Executive
21 April 2026
Council Plan 2026-30
Report of Assistant Chief Executive – Local Engagement
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To seek agreement of the Executive to submit the Council Plan 2026-2030 to the
Council for adoption.
2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 The Council Plan is a key component of North Yorkshire Council’s (NYC) policy framework, setting out the Council’s objectives and how its resources are to be used to deliver those objectives. Ensuring the Plan is developed in a timely and robust manner is essential in order to drive forward the business of the Council and improve performance.
2.2 The Council Plan is intended to be the public expression of NYC’s vision and a strategic document designed to plot the Council’s course over the next four years. It will also be used by staff to understand the Council’s priorities and how they fit within them.
2.3 The Council Plan is a four-year plan. The plan has been developed under five key ambitions:
• Support thriving places and empowered communities where people live, work, visit and do business across North Yorkshire
• Develop more sustainable and connected places across North Yorkshire
• Ensure the people of North Yorkshire are safe, healthy and living well
• Maximise the potential of North Yorkshire’s people and communities
• Strong Innovative Council, with local customer-led services
2.4 The Council Plan also includes how we will deliver services locally, key statistics and information about North Yorkshire, the Council’s finances and performance reporting. The list of Key Performance Indicators included in the plan have been reviewed to ensure indicators are appropriate, well defined and avoid duplication.
3.0 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNCIL PLAN
3.1 The Council Plan has been developed with input from all directorates to ensure the language and priorities that sit within the plan are consistent with their direction of travel. The draft has been reviewed and agreed by Management Board.
3.2 The Council Plan has a number of audiences including elected members, officers, partners, the public, and the Ministry for Housing and Communities and Local Government. Efforts have been made to ensure that, as far as possible, the Council Plan is accessible, and of use, to all these audiences.
3.3 The Council Plan is the external and internal facing summary corporate strategy. However, a document the size of the Council Plan cannot detail all that the Council does. Further information about the Council’s detailed strategies and plans is published in other documents available on the Council’s website. The view has been taken that there is little merit in merely replicating elements of these strategies and plans.
4.0 STRUCTURE AND PUBLICATION OF THE COUNCIL PLAN
4.1 The Council Plan aims to be an easy to read, concise document. In addition to being the public expression of the Council’s vision and ambitions, it sets priorities for the period up to 2030.
4.2 The Council Plan will be published on the NYC website.
4.3 On publication, the Council Plan will be promoted internally, in particular in relation to its central place in the service planning process and developing a sense of common purpose with staff and managers.
5.0 COUNCIL PLAN
5.1 The Council Plan 2026-30, as at 09 April 2026, is attached at Appendix A.
6.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
6.1 The Council Plan will have significant financial implications as it outlines the key programmes of work that will be carried out, all of which have been set out in the budget report.
7.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 The Council Plan reflects the legal requirement on local authorities under Section 3 of the Local Government Act 1999 to secure continuous improvement in the way in which it exercises its functions.
8.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
8.1 An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) has been carried out of the overall Council Plan 2026-2030, and this is attached at Appendix B. However, the plan does refer to specific projects which will have an impact on certain areas in North Yorkshire, where this is the case detailed EIAs will be undertaken on these specific projects.
8.2 An overall EIA for the 2026/27 budget has also been carried out and was included in the budget report which went to full council in February. The Council Plan has been developed in the context of public sector financial restraint, and unprecedented service demand pressures. Funding provided by central government to local authorities to deliver services has been reduced significantly in recent years.
8.3 The anticipated impacts of our ambitions are positive ones. Due regard to equalities will be paid when making decisions on actions to realise these ambitions and, where appropriate, these will be subject to full EIAs.
9.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
9.1 A Climate Change Impact Assessment has been carried out for the Council Plan and this ius attached in Appendix C.
9.2 The Council Plan is a high-level strategic document that sets the direction for the Council. As such, the Plan does not contain detailed information about specific service delivery. Detail at service level has been and/or will be impact assessed by directorate colleagues.
9.3 The ‘sustainable and connected places’ ambition and associated priorities set our goals and vision for tackling climate change and aim to have a positive impact on the environment. We as a Council aspire to become more environmentally sustainable, further reduce carbon emissions and increase the resilience of the county to climate change.
