COUNTY councillors in North Yorkshire have called on Chancellor Philip Hammond to give an autumn budget boost to large rural counties.

And council leaders have warned that continuing austerity imposed by the Tory Government will pile ever-increasing pressure on services in the county.

By April 2019 the North Yorkshire is due to receive no core government funding, though some councils - such as those in London - will continue to receive significant levels of government cash.

The Government awarded transitional relief in the last budget for rural authorities to offset the downward trend in grant income, but that is due to run out this year.

People in North Yorkshire pay almost twice as much council tax in relative terms as those in urban and London boroughs like Westminster and Camden, and receive less Government funding. Yet the costs tend to be higher, councillors claim.

They are therefore backing the government’s review of council funding and looking for a fairer deal for rural counties, said North Yorkshire leader Cllr Carl Les.

The council has had to use 'one-off' money for important projects such as the A59 road realignment at Kex Gill between Skipton and Harrogate.

The Chancellor was due to start his autumn budget speech as the Craven Herald went to press.

Cllr Les said: “We are a high performing, low spending council praised for having an innovative 'can-do' culture, but we are concerned that overall the needs of rural areas are given low priority.

"We continue to protect the frontline and we are developing as an ambitious and commercial council that can generate its own income. But without fairer long-term funding we face very hard choices ahead.”

He added that the longer term position remains largely unchanged, with the county council having to save a further £43m from its revenue budget by 2019/20.

There is a projected total of £169.4m saved over the decade to 2020, which represents a reduction of 34 per cent in the council’s spending power

The details of the county council’s funding settlement from Government are expected in a few weeks, and councillors will meet to consider the council’s proposed budget in February.