1. General
To continually improve how we engage and involve
communities we have re-introduced Ward Committees. These
replace Resident Forum meetings and can range in style from
informal drop in events to formal meetings. The topic of the meeting also may vary and
can be on one or more issues.
However, as a minimum, each ward will have one formal meeting
towards the start of each financial year, which will be formally
recorded and detailed on the relevant ward pages. Informal meeting s will also be announced on the
ward pages along with the topic(s) covered, however, these meeting
will not be formally minuted.
Actions from these meetings will be collated and taken to the Ward
Team Meeting or forwarded to the relevant council department for
response.
2. Terms of Reference for Ward Committee
Meetings
There are 21 Ward Committees in the City of York,
although some of the smaller wards may choose to meet
together. These Ward Committees provide local citizens
with an opportunity to influence local service delivery and to have
a say more widely in helping to identify priorities within their
ward to inform the allocation of budgets and the deployment of
other resources. The Ward Committees will consider local matters
and may advise ward councillors on spending the budgets which are
devolved to wards. .
The
Ward Committee is one element of an approach which enables ward
councillors to actively engage with residents.
Ward Committees will work with
communities to scrutinise the delivery of local services and, if
necessary, hold joint meetings with other wards.
At the Ward Committee, ward councillors
and residents will:
(a) Consider ward priorities or
objectives, after taking account of resident ambitions, ward
statistics and local intelligence.
(b) Reflect upon the previous
year’s achievements
(c) Consider monitoring information
in order to hold service providers to account with regard to their
performance within the ward against the ward priorities.
(d) Identify specific improvements
which the Council or partners could introduce within available
resources and make recommendations.
(e) Consider opportunities for
residents to inform and influence the work that will take place to
address ward priorities and for communities to deliver services
where practicable and appropriate that contribute to those
priorities.
(f) Bring to the
attention of the Council the views of local people on any matter of
local concern and identify practical arrangements which might
improve communications between the Council and the people it
serves.
(g) For non-parished areas, decide whether to
institute/continue with a Ward Planning Panel (for the ward covered
by the Ward Committee) consisting of community representatives and
if so, elect the panel membership for the forthcoming year.
The Ward Planning Panel will comment on planning applications in
the ward and report-back on any existing panel's work in the
preceding year (working in accordance with the separate protocol
for Ward Planning Panels).
(h) Consult upon the allocation of
resources contained within the Ward Budget over the forthcoming
year.
Following this consultation ward
councillors may decide to allocate the budget according to their
discretion and within the relevant council policies and financial
regulations.
How the Ward Committee will be
conducted
· The Ward
Committee will be called by the ward councillors and will meet at
least once per year as a formal meeting and up to three additional
times in a format to be determined by ward councillors
· The Ward
Councillors will elect a chair for the meeting.
· The
agenda will be set by the Ward Councillors in consultation with
relevant officers and community partners
Minutes
· Copies of
the draft minutes of the formal meeting will be circulated to ward
councillors within 10 clear days of the meeting for the approval of
the chair of the meeting and then placed on the Council
website.
Decisions
· All decisions will be advisory and
will be reported as recommendations to the Director of Communities
and Neighbourhoods and available to view on the council
website www.york.gov.uk/decisions. These will be uploaded
on a monthly basis.
· If required,
voting at a meeting will be by a show of hands; in the event of any
vote being equally divided the Chair will have a second or casting
vote.
Access and Conduct
· Ward
Committees will be subject to current access to information
provisions. In addition the following will apply:-
(a) The Chair of the Ward Committee will
introduce all agenda items then allow public debate.
(b) The Chair of the Ward
Committee will sum up at the end of the debate and together with
other Members take a decision.
(c) Meetings of the Ward Committee
will be open to all residents of the ward to attend.
(d) The agenda will normally be
publicised no less than five clear days before a meeting is
held.
(e) Public notice boards within
the wards will be used to publicise the meetings. (The Press,
council website and social media will be recognised as a public
notice board.)
(f) Council officers will be able to
attend and speak at meetings where the subject area is relevant to
the ward or where a citywide issue might impact on residents in a
ward.
(g) Members may invite
representatives of other agencies to attend and advise at meetings
where relevant items are to be discussed.
(h) The Council will communicate
the findings on any issue raised with them by a resident to that
person within ten clear days, unless the inquiry raises issues of
law or practice, which will require a provisional response to be
sent, or where an issue requires further action and /or
investigation, in which case the Council will provide a deadline
for completion.