Cllr. Stuart Rawlings, CYC Conservative Group Deputy Leader and spokesperson for Economic Development and Community Engagement has welcomed the continued investment in ward funding under the administration’s 2016/17 budget as fundamental to the group’s focus on local decision making.
Cllr Rawlings said “Our Conservative-led administration has returned funding to wards and our new budget has continued our focus on investment in local areas and in the community. The previous Labour administration decimated ward funding in favour of a centralised model designed to replicate Labour’s national agenda. Our administration turned the focus back to residents and local groups within wards, trusting that local knowledge will provide crucial input when allocating scarce resources.
“I’d really encourage more local groups to contact their ward councillor(s) with suggestions for grants because the more input from residents the better. We use the phrase ‘front-line services’ when referring to our spending priorities, but it’s also useful shorthand for how we would like decisions for spending to be taken- not by central government or by political parties, but by residents ‘on the front line’ who understand York.”