It is a legal requirement of the Localism Act 2011 that all Councillors must declare a “Register of Members’ Interests” and this must be made public.

Unfortunately the Leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Councillor Carl Les has submitted a declaration that is illegible. It is rather fundamental that all “Register of Members’ Interests” can be read by the public to ensure full scrutiny whenever required.

It is also unknown if Carl has signed his declaration. If he has his signature should be redacted and this must be stated not just removed. To remove anything from a legal document without stating “Redacted” changes the very essence of the document.

I have requested the North Yorkshire County Council Monitoring Officer Barry Khan to ensure that the declaration by Carl is replaced with a legible copy and “Redacted” included wherever appropriate at the earliest opportunity.