A VIGOROUS campaign is being mounted in order to preserve the services provided by North Yorkshire County Council.

And local people will be asked whether they are prepared to pay up to 7.5 per cent more council tax in order to maintain the kind of services which the county authority has built up over the years.

Councillors are also planning a cross-party lobby of Government ministers to press their case for a substantial increase in North Yorkshire's budget.

Members of the authority's corporate policy committee were told on Tuesday that they were facing a number of difficult decisions before agreeing the council tax rise for 1999/2000.

John Prescott, Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions, has said that in the next financial year, North Yorkshire County Council can spend £370 million. But councillors were told that it was at least £5 million less than expected.

A major problem facing North Yorkshire is that the predicted figure for social services has been reduced by £3 million due to changes in the formula used by the Government.

John Ransford, chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, said: "Even allowing for a modest rise in council tax, councillors will still face some very difficult decisions on where the money should be spent.

"These options will have a direct impact on local communities, including possible reductions in school budgets, home care services for vulnerable people, and maintenance of roads.

"The settlement announced by Mr Prescott is a very difficult one for North Yorkshire County Council, despite the apparent increase in spending for education which does not cover requirements.

"If social services have to make cuts of £3 million that will have a devastating effect on front-line services.

"Despite many increases in efficiency, the county council has consistently delivered quality services, at low cost, to all sections of the community.

"We believe we are being penalised for low spending policies in the past. Councillors are now faced with the very unpalatable choice of reducing services while increasing charges to the local taxpayer."

The county council intends to lobby Local Government minister Hilary Armstrong about the unexpectedly low settlement proposals for social services.

She has agreed to meet a delegation, headed by County Coun Shelagh Marshall, who chairs the social services committee, on January 12.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.