People across North Yorkshire are to be given the opportunity to make their views known on the county council’s spending plans and priorities in a series of consultation events over the next two months.

Senior councillors and officers will explain the financial challenges facing the authority and how it plans to tackle them.

The council is in the middle of a four-year programme to reduce spending by £69 million by 2014/15, but it now anticipates that as a result of a further council tax freeze and changes to Government funding it will have to reduce spending by an extra £22 million over the next two years.

“Our original task of finding £69 million in savings posed very considerable challenges,” said council leader Coun John Weighell.

A local consultation event will be held at Craven District Council offices at Belle Vue Mills, Skipton, on Thursday, January 10, at 6.30pm.