Taxpayers in North Yorkshire are being given some of the best value for money in England as independent research has placed the delivery of council services in the county as among the best performing nationally.

The analysis which has been published today (Thursday, February 5) has ranked North Yorkshire Council as the third most productive local authority in the country in the IMPOWER Index.

The council is the best performing in the North of England and the announcement is being heralded as support for the move to create a single organisation in the county when the previous eight authorities merged from April 1, 2023.

The ranking also comes with an extremely challenging financial situation with the council facing a £40 million gap in its budget over just two financial years, heightening the need to ensure every pound of taxpayers’ money is used as effectively as possible.

North Yorkshire Council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “To be ranked as the third most productive council in the whole country is testament to the hard work of all our staff and elected members.

“However, even more important is the fact that our taxpayers are being given some of the best value for their money nationally.

“This has been an ambition that is at the very heart of North Yorkshire Council, as we want to make sure we are using taxpayers’ cash as effectively and as efficiently as possible.”

The index has been compiled by researchers at IMPOWER, a consultancy firm which was launched in 2000 to provide an insight into how effective the public sector is performing.

The analysis measures productivity based on outcomes achieved per pound spent across seven major service areas that typically account for 70 per cent of spending in local government. These services include children’s social care, special educational needs and disabilities, housing, homelessness and waste and recycling along with social care for older adults as well as working age adults.

IMPOWER’S top 10 rankings highlight authorities that outperform their closest statistical neighbours by the largest margins across the most service areas which were analysed.

The index has been published just over three months after social care for adults in the county was praised following an in-depth inspection that has placed North Yorkshire Council’s services among the best nationally.

A report was published in October by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after inspectors carried out a wide-ranging analysis of the council’s care services. The inspectors awarded a good rating with an overall score of 81, which placed North Yorkshire Council among the best in the country for adult social care.

IMPOWER’s research has also been published as North Yorkshire Council is facing a funding gap of about £40 million that spans the current financial year and the next financial year for 2026/27.

The Government has made major changes to the way local government is funded, and this has seen the council losing almost £20 million in its core funding just 12 months after being handed one of the worst financial settlements nationally. The council has already been battling a financial shortfall of more than £20 million in the current financial year.

The move to a single unitary authority with the creation of North Yorkshire Council has, however, provided the opportunity to deliver services more effectively with greater economies of scale across England’s largest county.

Following the launch of North Yorkshire Council in April 2023, a plan has been drawn up to make more than £130 million in savings, of which £68 million would not have been achievable without local government reorganisation.

North Yorkshire Council’s chief executive, Richard Flinton, said: “To be given the rating which we have through in-depth analysis by IMPOWER shows that the move to create a single council for North Yorkshire is reaping the rewards for our taxpayers.

“It has been a long and often challenging journey to undertake the biggest reorganisation of local government in the country, and I would like to thank all my colleagues across the council who have helped to make sure that it has been as successful as it has been.

“The research is a clear indication that the council is offering real value for money, which we have been able to deliver through streamlining our services and ensuring they are as efficient as possible across such a vast area as North Yorkshire.

“There is still more work to be done, and we are continuing the work across the whole council to make sure we can offer the very best services that we can for the best value for money for our taxpayers.”

IMPOWER first published a top 10 of the best performing councils in the country with The MJ local government publication in 2018 and the last list was published in October 2024.