ACTIONS to ensure that decisions taken by the new North Yorkshire Council are efficient, transparent and accountable to local people are to be considered by senior councillors.

A draft constitution for the new authority, which will launch on April 1, will be considered by North Yorkshire County Council’s (NYCC) executive on January 17.

Among provisions in the draft is a structure of overview and scrutiny committees that would independently monitor decisions made by the executive and ensure accountability.

Scrutiny committees can check recent decisions, advise on development of policy and review services’ performance, as well as hold the executive to account.

READ NEXT: Cyber attack at academy chain with schools in York, Selby and Scarborough

Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “Scrutiny exists within the current councils, but the creation of the new council will see a wider range of services being delivered by a single authority, from housing to environmental health and leisure to waste.

“For that reason, the proposals in the draft constitution are designed to set up a system to scrutinise council decisions with the flexibility to fit this wider remit.

“It is essential that North Yorkshire’s residents and businesses can have confidence in the transparency and accountability of the new council. That is what these robust scrutiny proposals set out to achieve.”