Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, asked Boris Johnson whether the Sue Gray report will be published in full during a heated debate in Parliament today.

Mr Jones asked a question after the Prime Minister’s statement on the report this afternoon.

The report lists 16 gatherings over a 20-month period. Of those, four did not reach the threshold for the police to investigate.

Mr Jones — sitting next to former Prime Minister Theresa May — asked:

“The update that we have from Sue Gray is, as she says herself, extremely limited.

“So will (Boris Johnson) confirm that at the earliest opportunity he will have the report published in full?”

Mr Johnson did not commit to that request. He replied:

“What we will do is wait until the police have concluded their enquiries and then see what more we can publish. That is what we are going to do.”

Read more:

• MPs watch: Hedgehogs and Downing Street parties
• Could Harrogate be the home of the new North Yorkshire Council?
• Harrogate MP says ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’

The Stray Ferret asked all three Harrogate district MPs, which besides Mr Jones include Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith and Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams for their reaction to Sue Gray’s report and whether they would call on the PM to resign.

None replied by the time of publication.

You can read the report here. Ms Gray concluded:

“The whole of the country rose to the challenge. Ministers, special advisers and the Civil Service, of which I am proud to be a part, were a key and dedicated part of that national effort.

“However, as I have noted, a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did.

“There is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across government.”

The PM said today he is making changes to how Downing Street and the Cabinet Office is run so they can get on with the job of government. He said:

“I get it and I will fix it.”

North Yorkshire County Council could dip into its reserves to balance its books in the next financial year.

Ahead of a budget meeting next week, senior county councillors have warned that the council may have to use up to £11 million of its reserves — despite hiking council tax rate.

The authority currently has £271 million in reserves, much of which is earmarked for capital projects and other costs, such as £31 million to fund the transition to the upcoming new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, said the authority still faced risks over the ongoing impact of covid and social care.

He said:

“We are facing an unprecedented range of risks – the continuing impact of covid, harsh winters and climate change, the need for interventions to prop up social care, the escalating costs of transport for special educational needs students, to name but a few.

“These pressures are such that given the need to continue to deliver key services at a time of rising demand and the need to successfully transition to a new council, our final budget will require a higher degree of support from reserves than would otherwise be the case or is desirable.”

County councillors will meet next week to decide whether to support proposals for its budget for 2022/23.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire County Council waves red flag over finances
• What will devolution mean for major council projects in Harrogate?
• In depth: Why Harrogate district residents can expect council tax rises

Among the plans will be an increase in council tax. The county council has the power to hike its rate by as much as 4.5%.

Depending on the level of council tax set, the county council will have to use between £6 million and £11 million of its reserves.

The authority has also warned it will still face a black hole of at least £30 million in three years, even if it levies the maximum permitted council tax rise this year.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, deputy leader and executive member for finance, said: 

“These continue to be turbulent times. We are responding to increased pressures that the pandemic has placed on our communities and the county’s economy.

“At the same time, long-term challenges grow, for example the massive pressures in social care. This means we face further tough choices as we budget for the future.”

The staffing of council services in Harrogate has been raised as a key concern as budget proposals including a 1.99% tax increase move a step forward.

Members of Harrogate Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny commission yesterday quizzed senior officials over their spending plans for 2022/23, which will be the council’s final full year before it is replaced with a new unitary authority covering the whole of North Yorkshire.

Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred, chair of the overview and scrutiny commission, said staffing would be a “big challenge” during the year as some workers worried about job security look to leave local government.

“It is really important that we hang onto the good staff we have.

“As we move closer to 1 April 2023 when our beloved Harrogate Borough Council will cease to exist, staff are going to be looking elsewhere for a guaranteed job.

“I know the new North Yorkshire Council isn’t going to get rid of people just like that, but everybody is looking for job security.”

Yesterday’s meeting heard complaints over areas including street cleaning and planning as committee members questioned how staff would keep services running until the council is abolished.

This follows the end of a recruitment freeze last August when the council restarted hiring after more than a year of trying to keep costs down during the pandemic.

Read more:

• Downing Street parties: Harrogate MP says ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’
• Harrogate can be economic driver for North Yorkshire after devolution, says council chief

Covid has been named as a reason for the proposed 1.99% tax rise, as well as years of government cuts which have seen the council’s grant allocations reduced by £8.2m since 2010.

