AS Mayor of York and North Yorkshire I have spent the last five months getting around our region, listening to residents and businesses share concerns and hopes for their communities.

Everyone I speak to wants to make sure our region is a safe and nice place to live, work, and visit.

When I was elected, I took over the powers and responsibilities of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Working with Jo Coles, my Deputy Mayor of Policing, Fire and Crime, we have a duty to set the priorities and plans for North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

As Mayor, I want to make sure that everything we do at the Combined Authority helps to build healthy and thriving communities. Tacking anti-social behaviour, rural crime and violence against women and girls are all key priorities for me. However, everyone in York and North Yorkshire, whether they live in urban or rural areas, are resident or visitors, will have had different experiences of crime, directly or indirectly. Some people will be experiencing problems that don’t impact everyone, and I want your voice to be heard. That’s why we have launched a mayoral consultation, and the results will help us to shape police, fire and crime plans that reflect your needs.

By listening to you and hearing about your experiences of crime, we can ensure our services have the investment they need, and our police and fire services are directing their resources towards keeping communities as safe as possible and tackling those crimes that matters most to you. We can also better understand how we need to be working collaboratively to ensure our early intervention and prevention work is the best it can be.

As well as hearing about crime in your area, the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service want to hear from you. As the biggest county in England with numerous rural areas, ensuring the best possible response times to emergences across the whole area requires a lot of planning and a thorough understanding of local risks. The Fire and Rescue Service are looking to improve how they report their response times, so they can be more open with you about how well they are performing.

I want to ensure that as many people as possible can answer our consultation and help us to understand how the Combined Authority can support the Police and Fire Services to improve our safety and security.

Tell us what you think at www.yourpoliceandfire.com where there are two short surveys covering police and fire. They will only take ten minutes each, at most. My Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, Jo Coles, and I really appreciate your help with this.

Our police and fire plans affect everyone who lives here, works here, and visits. Having met with police and fire colleagues, and people who have used their services, I know we have highly professional and dedicated teams keeping our region safe. However, it is vital that these services are meeting the requirements of communities and are the best they can be.

I am incredibly proud of the impact of our commissioned services. Through the York and North Yorkshire Office for Policing, Fire, Crime and Commissioning, we already invest millions of pounds a year in services that are designed to prevent crime and support victims as they come to terms with their experiences. This year alone we’ve been able to help over 18,000 people across our region. This includes supporting people through the legal process, providing funding for technology to prevent crime, offering mental health support schemes, and services for offenders to help them break the cycle of reoffending. We’ve achieved this by engaging with you over several years to find out how we can make these services as accessible and well-equipped as possible. We want to keep hearing from you and supporting the improvements you need us to make.

Devolution is all about giving local people more control, and through consultations like this we can give you the chance to have your say in how some of the most crucial services are run.

The consultation is open until Monday, November 18 at www.yourpoliceandfire.com. Surveys are also available in a variety of accessible formats by calling 01423 569 562, by emailing info@northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk, or by writing to the Office for Policing, Fire, Crime and Commissioning, Harrogate Police Station, Beckwith Head Rd, Harrogate, HG3 1FR.

You can keep up to date with the great work across York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority by subscribing to our newsletter. A sign-up link is available on the front page of our website at: www.yorknorthyorks-ca.gov.uk.