NewsOnTheWight reported on the Isle of Wight council’s recommended budget plans earlier today, here’s the council’s release about it. Ed
Today (Wednesday) the Isle of Wight Council put forward its proposed budget for the coming year — one that seeks to push the ‘reset’ button and reverse the previous annual cycle of cuts and decline.
In proposing this year’s £400 million spending plans, the council said it was applying the brakes to the former approach of managing decline and plotting a new course to a positive future for the Island and its community.
Protects the young, the elderly and most vulnerable
It is a budget, the council said, that protected the young, the elderly and most vulnerable in society by preserving valued frontline services.
It is also a commitment to tackling the Island’s desperate housing crisis by earmarking unprecedented levels of investment to delivering genuinely affordable homes for Islanders.
Crucially, it is a first step towards a more commercially-focused, more self-sufficient council — better prepared for the financial challenges of the future and the many unknowns of the COVID legacy.
Jarman: Turn the wheel and to start moving forward in a new direction
Cllr Chris Jarman, Cabinet member for strategic finances, said,
“The past few years have seen a process of managing decline.
“Budgets have simply aimed to tighten the council’s belt further and further, trying to do what is necessary with ever reducing funds and mistakenly describing the process as savings rather than stating the reality of it being an ongoing process of cuts.
“This process cannot continue.
“We need to reinvigorate the council and start to develop a financial strategy built on growth, rather than cuts. If we fail to do this, then key services that support our residents, our Island and our community will either cease or cease to be sustainably adequate for the need and demand.
“Our goal is to be in a position to stop the direction the council has been heading for the past four years, to turn the wheel and to start moving forward in a new direction.”
He pointed to the recent decision by Full Council to aim to increase the level of council tax support for households on low incomes from the current 65 per cent to at least 70 per cent from 1st April 2023 as an example of the council’s new approach.
And he said work was already underway to identify and develop commercial opportunities that will allow the council to move away from a programme of cuts to reinvestment in services, and it is the hope that this work will start to show benefit in budgets in future years.
Jarman: Sought to do this in the least damaging way possible
However, without additional government funding, an ‘Island Deal’ or sufficient time to initiate plans to generate more income to the council, Cllr Jarman added,
“Part of what we are doing this year is driven by what we have inherited from the previous council.
“We have, as a result, had to identify savings and income generating measures with our hands tied to some extent.
“Nevertheless, we have sought to do this in the least damaging way possible. In addition, we have taken an approach that aims to protect whatever we possibly can.
“Our aim is that what we must do this year, to achieve £3 million of savings required by the process we have inherited, will in fact be mainly savings and efficiencies, rather than continuing the ongoing process of cuts we have seen in the last few years.
“This will mean we can then start the process of rebuilding and regenerating the council and our Island community from a sound financial basis, rather than simply managing an inevitable financial decline.
“Our aim is to invest as much of the council’s money as possible on the Island for the benefit it can provide in supporting jobs and the economy.”
2.99 per cent council tax rise
To help meet some of the shortfall, Full Council will be asked to approve a general council tax rise of 1.99 per cent, with a further rise of 1 per cent specifically to protect adult social care. In total, the proposed increase equates to an extra 86p per week for a typical band C taxpayer.
There will also be increases in some areas of fees and charges to try to generate more income to help deliver key services for residents.
The proposed revenue budget sits alongside an ambitious £40 million capital programme which proposes a wide range of projects to improve the lives of Islanders, both at home and in the community.
Highlights
Key highlights include:
- at least £25 million investment in providing new homes for Islanders;
- £2.5 million towards the start-up of a new council owned housing company providing for local people;
- an immediate £3.6 million investment in securing relocatable homes to support those most in need of a home;
- £1.4 million to improve the availability of independent living flats for those with high dependency needs;
- £2.2 million for highway safety and improvement schemes over the next two years.
The proposed budget papers have been published ahead of being discussed at the council’s scrutiny committee next Tuesday, followed by further discussions at Cabinet on 10th February before all councillors vote on the proposals on 23rd February.
Residents can find out more about the council’s proposed spending plans for this year at a special budget public meeting to be held virtually via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday, 9th February, at 6pm.
The meeting will be attended by senior council officers and members of the Cabinet who will outline the proposals and take people’s questions.
To register to attend and receive the link, click here.
