North Yorkshire County Council
North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) was the county council governing the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, an area composing most of North Yorkshire in England, until 31 March 2023. From May 2022 the council consisted of 90 councillors. It was controlled by the Conservative Party. The headquarters of the council was county hall in Northallerton.
North Yorkshire County Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Chair of the Council | David Ireton (acting), Conservative since 18 May 2022 |
Leader of the Council | Carl Les, Conservative since 20 May 2015 |
Chief executive | Richard Flinton since 12 May 2010 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 90 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 1 year |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | none |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| County Hall Northallerton North Yorkshire | |
In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the non-metropolitan county would be reorganised into a unitary authority. On 31 March 2023 the county council was abolished and its functions transferred to a new authority, North Yorkshire Council.[2]
History
The council was formed in 1974 when North Riding County Council was abolished.[3] The council occupied County Hall at Northallerton.[4] As a County Council, it was a "top-tier" system that had the responsibility for social care, education and roads. Until 31 March 2023 other functions were the responsibility of seven district councils.[5]
Governance
Until May 2022 the Council was composed of 72 councillors. Elections were held every four years, except in 2021. The 2017 election returned an increased Conservative majority, with the Conservative Party holding 55 seats. Independent candidates saw an increase to 10 seats, with the Liberal Democrats and Labour seeing large reductions in their seat counts. UKIP and the Liberal Party both lost their representation on the council, with the Liberal Party incumbent in Pickering losing by just 2 votes.
Across the 2017–2022 period of governance, the Conservative Party saw a net loss of 4 seats, and their governing majority was 30 by 2022.[6]
The number of councillors was increased to 90 in 2022, and the last election was held in May 2022. The 2022 election returned a much reduced Conservative majority, with the Conservative Party holding 47 seats. Independent candidates saw an increase to 13 seats and the Liberal Democrats and Labour increased their seats to 12 each. The Greens won representation with 5 seats and the Liberal Party regained its representation on the council with 1 seat.
After the May 2022 election the Conservative Party lost 1 seat to the Liberal Democrats, reducing the Conservatives' overall majority to 2 seats.[7]
Executive
North Yorkshire County Council's executive was composed of nine Conservative councillors and the Conservative Leader of the council. The Executive made most decisions, except for decisions about the budget and major policy framework, which were made by the full council.[8]
| Title | Councillor |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Council | Carl Les |
| Deputy leader of the council | Gareth Dadd |
| Children's services | Janet Sanderson |
| Education and skills | Annabel Wilkinson |
| Stronger communities | David Chance |
| Health and adult services | Michael Harrison |
| Open to business | Derek Bastiman |
| Climate change and customer engagement | Greg White |
| Highways and transportation | Keane Duncan |
| Planning for Growth | Simon Myers |
Districts
Until 31 March 2023 the seven district councils in North Yorkshire county council area were:
These district councils were responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.
The functions of the district councils were transferred to the new North Yorkshire Council on 1 April 2023.
Political control
Political control of the non-metropolitan county was held by the following groups:[9]
| Election | Party | |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Conservative | |
| 1977 | ||
| 1981 | ||
| 1985 | ||
| 1989 | ||
| 1993 | No overall control | |
| 1997 | ||
| 2001 | Conservative | |
| 2005 | ||
| 2009 | ||
| 2013 | ||
| 2017 | ||
| 2022 | ||
The last elections to the county council took place on 5 May 2022. On 17 March 2022 the government legislated to increase the number of councillors from 72 to 90 and to reorganise the electoral divisions.[10] The councillors elected will serve until May 2027, one year as county councillors for the existing North Yorkshire County Council and another four years as councillors for the new unitary North Yorkshire Council when it began in April 2023.[11]
References
- "Political make up of the council". North Yorkshire County Council. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- "Next steps for new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset". GOV.UK. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- Brown, Jonathan (27 May 2014). "Spinning Yarm: The referendum hoping to bring this picturesque". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- Chrystal, Paul; Sunderland, Mark (2010). Northallerton through time. Stroud: Amberley. p. 18. ISBN 9781848681811.
- "North Yorkshire County Council - Latest news updates, pictures, video, reaction - Teesside Live". www.gazettelive.co.uk. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- "Your Councillors by Party". northyorks.gov. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- "By-elections". northyorks.gov. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- "Committee membership". North Yorkshire County Council. North Yorkshire County Council. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- "Election 2009 | North Yorkshire council". BBC News. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- "The North Yorkshire (Structural Changes) Order 2022". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- "The new council". North Yorkshire County Council. 26 October 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2022.