PLANS for the Police and Crime Commissioner to take control of the Fire Authority in North Yorkshire have suffered a blow today, after the county council formally announced it would not support Julia Mulligan's preferred option.

Following legislation passed by Parliament, PCCs can take over local Fire Authorities where the public and local authorities - in this case, NYCC, City of York Council - agree and support the idea.

Julia Mulligan said she wanted to adopt a new governance model which would allow her to oversee both North Yorkshire Police and the Fire and Rescue Service, in a move she claimed would save £6.6m over the next decade.

However, North Yorkshire County Council's Executive said on Tuesday it would not support the proposal, and has instead recommended the representation model, which would see Mrs Mulligan become the 17th member of the Fire Authority.

Leader of NYCC Councillor Carl Les said he wanted to see a more gradual approach to changes and collaboration between the fire authority and the PCC rather than Mrs Mulligan adopting full responsibility for the fire service.

He said: "At all the parish council meetings I have attended since this issue was raised, I have been asked for my opinion and to help people to understand the issues.

"The reason we support the representation model is that is it a stepped approach. It maintains the experience and collective wisdom of the elected councillors who represent communities across North Yorkshire. However, it does not preclude further changes should they prove necessary."

Mrs Mulligan said her proposals "were designed to try and speed up the pace and scale of change, so it was very disappointing" that the council had preferred an alternative option.

She said: "People will be asking why that is important. At the moment the fire service are reducing the number of firefighters across North Yorkshire by approximately 30 frontline roles. I've identified about £6.6m of savings that could be made over the next few years that would help us mitigate those cuts.

"In addition, I think the county council should have waited to hear the response of the public and the workforce before making their decision today. Public consultations have a bad reputation amongst the public who think politicians won't listen to what they have to say. I'd like to reassure the public today that I will listen to what they have to say and I will take their views very seriously and any future decisions I make on this business case will take their views into consideration, unlike the county council."

Mrs Mulligan argued her case at NYCC's Executive meeting on Tuesday while her staff were in Parliament Street, York, conducting public surveys and showing a Working Closer Together video to passers-by to gauge opinion for the proposal.

Rose Overfield - who voted for Mrs Mulligan in the last two PCC elections - also took the survey, and said she thought adding the PCC as 17th member in the current arrangement would be the best idea.

She said: "I would encourage everyone to read up and have a say. Just because someone's PCC, they shouldn't get it by default if there's someone better for the job.

"I don't really feel like I have a better understanding of what the plans are. I've got a better awareness of what's going to happen, but I could've done with more information on the significant changes it would mean."

Consultation on the proposals is open until September 22. A video and more information is available at telljulia.co.uk