The council has established a ward committee for every ward in York. The ward committee consists of elected members. As a ward committee, local councillors have delegated powers to take decisions which improve the quality of life and the environment in their ward.

A ward committee always meets in public four times a year. Through a ward committee meeting local residents can:

• find out more about local services
• put forward views about local issues
• find solutions to local problems
• help make council and other services work better for the benefit of the whole neighbourhood

Ward committees have a local budget to spend. It does this in consulation with local residents. This can be used to pay for extra council services, local projects or to attract other funding into the area.

A leaflet called 'Your Ward' is delivered to every house in the ward, four times a year, telling residents about their meeting and inviting them to take part. The leaflet also contains local news and information. 

Each ward committee is currently producing a Neighbourhood Action Plan. In July 2007, as part of the Your Ward publication, this contained an 'ambition / vision' statement for the ward committee. Copies of all Neighbourhood Action Plans are available from the Neighbourhood Management Unit or the ward meetings page

The purpose of the Neighbourhood Action Plan is to explore the needs of a neighbourhood, highlight specific local issues, and develop a planned approach to tackling these in conjunction with the community and service providers.