10.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
10.1 To allow for the Council Plan to be approved in line with constitutional arrangements.
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11.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
i) That the Executive approves the Council Plan and recommends it to the Council for approval.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – Council Plan 2026-30
Appendix B – EIA for Council Plan 2026-30
Appendix C – Climate Change Impact Assessment for Council Plan 2026-30
Rachel Joyce
Assistant Chief Executive – Local Engagement
Report author – Alaina Kitching, Strategy and Performance Manager
Presenter of report – Will Boardman, Head of Strategy and Performance
Appendix A: DRAFT Council Plan 2026-30
Appendix B: Equality Impact Assessment
Equality impact assessment (EIA) form: evidencing paying due regard to protected characteristics
(Form updated October 2025)
Council Plan 2026-30
An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) form is a document that proves paying due regard by considering protected characteristics. EIAs that accompany reports presented to Councillors for decision-making are published with the committee papers on our website and are also available in hard copy at the relevant meetings.
Section 1: Initial Equality Impact Assessment Screening
This section documents the equality screening process of actual or potential impacts of the proposed activity on a specific protected characteristic, along with NYC's additional agreed-upon characteristics, to determine whether a full Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is necessary or appropriate.
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Basic Details |
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Directorate |
Central Services – Local Engagement |
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Service area |
Strategy and Performance |
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Proposal being screened |
Council Plan 2026-30 |
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Officer(s) carrying out screening |
Alaina Kitching |
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Lead Officer and contact details |
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Date of the assessment |
October 2025 |
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Please describe briefly what this EIA is about. (e.g. are you starting a new service, changing how you do something, or stopping doing something?) |
The Council Plan is the Council’s overall high-level strategic plan. It is the public facing document expressing the Council’s vision and priorities for the next four years.
The Council Plan is also the key strategic document which sets the performance framework for all Council services. As such the Plan does not contain detailed information about specific service delivery. Detail at service level has been and/or will be impact assessed by directorate colleagues.
Individual elements of the Plan are also subject to specific and separate impact assessments as part of the budget decision-making process. Members in agreeing the budget, will also take into account compounding factors, such as the rural nature of the county. |
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What does the authority hope to achieve by it? (E.g. to save money, meet increased demand, do things in a better way.) |
The purpose of the Plan is to inform stakeholders including elected members, officers, partners, the public, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about the Council’s vision, how the Council sees its role going forward and the priorities for the organisation over the next four years.
This Plan has been developed in the context of public sector financial restraint, and unprecedented service demand pressures. Funding provided by central government to local authorities to deliver services has been reduced significantly in recent years.
The current Medium-Term Financial Strategy requires £17m of reserves to balance the budget in 2026/27 and this could rise to £25m by the end of 2028/29 should no further savings be forthcoming. This is based on the Council delivering over £54m worth of savings over the next three years.
Over the next four years, the Council will be looking ahead at how we can maximise the full potential of the organisation and optimise the way services are delivered. There are opportunities to deliver services in new ways and harness technological advances, such as AI, to automate routine tasks and better predict future customer need. Transformation projects are currently underway to support the delivery of our priorities and maximise the benefits of transformation.
The Plan gives performance information, plans for the coming year and the budget position. |
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Further details |
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1.1 How have stakeholders been involved in this policy/ decision/ proposal? (e.g. a consultation exercise) |
All directorates were engaged with and had the opportunity to influence the ambitions and priority actions included in the Plan. Councillors were also engaged with during the development of the Plan.
Findings from ‘Let’s Talk Money’ budget consultation were also used to inform the Plan. |
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1.2 Will the proposal have a significant effect on how other organisations operate? (e.g. partners, funding criteria, etc.). Please explain briefly |
The Council Plan will not have a significant effect on how other organisations operate. |
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1.3 Impact on people with any of the following protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010, or NYC’s additional agreed characteristics As part of this assessment, please consider the following questions:
If for any characteristic, it is considered that there is likely to be an adverse impact or you have ticked ‘Don’t know/no info available’, then a full EIA should be carried out where this is proportionate. You are advised to speak to your directorate representative for advice if you are in any doubt. Tick and indicate which protected characteristics are identified as relevant to the proposal (positive, negative, neutral or don’t know). |
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Protected characteristic |
Impact |
Comments |
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Positive |
Negative |
Neutral |
Don't know |
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Age |
ü |
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North Yorkshire has a lower proportion of young people than the national average- 24.5% under 25 compared to 29.2% nationally.[1]
In 2020 11.4% of 16 - 17-year-olds were identified as Not in Employment, Education or Training against an England value of 5.5%.[2] Nationally the unemployment rate for 16 - 24-year-olds is high. The unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over for the UK was 4.2%, for the period August to October 2021.[3]
In 2021, 25% of the county’s adult population was over the age of 65. This is higher than the national percentage of 18.4%.[4] Every year the population of older people increases, and with it the demand for the care and support which the council provides. By 2035, 32.60% of North Yorkshire’s total population will be aged 65+ and 5.97% will be aged 85+. Nationally 23.26% will be 65+ and 4.05% will be 85+ by 2035.
