As reported by News OnTheWight earlier this week, the Isle of Wight council has still not seen the the benefit of an Island Deal, despite promises from various Conservative Prime Ministers and Ministers going back several years.
Leader of the council, Phil Jordan, expressed earlier in the week his disappointment with the draft Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) for the Island. This is the amount the Government provide each year to ensure the local authority can provide essential services such as adult social care, children’s services, roads, waste etc.
Questions to the MP
Following the announcement by Councillor Jordan, News OnTheWight put the following questions to Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely.
Since you were elected as the MP to represent the Isle of Wight in 2017 you have consistently spoken about getting an Island Deal to balance the additional costs of providing services on an island.
As I am sure you are aware, the Island Deal has still not been delivered, in fact as reported, not only has it not arrived, but the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) being delivered to IWC for 2024/25 is nearly half a million pounds less than forecast. To add insult to injury, in contrast, IW council received the lowest percentage increase of LGFS of all unitary authorities.
As the Government has finally acknowledged that the Island has unique circumstances, have you heard from them why:
1) They haven’t yet delivered on the Island Deal?
2) Gave nearly half a million less in the LGFS for 2024/25 than was forecast by the council?
And 3) Why Isle of Wight council received the lowest percentage increase of all unitary authorities?
MP’s response
The Isle of Wight MP had previously referred to the lack of a funding uplift to support local Government services a 50-year injustice.
He chose not to specifically answer News OnTheWight’s questions, but instead replied,
“I have constantly spoken about the need to get a better deal for the Island, and I have delivered it in many ways, but there is always more to do.
“A better deal for the Island has never solely or even largely been about the IW Council funding settlement, although clearly I would like more funding for the Council.
“I fight every battle, but I can’t promise to win every battle. The final settlement has not been agreed and I have more meetings.
“An Island Deal is about getting a better deal for the Island all the time, and across all of government. It’s not nor has ever been a bag of money for the Council and to see an island deal as ONLY being associated with Council funding is entirely wrong and would limit the Island in many ways.
Mr Seely then went on to list 22 pieces of funding that, through ‘working with others’, he said he’d achieved for the Island. You can read his full list on the comment he left on a Letter to the Editor from Hans Bromwich.
Please answer the questions
News OnTheWight went back to Bob asking him to answer the three questions from our first contact. His office replied,
With regards to the council’s financial settlement, Bob’s work continues. I would draw your attention to the part in his response where he says ‘The final settlement has not been agreed and I have more meetings.’
The three questions are still not answered.
Jordan: IWC seeing “a year-on-year reduction in funding”
After this week’s Cabinet meeting, Councillor Jordan told the Local Democracy reporter that the government had confirmed in writing the Island had a case for extra funding, but nothing new arrived in the settlement.
Instead, he said, the council “again saw a year-on-year reduction in funding” which means it is “forced to cut services, increase charges and increase council tax simply to balance our budget.
“The government is financially strangling our Island, our people and our communities and we deserve better,” he said.
