Each year, we gather your views to inform our annual budget report, which guides recommendations for the next year’s budget and the council plan.
We received 2,767 responses to the survey, which asked about council priorities, budget allocation, council tax increases and the single-person discount for council tax.
The survey detailed the council’s £1.3 billion spending and asked about the importance of various services. The top five services people told us were important, which accounted for 60% of our budget, were:
- highways and transportation - 87% rated this as important (9% of our budget)
- education - 81% rated this important (6% of our budget)
- waste and environment - 78% rated this important (7% of our budget)
- children’s social care - 76% rated this important (5% of our budget)
- adult social care - 75% rated this important (33% of our budget)
| How important do you rate this service? | Percentage of respondents who rated the service as very important or important and the total number of people who responded about that service |
|---|---|
| Adult social care and health | 75% of 2,723 respondents |
| Children's social care | 76% of 2,709 respondents |
| Culture, leisure and libraries | 61% of 2,712 respondents |
| Economic development | 67% of 2,703 respondents |
| Education | 81% of 2,722 respondents |
| Highways and transportation | 87% of 2,722 respondents |
| Housing and homelessness | 62% of 2,711 respondents |
| Planning | 47% of 2,702 respondents |
| Supporting communities | 52% of 2,702 respondents |
| Waste and environment | 78% of 2,717 respondents |
| Welfare and benefits | 38% of 2,700 respondents |
| Other, including support services | 34% of 2,646 respondents |
Council tax increase
77% of respondents supported a council tax increase to fund critical services with 70% supporting an increase to fund adult social care.
| How much would you be willing to increase council tax by to help deliver critical services across North Yorkshire? | Percentage of 2,498 respondents |
|---|---|
| No increase | 23% |
| 1% | 15% |
| 2% | 17% |
| 3% | 13% |
| 4% | 6% |
| 5% or more | 26% |
| How much extra would you be willing to pay to fund the demand for adult social care services across North Yorkshire? | Percentage of 2,642 respondents |
|---|---|
| No increase | 31% |
| 1% | 27% |
| 2% | 18% |
| 3% | 9% |
| 4% | 5% |
| 5% or more | 11% |