If approved next month, the tax rise will equate to an extra £5 for the average Band D property which will pay £255.92 a year to the council.

Harrogate Borough Council makes up just under 13% of council tax bills, while North Yorkshire County Council makes up 70% and police and fire services the remainder.

Parish councils also make up a small proportion of bills.

The county council has yet to reveal its budget proposals, while the new North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe has outlined a budget based on a £10 increase for average households.

After rises were agreed last year, average bills in the Harrogate district rose above £2,000 for the first time.

Frontline services remain ‘a priority’

Despite the funding challenges and covid impacts, Conservative councillor Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said major projects and frontline services would remain a priority ahead of the authority being abolished. He said:

“This budget is not part of a lull, hiatus or winding down.

“The strategy is to ‘bake in’ projects and initiatives that we want to see carried forward for the good of residents.”

Councillor Cooper, who will stand down after 24 years of service in 2023, added:

“We have young and senior talent all around this council and we will want to see those people represented at a very high level on the new authority.

“The proposal for a 1.99% council tax increase is way below the rate of inflation and is possible because of work over many years to reduce our cost base and make the best use of our assets.

“This is a budget that is a record of success that we are able to take forward into what is the final full year of Harrogate Borough Council.”

Harrogate MP Andrew Jones has told a constituent that “lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers” after Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted attending a party during the first coronavirus lockdown.

In the letter to a constituent, who shared the contents with the Stray Ferret but did not want to be named, Mr Jones said he had received a lot of letters and emails about the issue.

The Stray Ferret has asked Mr Jones multiple times for his response to reports of the Downing Street parties since the story broke in December. He has never responded.

The Conservative backbencher called in Parliament for Sue Gray to complete her investigation and share the results as soon as possible. But this is the first time he has criticised Boris Johnson’s handling of the matter.

Read more:

• Ripon orchestra tunes up for first concert of the year
• Gino D’Acampo restaurant in Harrogate set to close
• Harrogate man forced to miss funerals hits out at Downing Street parties

He said in his letter:

“I followed coronavirus restrictions. I take the maxim ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’ seriously.

“Like most I could not see my family, I could not meet with colleagues and I most certainly could not socialise with friends.

“My office team were all working from home and there was no mixing between us at all during work, let alone after work with alcohol.

“It is therefore frustrating to have been put in a position of waiting for the Prime Minister to account for exactly what occurred.”

Mr Jones said he could not understand “why it took so long and was so difficult to answer the direct question: ‘Were you at an event on such-and-such a date?'”

However, he said he felt the Prime Minister’s statement on the May 20 party was “clear”. But, he goes on to add:

“His [The Prime Minister’s] apology was necessary and welcome, but I do not think this closes the matter. There are many more questions, some as a consequence of his statement.

“In respect of the investigation announced by the Prime Minister in December, if this finds wrongdoing, and the police find that these actions were criminal, then consequences must flow from that.”

Mr Jones also added that he has discussed the matter with the party whips and the chair of the government’s backbench committee, also known as the 1922 Committee.

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

New Tesco would be ‘horrendous’ for nearby residents

Proud to be Harrogate, not London

I note that a new fitness studio wants it to bring ‘a London feel’ to Harrogate and recall that the restaurants associated with The Everyman Cinema was also intended to be ‘London-centric’, whatever that means.

Can someone enlighten me regarding this strange desire to be like London when Harrogate, and indeed Yorkshire as a whole, has so much distinctive to offer? It seems to me that this desire to be like London is a strange business proposition. Of course I wish all the local businesses concerned well, despite my feelings about their PR.

Tim Hurren, Harrogate

Speed limits should be reduced

I read your article about North Yorkshire County Council refusing a blanket introduction of a 20mph speed limit in built-up areas.

The council’s executive member for access, Cllr Don Mackenzie, said the county’s roads were becoming safer and safer, and 20mph zones should only be created on a case-by-case basis.

I have tried for years to get the speed limits reduced. I believe Councillor Mackenzie does not listen to anyone — where does he get his information from on safer roads? Cars around Harrogate are now more powerful and speeding is paramount throughout the town and on country roads. When is someone going to challenge this man and when will he listen?

