Councillor grilled on record of Yorkshire Dales Park meetings
A senior councillor could face disciplinary action over his poor attendance at finance meetings of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA).Councillor Simon Myers, who is North Yorkshire Council's executive member for culture, arts and housing, is also a member of the YDNPA.He said he missed three YDNPA meetings in 2024 because they clashed with meetings of the council's executive, which he was obliged to attend.Members of the YDNPA will decide what steps to take over the non-attendance at a full authority meeting on 25 March.
'Those are the rules'
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service Myers, who represents Mid Craven on the Conservative-led local authority, last attended a meeting of the YDNPA finance and resources committee in March 2024.Since then the councillor - who received the authority's basic allowance of £3,665 in 2023/24 - missed meetings in May, October and December last year.On Tuesday, YDNPA members will be asked to decide whether to take any action against him and whether to notify the council, which appointed him to the park authority.YDNPA executive David Butterworth said in a report to members that the standing orders required him to bring the issue to the appointing body, unless the authority was "satisfied that circumstances do not warrant that course of action".He said Myers had told him that as a member of the council executive, who hold their meetings on Tuesday mornings, this had "clashed with the finance and resources committee meetings, which are also held on Tuesday mornings"."Therefore, he has faced difficulties in attending those meetings to meet his current council commitments," he said.Mr Butterworth added Myers was "keen to continue to carry out his role as a full member of the authority" and pointed out finance and resources committee dates only clashed on one date in 2025, which would allow him to participate in three of four forthcoming meetings.Speaking about the potential disciplinary action, Myers said: "Those are the rules. I've missed three meetings on the trot. I'll have to make it work providing they don't sack me."
Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Days of empire show Britons can cope with soaring temperatures, says ex-minister
In making his case at Westminster, Lord Robathan argued people continued to withstand hot climates in India and Africa, and believed UK residents should 'just take sensible precautions'. The Conservative peer and former SAS officer made his remarks as a second amber heat health alert was issued in as many weeks, with temperatures again set to pass 30C over the weekend. Earlier this month, a Met Office study detailed the increasing likelihood of extreme temperatures in the UK as a result of climate change and underlined the need for society to prepare. Speaking during a question on the issue in Parliament, Lord Robathan said: 'We should not take climate change in any way lightly nor indeed the rise in heat. 'But I think we should also remember, during those wicked days of empire, we all went to India and Africa, and do you know something people managed to survive, and they still survive in India and Africa and places. 'So I don't think we should take this overseriously. 'Does the minister agree that actually we should just take sensible precautions?' Responding, Labour frontbencher Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent said: 'I think that's the most House of Lords question I've had so far.' She highlighted the record-breaking heatwave of 2022, which saw temperatures reach more than 40C in the UK for the first time, peaking at 40.3C in Coningsby in Lincolnshire. It led to more than 3,000 heat-related deaths in England over the summer that year and a spike in destructive wildfires. Lady Anderson said: 'The impact of heat in the UK is something we are going to have to deal with.' She added: 'We also have to make sure that British nationals have the support when they travel too, which is why we've issued guidance only this week about excessive heat in Spain, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus. 'We need to make sure that people look after themselves where they travel, wherever they are.' Independent crossbencher Baroness Hayman, a director of Peers for the Planet parliamentary group, said: 'Should we not be aware… that extreme heat affects us in certain ways, but extreme heat overseas can have devastating effects on crops, with drought, famine and population changes and movements, so we should not treat this lightly? 'Alongside the need for mitigation, resilience measures… is not the proof of the increased likelihood of these sorts of episodes an absolute clarion call for this country not to withdraw or retreat from our commitment to domestic progress and international leadership on fighting further climate change?' Lady Anderson said: 'It is clear that the chance of 40C days in the UK is now 20 times higher than it was in the 1960s, and we have a 50:50 chance of a 40C day within the next 12 years. 'This is changing within the UK, and obviously that has a knock-on effect on climate elsewhere, which is why we need to take this extremely seriously in terms of our impact on the environment.' She pointed to steps being taken across the Government to tackle climate change and reach the emissions goal of net-zero by 2050. Earlier, she told peers: 'This Government are taking action to strengthen the UK's resilience, including against environmental threats such as the recent heatwave. 'The national risk register details the wide-ranging impacts of extreme heat to ensure that comprehensive contingency plans are in place.'
