PLANS to introduce a monthly county council newspaper have been questioned by Liberal Democrat councillors.

The authority's executive committee approved proposals for the publication last week.

They resolved that the newspaper should be introduced from September. The 20-page paper would be circulated to 300,000 households in North Yorkshire every month.

They also resolved that Conservative councillors Carl Les and Chris Metcalfe should serve on its editorial board, which would be chaired by chief executive, John Marsden.

A group of ten Liberal Democrat councillors have now called in the decision. They claim a number of important issues have not yet been properly resolved and the composition of the editorial board is not politically balanced.

The council's communications services overview and scrutiny committee will discuss the matter on Thursday.

The committee can either support the decision, or refer the matter back to the executive.

Printing costs could run to either £486,000 or £606,000 a year, depending on the quality of paper used, while potential income from advertising would be £591,000.