North Yorkshire County Council has welcomed the findings of an opinion poll on its proposals for the creation of a single-tier unitary council.

It claims that the result backs its case to scrap the same district councils in the county which paid for the poll The county council said the survey, conducted by MORI, found that the majority of people in North Yorkshire *Don't understand which councils provide what local services (71 per cent) *Think the current system of local government is confusing (55 per cent) *Believe there is not enough co-ordination of public services in their local area (57 per cent) and "Say it would not matter to them if there were fewer councillors representing their area (74 per cent) North Yorkshire County Council said it thoroughly backed the views expressed in the MORI poll that council services should be provided and decided locally.

However, it added that while the MORI survey asked a number of questions of the public it gave them no information as to how the new authority would operate to backits claims that local services will not only be maintained at their present levels, but will in many cases be extended through greater devolution; savings would be ploughed back into better services; red tape and duplication will be cut and local decision-making and accountability will be a priority.

"There is clear evidence in the poll data that over 80 per cent of the population want more information on the proposals before making up their minds," said a council spokesman.

"The MORI survey found that only around one in ten of the population claims to know a great deal about the workings of local government. Indeed, a third of the population believes that all local government services are already provided by a single authority.

"The survey also found that around 90 per cent of the population feel an emotional attachment to the county of North Yorkshire considerably higher than the number who feel such an attachment to a particular district."

"North Yorkshire County Council recognises that more needs to be done to help public understanding on some of these issues but we agree with the public that the principles of local choice and delivery are paramount. This is why North Yorkshire County Council's proposals incorporate detailed plans for a major devolution of power and accountability - for example by encouraging communities to establish, or to extend, parish and town councils."

John Weighell, the leader of North Yorkshire County Council, emphasised that the county's proposals had been the subject of rigorous financial scrutiny, both by the council's own financial advisers, and by the Department for Communities and Local Government, and the Treasury.

"One of the principal advantages of our proposals is the scope for making major efficiencies in the way local government is delivered," he said. "I believe that if the opinion poll had explored that issue more exhaustively, we would have found a very large majority of the population would favour the change to a single, more effective and more efficient tier of government."