Mike Fisher, Cornwall Road, Harrogate

Read more:

• Gas supplier objects to Tesco plans in Harrogate
• Inquiry reveals Harrogate Nightingale cost £31.6 million

Harrogate district residents should brace themselves for another increase in their council tax bills this year.

As local authorities begin to unveil their budget plans, a hike in rates is one of the measures they will take.

Council tax bills are made by adding up the precepts charged by North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and parish councils.

Harrogate Borough Council has already announced a proposed £5 increase and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has suggested bills could go up as far as £10 for the police force.

A closer look at the detail gives a glimpse into why those authorities are hiking rates.

How much will my bill go up by?

So far, the only authority which has shown its full hand on council tax is Harrogate Borough Council.

Senior councillors at Harrogate council have backed a £5 increase – which would amount to £255.92 for a band D property.

A final decision on the increase will be made in February.

North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner have yet to confirm their proposals — but have suggested what the rate could be.

North Yorkshire’s police commissioner gave a North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel a presentation on Thursday which outlined a budget based on a £10 increase.

• Council warns of ‘enormous financial pressures’ despite government funding
• Harrogate council bosses warn tax rise needed to balance books
• ‘God help us!’ — fears over need for £31m to fund North Yorks fire service

This would see the police precept on council tax bills increase to £281.06 and give the force an additional £3 million in income.

However, the fire service will only be able to hike its share by 1.99%. This would see the rate charged for fire services rise to £1.46 per week.

North Yorkshire County Council, which makes up the majority of residents’ council tax bills, has yet to suggest an increase.

But it does have the power to hike its share by as much as 4.5%.

Should senior county councillors support such an increase, this would see its share rise from £1,411 for a band D property to £1,474.

Why is my bill going up?

Nearly two years of covid and more than a decade of government cuts has had a drastic affect on local authority finances.

Coronavirus has left both North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council with financial blackholes to fill.

Last month, Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, warned that the authority will have to find £19 million in savings this coming year.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council. Picture: North Yorkshire County Council.

A government settlement of £26 million will not be enough for the authority to balance its books in 2022/23.

However, Cllr Les did acknowledge that the council tax system needed to be reformed.

He said:

“We continue to feel that residents in North Yorkshire pay too much council tax, particularly in comparison to London, and urge the government to press on with funding reform to create a fairer solution for rural counties.”

Similarly, Paul Foster, head of finance at Harrogate Borough Council, told senior councillors that its finances were not expected to reach pre-pandemic levels until at least 2023/24.

He said the council was predicting a reduction in income for the next financial year of £150,000.

Mr Foster also said government grant allocations had been reduced by £8.2 million since 2010 and that the council would have to dip into its reserves to fund some major projects.

Michael Porter, director of finance at North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s office, setting out the bleak financial picture for the fire service earlier this week.

Fire service hit hardest

But perhaps the authority feeling the affects of both covid and cuts most acutely is North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.

On Thursday, the Stray Ferret reported that the service has had its capital grant abolished by the government, which means it could have to borrow up to £31 million to fund upkeep of stations and fire kit for crews.

In addition to this, the service is currently running a deficit of £1 million and cannot increase its share of council tax by more than 1.99%.

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe, described the precept cap set by government as “very unfair” and pledged to continue lobbying ministers for fairer funding.

To illustrate just how bleak the financial situation is, Martin Walker, a former judge and co-opted member of North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel, said he was “horrified” by it.

He told Michael Porter, director of finance at the commissioner’s office, on Thursday:

“I have to say that I’m horrified, if that’s not too strong a word, about where the fire service is going to be.

“It’s in desperate need of capital injection and renewing stations, renewing fire engines and renewing all sorts of infrastructure.

“You’re talking about borrowing and having to borrow £30 million. I hesitate to say this, but god help us. 

“The fire service is fighting so hard to provide the service that the public need and yet you’re telling us as a panel that it’s going to get worse, then it will get worse and after that it will get worse.”

What happens now?

Council officials, including the county council and commissioner’s office, will set out their plans for council tax this month.

After that, councillors will vote on the proposals.

All of the public bodies which set council tax rates will confirm their budgets in February.

From there, residents across the Harrogate district will receive their bill for the next financial year in April. The only certainty is that they will go up again.

