North Yorkshire County Council is continuing to plan on the basis that it will have to find savings of some £69m over the next four years, following today’s announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Comprehensive Spending Review.

While the Review does not provide local authorities with precise details of the funding they can expect from central Government, it does give an early indication of the likely level of challenge that councils will face across the country.

“The precise settlement will not be known until early December, but today’s statements provide better information to help our planning, so that we are better placed to cope with the cuts,” said Richard Flinton, Chief Executive.

The Council has already announced a number of budgetary measures to reduce spending. They include: cutting the number of managers and non-frontline staff reviewing public transport subsidies for evening and Sunday bus services removing subsidies for outdoor education and the school music service changing the way in which highways repairs are carried out to achieve economies of scale (although this may sometimes create delays) calling for a pay freeze for staff for a second year in succession removing the subsidy for meals on wheels, while ensuring that safe arrangements are still in place to protect those most at need.

Further cost-cutting measures are being considered, in the areas of adult social care, children and young people, highways and transportation, library services and waste management.

“Savings of the scale required can only be achieved by fundamentally reviewing everything we do,” said Mr Flinton.

“North Yorkshire is a low spending and low taxing council which has made £60m of savings over the past five years, which leaves us with reduced scope for making savings through efficiency.

“We will continue to make savings in management, administration, better contracts and so on, but the level of cuts in grants indicated by today’s announcement means that it simply will not be possible to protect all front-line services.”