Those who followed our Twitter stream, or were one of the many residents in the public gallery (standing room only) will’ve already heard what happened in last night’s Annual Council meeting. The council sum it up this morning with this press release. Ed
The foundations for what leading councillors pledge will be a more open, inclusive and transparent Isle of Wight Council were established at last night’s Full Council meeting (15 May).
At the first meeting since the local elections of May 2, Cllr Ian Stephens was appointed leader with Cllr Steve Stubbings his deputy. Chairman for the forthcoming year will be Cllr Ian Ward with Cllr Charles Chapman serving as vice chair.
Revamped Cabinet
Appointments were also made to a revamped cabinet which will be in place while a return to the committee-style model is developed in time for implementation at next year’s Full Council which will be brought forward to achieve the earliest possible start date for the new system.
Also agreed at tonight’s meeting was an end to the delegated decision making process by which individual cabinet members had been able to make sometimes major decisions.
Stephens: “A clear mandate for change”
After the meeting, Cllr Stephens said the decisions taken were the initial steps in what would be a major change in the way the council was run.
“The electorate has given us a clear mandate for change and it is now up to us to respond,”
Cllr Stephens said.
“The steps we have taken tonight are just the start of moves towards what will be a more inclusive council where all members will have a chance to influence the decisions that affect residents.
“If you look at the appointments made to cabinet posts and also to other council panels and committees – as well as electing Cllr Ward as chairman – you will see members have sought to use expertise and experience from across the council chamber. Appointments have been made based not on political allegiances but on the ability to do the job.”
Deputy leader Cllr Steve Stubbings said:
“The Island Independents told the electorate we would put people before politics and filling these posts with councillors from all backgrounds shows that we are true to our word.
“This is however only the beginning. We will continue to explore ways of making the council as open and inclusive as we can. That is what the electorate want and it is what the Island needs.
“Make no mistake, some major challenges lie ahead and it is important all councillors from all wards are involved in the important decisions that will need to be taken.”
No increase in budget for allowances
While, through the appointment of deputy cabinet members, more councillors will be placed in positions of responsibility, there will be no increases in the allowances paid to members and neither will the overall budget for member allowances increase. Accordingly the intention is to decrease allowances to achieve this.
The major appointments are as follows:
Chairman – Cllr Ian Ward
Vice chair – Cllr Charles Chapman
Leader – Cllr Ian Stephens
Deputy leader – Cllr Steve Stubbings
Cabinet portfolios (and deputies)
Children’s services – Cllr Richard Priest
Planning and regulatory – Cllr Jonathan Bacon
Health, community and adult wellbeing – Cllr Gordon Kendall (Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox)
Public protection – Cllr Phil Jordan (Cllr Julia Baker-Smith)
Tourism and economy – Cllr Shirley Smart (Cllr Roger Whitby-Smith)
Resources – Cllr Jonathan Gilbey.
Sustainability – Cllr Luisa Hillard (Cllr John Medland)
For those wishing to digest the Framework for Change document, we’ve embedded it below, along with papers from last night’s meeting, for your convenience. Ed