A Harrogate man who could only watch the funerals of his friends online has hit out at Prime Minister Boris Johnson over reports he attended a party around the same time.

Patrick Milne could not attend the funeral of a friend’s child who died with cancer at a young age or a colleague who died from an accident at home during the initial lockdown in 2020.

The UK was under strict rules at the time. People could only meet in pairs outdoors and had to stay two metres apart.

Around that time, according to a report from ITV News, the PM’s Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds sent out an invitation for drinks in the Number 10 garden to more than a hundred employees.

The PM Boris Johnson allegedly attended that party along with his wife Carrie Johnson.

There has been considerable coverage of the issue since the Daily Mirror claimed on November 30 that the PM and his staff broke coronavirus rules by attending parties at Number 10 in the run-up to Christmas in 2020.

Read more:

• Andrew Jones MP tells constituent that clarity is needed on No 10 party
• Ballot could decide whether to set up Harrogate town council

Mr Milne told the Stray Ferret:

“The numbers of people who could attend funerals were severely limited so only close family could attend. They also had to be completed in around 15 minutes.

“So it was just too much to see more evidence of these parties at Downing Street. It is even more difficult to listen to the tsunami of lies from Boris Johnson and the cabinet.

“People are angry because it is clear there was one rule for them and no rules for those in power. It’s painful to see.”

He also sent his concerns to Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones and urged him to speak out on the matter. Mr Jones has not yet responded to Mr Milne or a request for comment by the Stray Ferret.

Mr Jones said in early December that clarity was needed and called for the official report to be published as soon as possible.

Update: During an emergency debate in Parliament today, Mr Jones asked paymaster general Michael Ellis for a specific date as to when the report will be published. He was only told that it would be a “swift” investigation.

In this article, which is part of a series on the 15 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2021, we look at the resignation and subsequent fallout of former North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Philip Allott.

The spotlight shone more intensely than ever in 2021 on one of the district’s lesser known political positions.

Elections for North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner are characterised by low turnout, with many voters questioning the value of the role.

The commissioner is paid £74,000 to hold the county’s chief constable and chief fire officer to account, and receives a budget of £1.1 million. But the level of scrutiny towards the role elevated dramatically this year.

It all started routinely enough when Knaresborough man Philip Allott was elected to succeed fellow Conservative Julia Mulligan in May.

Mr Allott made an energetic start, pledging action on issues such as pet theft and antisocial driving. But his downfall would be swift.

In an interview on BBC Radio York in September, he said Sarah Everard, who had been murdered by police officer Wayne Couzens, should not have “submitted” to arrest and that women “need to be streetwise” about arrest powers.

Keir Starmer calls for resignation

Hundreds of complaints were sent to the commissioner’s office, which found itself under more scrutiny than it ever had in its nine-year existence.

On a near daily basis, politicians lined up to condemn Mr Allott, with Labour leader Keir Starmer among those calling for his resignation.

Lucy Arnold, from campaign group Reclaim The Streets, said Mr Allott’s comments were “horrifically offensive”.

Read more:

• Councillors pass ‘no confidence’ vote in police commissioner Philip Allott
• Police commissioner Philip Allott resigns

Mr Allott apologised but resigned days later as the storm continued. The time span from his comments on-air to his stepping down was just 13 days.

Mr Allott acknowledged that his position was untenable because of the confidence he lost from both the public and by his fellow politicians.

Weeks later Zoe Metcalfe, a Conservative councillor on Harrogate Borough Council and of North Yorkshire County Council who lives at Aldborough, was elected as the new commissioner. Turnout was just 14%.

Three Harrogate district green groups have criticised Harrogate Borough Council‘s revised plan to cut carbon emissions in the district, calling it “disappointing” and “vague”.

The council has launched a public consultation on its draft Carbon Reduction Strategy, which will replace the original document that was first published in 2019.

HBC has a goal of 2038 when the Harrogate district will have a net zero-carbon economy. This means the district would put no more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than what it takes out.

As a major landowner and employer in the district, the council says it will be a leader in reducing emissions.

The draft document focuses on eight ‘strategic themes’ including retrofitting council housing in the district, encouraging the take up of electric vehicles and planting trees.

However, according to Zero Carbon Harrogate, Harrogate District Cycle Action and Harrogate & District Green Party, the plan does not go far enough, is light on details and has no clear targets.