Our ambition ‘maximise the potential of North Yorkshire’s people and communities’ sets out that everyone should have the opportunity to reach their maximum potential, with lifelong learning encouraged, enabling people to progress whilst remaining in North Yorkshire. This is critical to ensuring the future workforce have the necessary skills for future.
Our ambition ‘safe, healthy and living well’ includes a priority action on ‘Implementing the recommendations from the Director of Public Health Annual Report 2023-24 on Healthy Ageing, and the Annual Report 2024-25 on Working Together for North Yorkshire’.
There is also a priority action on investing in more extra care housing for older people and new supported accommodation for younger adults.
Detailed EIAs will be undertaken on specific projects implemented to realise these ambitions. |
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Disability |
ü |
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North Yorkshire has a lower proportion (19.3%) of people with a disability or long-term limiting illness whose day-to-day activities are limited a lot- against the national average of 23.69%.[5] However, this will rise to 20.89% of the 65+ population in North Yorkshire, against a national average of 24.86%.
The plan sets out our ambition to ‘ensure the people of North Yorkshire are safe, healthy and living well’. This includes supporting people to live independently in their home of choice by preventing, reducing and delaying the need for longer-term social care services. As well as, investing in more extra care housing for older people and new supported accommodation for younger adults.
The plan includes a priority action on ‘Improving support to people with complex life circumstances, including mental health, neurodiversity and substance use, through new services and improved practice’.
The plan includes a priority action on ‘delivering a wide range of universal and targeted programmes to support physical and mental well-being, with a particular focus on people with disabilities, long term health conditions and people who are currently inactive and may need more support to become and stay active’.
Our ambition ‘maximise the potential’ covers how the Council, will support those with SEND and other needs to live life to the best of their abilities. This includes delivering the Local Area SEND Operational Plan and SEND Ofsted Improvement Plans. This section also includes a priority action on preparing children with complex needs for independence and adulthood.
There is also a priority on delivering Get Britain Working and Connect to Work to remove health-related barriers and support people into employment.
Detailed EIAs will be undertaken on specific projects implemented to realise these ambitions. |
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Sex |
ü |
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The proportion of females is slightly higher (51%) than that of males (49%).[6]
There were 13,648 lone parent households in North Yorkshire in 2011[7], of which 11,958 had a female lone parent (87.6%). The ambition ‘safe, healthy and living well’ includes a priority action on ‘Developing and delivering a North Yorkshire approach to women’s health’.
The Council Plan outlines the council’s Equality Objectives.
Detailed EIAs will be undertaken on specific projects implemented to realise these ambitions. |
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Race (including GRTS) |
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ü |
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North Yorkshire has a much lower proportion (4.77%) of people who identify with a non-UK identity than the national average (12%).[8]
Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.
The Council Plan sets our equality objectives/approach to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Access to ensure we are consistently meeting the needs of our customers. |
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Gender reassignment |
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Education Society suggests that across the UK: 1% of employees and service users may be experiencing some degree of gender variance. At some point, about 0.2% may undergo transition (i.e. gender reassignment). Around 0.025% have so far sought medical help and about 0.015% have probably undergone transition. In any year 0.003% may start transition.
Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.
The Council Plan sets our equality objectives/approach to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Access to ensure we are consistently meeting the needs of our customers. |
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Sexual orientation |
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ü |
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The government estimates that 5 - 7% of the population are gay, lesbian or bisexual. We have no evidence to suggest that this is not the case in North Yorkshire.[9]
Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.
The Council Plan sets our equality objectives/approach to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Access to ensure we are consistently meeting the needs of our customers. |
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Religion or belief |
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ü |
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North Yorkshire has higher levels of Christians (55.6%) than the national average (46.2%), and lower levels of all other religions than the national average. Percentages of those with no religion or not stating their religion are broadly similar to the national average.[10]
Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.
