A major change to the way the Isle of Wight council could make decisions is a step closer.
As reported, members last night (Thursday) agreed to hold an extraordinary council meeting on 1st May to make the final decision about whether or not to change the authority’s governance system.
Working group
A working group has been devising plans since last summer to move away from the leader and cabinet model to a committee system, which is hoped will involve more councillors in the decision-making.
However, concerns were raised the council was moving too fast and there was not enough information to continue.
Jones-Evans: Not “enough time to consider the matter properly”
Councillor Julie Jones-Evans said the council was “doing guesswork” and “didn’t have enough time to consider the matter properly”, highlighting other local authorities that had made the switch did so over a longer timeframe.
Bacon: Not realistic
Councillor Jonathan Bacon said moving to a committee system in May was “not realistic” and questioned why they were working to a difficult timescale rather than achieving a good result.
Fuller: Doing it “on the cheap”
Councillor Paul Fuller, who sat on the last committee system the Isle of Wight council had before switching, said it is a fantastic system, but this was doing it “on the cheap” and he didn’t want to see that undermining the council’s democratic process.
At the meeting in May, councillors will be asked if they think the authority should move over to the committee system. If yes, then when should it be implemented — either later that month, in May 2025 or at a later date.
Brodie proposed the idea
Councillor Geoff Brodie, who proposed the idea in July, said officers and consultants concluded the change could be done in May, but there were risks, ‘like in everything in life’.
Councillor Chris Quirk said he thought it was good to go this year and let it bed in ahead of any new councillors joining in 2025.
Love: “Clunky and inappropriate”
Councillor Karl Love said he was in favour of a “super modern committee system”, but what had come forward was “clunky and inappropriate” for the council and was unsure how it benefitted Island residents.
He put forward a motion which called for all residents to be consulted on the changes however it fell, with 20 votes against, 12 in favour and two abstentions.
Consultation
A consultation and communication strategy was created by the working party and has previously invited comments from the public on their work and the changes.
Further consultations will take place in the coming weeks.
Churchman: People were not interested in politics
Councillor Vanessa Churchman said while she would love to see a consultation where everyone replied, she did not think it would happen as people were not interested in politics.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