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Days of empire show Britons can cope with soaring temperatures, says ex-minister
In making his case at Westminster, Lord Robathan argued people continued to withstand hot climates in India and Africa, and believed UK residents should 'just take sensible precautions'. The Conservative peer and former SAS officer made his remarks as a second amber heat health alert was issued in as many weeks, with temperatures again set to pass 30C over the weekend. Earlier this month, a Met Office study detailed the increasing likelihood of extreme temperatures in the UK as a result of climate change and underlined the need for society to prepare. Speaking during a question on the issue in Parliament, Lord Robathan said: 'We should not take climate change in any way lightly nor indeed the rise in heat. 'But I think we should also remember, during those wicked days of empire, we all went to India and Africa, and do you know something people managed to survive, and they still survive in India and Africa and places. 'So I don't think we should take this overseriously. 'Does the minister agree that actually we should just take sensible precautions?' Responding, Labour frontbencher Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent said: 'I think that's the most House of Lords question I've had so far.' She highlighted the record-breaking heatwave of 2022, which saw temperatures reach more than 40C in the UK for the first time, peaking at 40.3C in Coningsby in Lincolnshire. It led to more than 3,000 heat-related deaths in England over the summer that year and a spike in destructive wildfires. Lady Anderson said: 'The impact of heat in the UK is something we are going to have to deal with.' She added: 'We also have to make sure that British nationals have the support when they travel too, which is why we've issued guidance only this week about excessive heat in Spain, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus. 'We need to make sure that people look after themselves where they travel, wherever they are.' Independent crossbencher Baroness Hayman, a director of Peers for the Planet parliamentary group, said: 'Should we not be aware… that extreme heat affects us in certain ways, but extreme heat overseas can have devastating effects on crops, with drought, famine and population changes and movements, so we should not treat this lightly? 'Alongside the need for mitigation, resilience measures… is not the proof of the increased likelihood of these sorts of episodes an absolute clarion call for this country not to withdraw or retreat from our commitment to domestic progress and international leadership on fighting further climate change?' Lady Anderson said: 'It is clear that the chance of 40C days in the UK is now 20 times higher than it was in the 1960s, and we have a 50:50 chance of a 40C day within the next 12 years. 'This is changing within the UK, and obviously that has a knock-on effect on climate elsewhere, which is why we need to take this extremely seriously in terms of our impact on the environment.' She pointed to steps being taken across the Government to tackle climate change and reach the emissions goal of net-zero by 2050. Earlier, she told peers: 'This Government are taking action to strengthen the UK's resilience, including against environmental threats such as the recent heatwave. 'The national risk register details the wide-ranging impacts of extreme heat to ensure that comprehensive contingency plans are in place.'
Rhyl Journal
2 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Days of empire show Britons can cope with soaring temperatures, says ex-minister
In making his case at Westminster, Lord Robathan argued people continued to withstand hot climates in India and Africa, and believed UK residents should 'just take sensible precautions'. The Conservative peer and former SAS officer made his remarks as a second amber heat health alert was issued in as many weeks, with temperatures again set to pass 30C over the weekend. Earlier this month, a Met Office study detailed the increasing likelihood of extreme temperatures in the UK as a result of climate change and underlined the need for society to prepare. Speaking during a question on the issue in Parliament, Lord Robathan said: 'We should not take climate change in any way lightly nor indeed the rise in heat. 'But I think we should also remember, during those wicked days of empire, we all went to India and Africa, and do you know something people managed to survive, and they still survive in India and Africa and places. 'So I don't think we should take this overseriously. 'Does the minister agree that actually we should just take sensible precautions?' Responding, Labour frontbencher Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent said: 'I think that's the most House of Lords question I've had so far.' She highlighted the record-breaking heatwave of 2022, which saw temperatures reach more than 40C in the UK for the first time, peaking at 40.3C in Coningsby in Lincolnshire. It led to more than 3,000 heat-related deaths in England over the summer that year and a spike in destructive wildfires. Lady Anderson said: 'The impact of heat in the UK is something we are going to have to deal with.' She added: 'We also have to make sure that British nationals have the support when they travel too, which is why we've issued guidance only this week about excessive heat in Spain, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus. 'We need to make sure that people look after themselves where they travel, wherever they are.' Independent crossbencher Baroness Hayman, a director of Peers for the Planet parliamentary group, said: 'Should we not be aware… that extreme heat affects us in certain ways, but extreme heat overseas can have devastating effects on crops, with drought, famine and population changes and movements, so we should not treat this lightly? 'Alongside the need for mitigation, resilience measures… is not the proof of the increased likelihood of these sorts of episodes an absolute clarion call for this country not to withdraw or retreat from our commitment to domestic progress and international leadership on fighting further climate change?' Lady Anderson said: 'It is clear that the chance of 40C days in the UK is now 20 times higher than it was in the 1960s, and we have a 50:50 chance of a 40C day within the next 12 years. 'This is changing within the UK, and obviously that has a knock-on effect on climate elsewhere, which is why we need to take this extremely seriously in terms of our impact on the environment.' She pointed to steps being taken across the Government to tackle climate change and reach the emissions goal of net-zero by 2050. Earlier, she told peers: 'This Government are taking action to strengthen the UK's resilience, including against environmental threats such as the recent heatwave. 'The national risk register details the wide-ranging impacts of extreme heat to ensure that comprehensive contingency plans are in place.'