The Council Plan sets our equality objectives/approach to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Access to ensure we are consistently meeting the needs of our customers. |
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Pregnancy or maternity |
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ü |
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In 2021 there were 5133 live births in North Yorkshire.
In 2020 the conception rate per 1000 for under 18’s was 10.9. This is below the rate for England (13).[11]
In 2020/21 4.2% of deliveries in North Yorkshire were to mothers from ethnic minorities, compared to the England value of 21.6%.[12]
Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.
The Council Plan sets our equality objectives/approach to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Access to ensure we are consistently meeting the needs of our customers. |
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Marriage or civil partnership |
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ü |
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A higher percentage of North Yorkshire’s population is married or in a civil partnership (53.7%) than the national average (46.8%).[13]
Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.
The Council Plan sets our equality objectives/approach to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Access to ensure we are consistently meeting the needs of our customers.
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NYC’s additional characteristics |
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People in rural areas |
ü |
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The population
in North Yorkshire is generally sparser than the national average
(77 people per square kilometre as opposed to 434 nationally).
Distance travelled to access services is further than the national
average. The Lower Super Output Area, which covers the Dales ward
in Ryedale, is in the 10% most deprived in England for Geographical
Barriers to Services.[14]
Rurality can
also mean higher costs for such things as fuel for heating. ‘Thriving places and empowered communities’ sets out the Council’s ambition to becoming England’s most local large council. We want to work in partnership with our communities and understand their needs, working to provide support earlier. This approach will achieve better outcomes for communities, whilst also reducing resource demand on Council services.
One of our ambitions is to develop more sustainable and connected places across North Yorkshire. This includes improving transport and digital connectivity. This is especially important in rural areas were transport and digital connectivity is a challenge. The priority on advancing broadband connectivity focuses on closing coverage gaps.
Our ambition Safe, healthy and living well also includes the priority action ‘continuing to work collaboratively with the Independent Care Group and care providers to ensure a sustainable care market that meets people’s care needs and work with the care market to reprocure the Approved Provider List’. This is particularly important in rural areas where care options can be limited.
The plan includes a priority action on libraries providing a comprehensive range of services that meet the needs of local people. This includes a new mobile library to increase access to Council services in rural parts of the county.
Detailed EIAs will be undertaken on specific projects implemented to realise these ambitions. |
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People on a low income |
ü |
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The proportion of households in deprivation in North Yorkshire reduced between 2011 and 2021. In 2011 52.1% of households in North Yorkshire were deprived in at least one of the four dimensions (employment, education, health and disability, housing). By 2021 this had fallen to 46.7%. This 5.4 percentage point reduction in North Yorkshire compared with a 5.9 percentage point reduction across England as a whole, with the proportion of households in deprivation in North Yorkshire remaining below the national average.[15]
Our ambition to maximise the potential of North Yorkshire’s people and communities includes the priority action ‘supporting North Yorkshire residents to gain appropriate employment skills and access work’. Improved job opportunities could impact positively on those on a low income.
The plan also includes a priority to provide accessible financial inclusion support services that empower residents to improve their financial wellbeing.
The Plan includes a priority on working to mitigate the effects of poverty within the school environment, including the number of children accessing free school meals.
The Plan includes a priority on how libraries can support communities. ‘Continue to deliver against our Library Strategy themes: promoting literacy skills and reading for pleasure, providing resources and activities to support health and wellbeing, enabling people to be digitally connected and being a focal point for communities by providing opportunities for volunteering and partnership working’.
Detailed EIAs will be undertaken on specific projects implemented to realise these ambitions. |
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Carer (unpaid family or friend) |
ü |
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Carers’ allowance claimants make up 0.98% of North Yorkshire’s population.[16] This is lower than the average for England (1.42%) but there are variations across the county. It is likely, however, that these figures do not reflect the true number of people carrying out caring roles in the county as many do not claim allowances.
One of our ambitions is ensure the people of North Yorkshire and safe, healthy and living well. This includes a priority action on improving support for unpaid carers.
Detailed EIAs will be undertaken on specific projects implemented to realise these ambitions. |
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Are from the Armed Forces Community (including veterans) |
ü |
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North Yorkshire has 29,831 Armed Forces Veterans.
Richmondshire has the highest proportion of Armed Forces Veterans in North Yorkshire at 9.5% (3,962), which is the third highest nationally.
