Funding Boost Unfairly Distributed Argue IW Lib Dems

As we reported yesterday, the Isle of Wight council are proposing to distribute £250,000 to Town and Parish Councils across the Island.

We’re told that Chief Executive, Steve Beynon, explained at the budget consultation meeting on Monday that the money will be distributed according to Council Tax banding values.

According to Cllr Blezzard, Mr Beynon said that by dispersing the monies this way would be to the advantage of poorer communities.

“Poorer areas will miss out”
This is today being disputed by the IW Liberal Democrats who argue that distributing by council tax banding values will result in poorer areas missing out.

Cllr Bob Blezzard from Sandown Parish Council said, “the proposed method for dispersing this precious resource is nothing short of scandalous, how can it be fair that the residents of Yarmouth can receive £3.05 per elector yet the residents of East Cowes get only £1.99 per elector?

“This administration has no concept of natural justice or fairness. Further evidence of the iniquity of this proposal is that Yarmouth, with only 781 electors gets £2,381 yet Arreton is to receive only £1,773 with 861 on the electoral role.”

Irony not lost on members
Tim Wakeley, Lib Dem Communications Officer, went on to say, “at Monday’s meeting of the Ryde Town Council, the irony was not lost to Members who received information from a County Officer regarding the funding shortfall for CCTV cameras across the Island, only to later hear of the ‘£250k underspend’ from IW Councillor Arthur Taylor. Ryde Town Council will determine, at a later date, whether or not to contribute to the funding shortfall for CCTV cameras.

“Ryde, as the largest town, should receive £42,565 if the formula was based, fairly, on the electoral role yet Ryde, under this system, is due to receive just £39,723 and Newport is even worse hit with a shortfall of over £4k.”

Winners and Losers
According to the Liberal Democrats, the £250,000 made available in the Economic Improvement Fund averages £2.23 per elector across the Island.

They say that as calculations have been based on Council Tax banding values rather than electors there are some serious anomalies. The ‘league table’ of winners and losers produced by the IW Lib Dems is set out below.

Image: Tax Brackets.org under CC BY 2.0