A FORMER Ryedale councillor has said local government reform has 'attacked' democracy and community engagement.

Liberal Democrat councillor Steve Mason, who now represents Amotherby & Ampleforth division on North Yorkshire Council, said the proposals to ban questions from residents unless they attended daytime meetings, which are all held during conventional working hours.

Cllr Mason said the proposals, which are to be put before a full meeting of the authority next month, were “deeply concerning”.

He said: “Over the past two years we have seen democracy and community engagement attacked and blocked again and again with local government reform.

“There is a growing mistrust of underhand tactics which undermine basic British democratic values. Opposition councillors have already been censored, now they are going after the public rights as well.”

Earlier this month a cross-party group of elected members put forward the proposal to stop resident who cannot attend their weekday daytime committee meetings from having their questions about key publicly-funded services read out.

The cross-party group of councillors had considered whether the discretion of the meeting’s chair to allow questions to be read out in the questioner’s absence should be removed.

The group has proposed that unless there was an exceptional reason, such as a disability, any member of the public wishing to ask a question should attend the meeting or send a representative to do so.

Failure to do so would mean the question not being read at the meeting, however a written response from council officers would be provided.

The proposals, to be put before a full meeting of the authority next month, follows criticism that reducing the number of councillors in the county from more than 319 to 90 in forming the unitary council had produced “a democratic deficit” for communities across England’s largest county.

North Yorkshire Council’s leader Councillor Carl Les said the move was designed to prevent council meetings becoming overwhelmed with questions, impeding debates and council business on the agendas.

"What we are doing is acting what the cross-party group has spent some time talking through and coming up with a majority, if not unanimous view.

Coun Les said: “Certainly we are not against members of the public speaking at committees.”

Independent group leader on the authority, Councillor Stuart Parsons added: “This is yet another attempt to stifle democracy and limit legitimate scrutiny at North Yorkshire Council.

“It also show that the Conservatives have failed to understand that people have busy lives and are not always available at 10am. Perhaps if North Yorkshire Council held its’ meeting at times suitable for the public then more people would be able to attend.”