figures that we have talked about. I think it is about engaging with the victims, sometimes privately, even though they might not want to publicly report or speak about it, so we can get to the root cause of the problem.”

After the meeting, the panel’s chairman, Cllr Carl Les, said despite evidence of improvements in the police response to violence against women and girls the panel would continue monitoring the force’s progress in “ensuring that they are doing what is right for the female members of our community in particular”. He added:

“Clearly this is still a matter of interest and of great concern.

“I think Commissioner Metcalfe has made some good advances on this, but as the chief constable said it’s almost like the tip of an iceberg. Police are now starting to understand more about the problem and therefore they’re putting some mitigating actions into place.”