A swath of budget cuts will be discussed at tonight’s Isle of Wight council Cabinet meeting.
When the council agreed to a number of budget cuts back in February, they stated that a review of the budget would be carried out six months later.
Tonight’s discussions are a result of that review, but also take into account the cuts from Government, following the emergency budget in June 2010.
Papers outline recommendations
To those who haven’t had a chance to peruse the September Cabinet papers and appendices, we’re not surprised. We spent a very long time going through them, the end result being goggle-eyes and getting lost in jargon.
However, we can provide a very brief outline of what’s up for discussion tonight with links through the relevant documents.
Community and Adult Services
The main items under discussion within the interim budget review are changes to Community and Adult Services. This covers the council’s responsibilities for adult social care, children’s social care, fire modernisation, leisure services and bus fare concessions.
As part of the cuts to adult social care, the report states that the budget cuts will bring the Island into line with other UK authorities.
It says “spend on older people is £236 per head of population compared to the England average of £187; average spend on home care being £82 per head compared to £64 and a spend on learning disability of £137 per head compared to £113.”
A detailed outline of Adult Service Proposals is provided in Appendix 3.
Westminster House to close
As many will already be aware, Westminster House is set to close and users moved to two other units elsewhere on the Island. This will be discussed, no doubt at length, with full details of the proposals outlined in Appendix 5.
Parking proposals
Parking Income and Permit Options will be discussed, with recommendations for revised parking permits.
Other agenda items
As well as the interim budget review, other items up for discussion include a report on Strategic Highway Network Improvements for Newport – (Paper C) and another on the Interim Municipal Waste Plan April 2008 – March 2011 – (Paper D)
As usual there’ll be members’ question time and delegated decisions, and in addition, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Economy, Tourism, Leisure, Planning and Property and the Cabinet Member for the Environment, Transport and Corporate Services will present a report on Council Procurement and the Island Economy – (Paper E)
Live coverage
As always, VB hopes to be reporting live from the meeting just after 6pm, giving you, the reader, the opportunity to follow discussions and see how your the Cabinet members represent the Island.
Tune back in then to hear more.
