Public participation will not be allowed at North Yorkshire’s budget meetings as part of a series of changes to the council’s constitution.
The Conservative-run council, launched as a unitary in April 2023, will have its first dedicated budget meeting next year after this year’s budget was approved at a quarterly full council meeting that lasted eight hours.
Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred said it was ‘perverse’ to ban residents’ questions from a discussion about how their ‘hard-earned money’ would be spent.
Other amendments agreed by the council last week included a ban on more than one question being asked about a single issue within six months.
Cllr Aldred said this rule was ‘evidence of a continued and targeted erosion of the democratic process’, citing a decision last year to limit questions to the council leader and executive.
He also argued that there should be more than four full council meetings a year – a model inherited from North Yorkshire County Council – since the eight councils that were replaced by the new unitary would have each met several times a year.
At full council meetings, the chair of the council will now be able to refuse questions and statements or refer them to other committees.
The Labour group is not happy with the changes, according to group leader Steve Shaw-Wright, who said there should be more opportunity for public involvement.
