Big shake-up of community services proposed for city

Social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter are being used to promote Prime Minister David Cameron’s Big Society ideals and increase volunteering in York as part of a major shake-up of community services.
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Feb 2012, 06:00 BST

York Council is looking to push ahead with a series of changes which will shift more responsibility on to residents by giving them a bigger say in how their own areas and neighbourhoods are shaped.

Under the plans ‘Community Contracts’ will be introduced which will focus on residents’ priorities for their area, including issues surrounding the economy, employment, safety, or the environment, and communities will be able to stipulate the services they can expect to receive.

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Staff will work within wards, making them a ‘hub’ for local information in a bid to work more effectively with communities and Facebook and Twitter accounts will be set up in an attempt to get regular messages out to residents.

A volunteer database will also be created which will match up residents with suitable volunteering opportunities.

Coun Sonja Crisp, cabinet member for leisure, culture and social inclusion, said: “We are committed to improving the way we work with local communities to deliver local services that meet the needs of individual wards. However, we recognise that some areas of the city need increased resources to help tackle inequality in our communities.”

As the council continues to battle Government cuts, the authority is also proposing to overhaul the way it delivers ward budgets and a new credits system is being put forward.

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As part of the plans a ‘credits pot’ will be created which will see more money given to wards with the highest levels of deprivation.

Ward committee meetings will also be reduced to just three a year, however the authority has stressed ward councillors and residents will be able to hold additional, more informal meetings.

The move is being proposed as part of the Government’s Localism agenda, as well as the authority’s plans to work more closely with communities.

It follows a pilot which took place in Acomb, Holgate, Micklegate Rural West, Westfield, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe wards earlier this year.

Cabinet members are set to consider the proposals on Monday.

Related topics:David CameronYorkTwitterFacebookGovernment