ZCH said it had “major concerns” about the document.

It said:

‘We do not consider the current draft statregy to be stringent enough to deliver HBC’s target of making their own operations net zero carbon by 2038, and we have some major concerns about key elements and details that are missing from the strategy. We are concerned that there is a lack of recognition of the scale of change required to reach net zero and consequently a lack of ambition. The strategy is based on the premiss that HBC can achieve the objectives by undertaking actions using a business-as-usual model rather than by setting out Page | 2 the actions needed to reach net zero carbon and showing how these could be achieved over the remaining 17-year timescale.

“We are concerned that there are neither quantifiable actions, nor measurable success criteria included. No targets are set for either HBC or the public to gauge whether the objectives laid out in this strategy are being met.”

Read more:

• Green Shoots: What it’s like to own an electric car in Harrogate
• Green Shoots: The Harrogate wind farm that powers 8,000 homes

Harrogate and District Green Party chair Andy Rickard accused the council of not taking the climate emergency seriously.

He said:

“The council’s draft Carbon Reduction Strategy is its third attempt at responding to the climate emergency and only emphasises that the council does not understand the meaning of the word ‘emergency’ because it has taken four years to come only this far after the first draft was prepared.”

“Planning permission for housing is still being given which approve gas heating. This only adds ‘petrol to the fire’, and a new grand leisure centre project for Knaresborough, which may not be completed for several years, still envisages gas as a main source of heat. These two examples from many recent HBC decisions, exemplify our concern that the word ’emergency’ is not being taken seriously.”

Harrogate District Cycle Action also criticised the document, saying it has “no ambition or rigour”.

“Unfortunately, the strategy gives no evidence that the potential carbon savings of any of the projects mentioned, gives no timescales and no recognition of what projects would have maximum impact and should therefore be prioritised. In addition, there are no specific actions in the document, just vague non-specific actions. Thus, the strategy appears to have no ambition or rigour.”

Have your say

Conservative councillor Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said:

“Climate change and the impact we’re all having on the planet, is at the forefront of people minds and rightly so.

“Our draft carbon reduction strategy has a number of aims and objectives but this can only be achieved by working together.

“I’d urge everyone to share their views on our draft carbon reduction strategy so that we can help deliver net-zero carbon emission by 2038.”

You can share your views on the strategy on the council’s website. The consultation closes on January 2.

Harrogate business groups have described the government’s Plan B coronavirus restrictions as confusing, ahead of tonight’s vote in the House of Commons.

Both Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce and Harrogate Business Improvement District are concerned about the impact the measures would have on businesses.

David Simister, chief executive of the chamber, said:

“To me, Plan B makes no sense whatsoever. Whilst being asked to work from home we can still go to the gym, restaurants, pubs, bars and Christmas parties – all without the need of wearing a mask!

“If businesses do close offices, working from home will have an impact on the economy – public transport, car parks hospitality and retail will all suffer as a result.”

More than 80 Conservative MPs are expected tonight to vote against the measures, which include vaccine passports for large gatherings, compulsory face masks in more settings and the reintroduction of the work from home policy whenever possible.

Harrogate MPs Nigel Adams, Andrew Jones and Julian Smith.

The Stray Ferret contacted Harrogate district Conservative MPs Andrew Jones, Julian Smith and Nigel Adams to ask whether they intended to vote with the government.

However, we did not receive a response by the time of publication. MPs are expected to vote at around 6.30pm.

Read more:

• 77,000 booster vaccines given so far in Harrogate district
• Final full Harrogate council meeting of 2021 cancelled over covid concerns

Harrogate BID manager Matthew Chapman said:

“The message we are consistently promoting is that Harrogate is open for business – and that will continue after tonight’s Commons vote.

“If this confusing message does have an impact on Christmas trade, then I feel the government should be considering financial support to counter this.

“The rail commute into town is certainly quieter than last week, and I know a large number of office levy payers are now working from home, which will have an impact on the economy.

“However, with covid measures still in place in many businesses, I’m not sure how many employees will work from home.

“Whilst it looks likely the government will have a majority, covid passports and lateral flow tests to visit nightclubs and indoor venues will prove problematic, as who’s going to police it? I hope that people can continue to be kind and considerate to those who are working so hard in these sectors.”