The proportion of veterans in Richmondshire is more than double the national average rate, which is 3.8%.
Harrogate has the highest number of Armed Forces Veterans in North Yorkshire with 7,076 (5.2%).
Our ‘maximise the potential’ ambition refers to providing accessible financial inclusion support services that empower residents to improve their financial wellbeing.
The Council Plan sets our equality objectives/approach to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Access to ensure we are consistently meeting the needs of our customers. |
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1.4 To which Part(s) of the Public Sector Equality Duties is the Policy/decision/proposal relevant? Tick and briefly describe.
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1.5 Decision (Please tick one option) Decision to recommend this policy/ decision for an Equality Impact Assessment? |
Yes |
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No |
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If the answer is “Yes”, or you indicate a negative impact on any of the characteristics mentioned in the table above, please continue to Section 2 and complete the full Equality Impact Assessment. If the answer is “No”, please give a brief reason here.
Our ambitions in the Council Plan are for better outcomes for all North Yorkshire residents despite a tough fiscal climate and unprecedented service demand pressures. Our transformation programme aims to save money but also to make sure we are doing things more efficiently and effectively by making the best decisions at the right time.
The anticipated impacts of our ambitions are therefore positive ones. Due regard to equalities will be paid when making decisions on actions to realise these ambitions and, where appropriate, these will be subject to full EIAs. |
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Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent) |
R JOYCE |
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Date |
26/03/2026 |
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Section 2: Equality Impact Assessment
This section aims to provide a full assessment of the actual or potential impacts on specific protected characteristics, along with NYC's additional characteristics. It will also identify the proper actions to mitigate these impacts, if needed.
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2.1 Evidence, Consultation and Data: What data or evidence source(s) has/ have been used to inform this assessment? |
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2.2 Stakeholder Engagement: What engagement has been done regarding the proposal and what are the results?
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2.3 What positive impact will this proposal have on the council budget, people, community, economic growth and environment, etc? Please explain briefly
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2.4 Please briefly describe how will this proposal affect people with protected characteristics? Only those who are identified as relevant to the proposal in section 1. |
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Protected characteristics |
Negative |
Don’t know |
Why will it have this effect? Provide evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information, etc. |
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Age |
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Disability |
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Sex |
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Race (including GRTS) |
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Gender reassignment |
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Sexual orientation |
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Religion or belief |
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Pregnancy or maternity |
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Marriage or civil partnership |
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NYC’s additional characteristics |
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People in rural areas
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People on a low income |
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Carer (unpaid family or friend) |
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Are from the Armed Forces Community (including veterans) |
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2.5 Geographic impact: Please detail where the impact will be (please tick all that apply) |
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North Yorkshire wide
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Craven
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Hambleton |
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Harrogate |
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Richmondshire |
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Ryedale |
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Scarborough
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Selby
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If you have ticked one or more areas, will specific town(s)/village(s) be particularly impacted? If so, please specify below. |
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2.6 Will the proposal affect anyone more because of a combination of protected characteristics? (e.g. older women or young gay men) State what you think the effect may be and why, citing evidence from Q2.1 & Q2.2, e.g. engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information, etc.
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2.7 Mitigation and Actions: List the actions that will be taken to reduce or eliminate any negative impact identified above and how positive impacts will be enhanced. Briefly describe the action you defined.
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2.8 Monitoring and Review: If the proposal is to be implemented, how will the impact be monitored? Briefly describe the monitoring arrangements/systems that will be put in place to find out how the expected outcomes have been achieved in practice.
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2.9 Conclusion: Please summarise the findings of your EIA, including impacts, recommendations in relation to addressing impacts, including any legal advice, and next steps. This summary should be used as part of the report to the decision maker.
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2.10 Sign off section This full EIA was completed by:
Name: Job title: Directorate: Signature:
Completion date:
Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature):
Date:
Once this has been signed off, please send it to webteam@northyorks.gov.uk for publication on the appropriate webpage. |
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Publication:
To help people find completed EIAs, we publish them in the Equality and Diversity section of the NY Council website. Contact details
If you need further support and guidance about carrying out EIA, please contact your directorate equality representative as listed in Stage 4 on our Intranet: Paying due regard to equality using equality impact assessments Or contact North Yorkshire Council’s equality team on email Equality@northyorks.gov.uk |
