A COUNCIL which is cutting its budgets by £167m is to hand councillors £5,000 each to invest in local community projects as part of a £790,000 two year pilot scheme

The move by North Yorkshire County Council has been criticised as a “sop” by campaigners battling to preserve library services which are being slashed by £1.6m.

The council has also come under fire for cutting bus subsidies by £2m a year.

Campaigner Martin Brampton from Save North Yorkshire’s Libraries said: "They are abdicating whole areas of responsibility because they say they haven’t the resources to do it. We have fundamental things that are going by the board. I think these sorts of gestures, giving £5,000 to each councillor are sops to people, it is almost an insult given the major cuts that are happening .

“I think they are neglecting the very real issues that are arising, we need a new and fresh approach.”

But leader of the Tory controlled council, Carl Les, said the money, to be offered to every one of the authority’s 72 councillors, is a key part of the council’s mitigation measures to cope with the fact it has £32 less to spend for every £100 they used to have.

"Local members are a key part of the county council`s engagement with our communities, and they are close to their communities` needs, libraries being one, but not the only one.

“I believe that this will be a very useful way that members can support their communities with small amounts of cash to oil the wheels of the many excellent volunteer led projects that North Yorkshire has existed on for as long as I can remember.”

Independent councillor John Blackie, who represents the Upper Dales, said they had been through the most extreme austerity and he was fighting each and every one of the cuts in library and bus services.

“But I am not convinced this money would fill the gap, it is too big. However £5,000 will go a long way because small is big in these rural areas, we are running on volunteers and that money could be used to keep communities going, so I am rather in favour of being able to spend this money on those communities, and it could go a long way.”

The first stage of the grants which will range from £300 to £5,000, will open in October with awards being made up to March 2016.