The Isle of Wight Council’s Cabinet will be asked to adopt a new strategy that promises to prioritise council spending in favour of Island business and wider economic value.
The new draft commercial strategy is being presented by Cllr Chris Jarman, cabinet member for strategic finance, transformational change and corporate resources.
Jarman: Commercial strategy will lead to future financial sustainability
Cllr Jarman explained his proposed strategy,
“This is a framework for change, increasing efficiency and effectiveness, and ultimately improving the Island’s economy.
“Like many councils across the country, we face financial challenges, and we expect that to continue.
“So to serve the Island’s needs, we need to get more money coming into the council through becoming more commercial.
“This commercial strategy means we can achieve future financial sustainability for the authority, and continue to give high quality services to residents.
“We want to be more business-minded, tapping into the talents and skills in our workforce, our partners and contractors, and within our community.
“Instead of taking a purely financial approach to commercialisation, the strategy will guide the authority towards a culture of municipal entrepreneurship.
“This is not all about profit.”
Jarman: Three themes in our strategy
Cllr Jarman went on to add,
“There are other types of commercial activity that will be highly beneficial now and in the future.
“So we have three themes in our strategy: increasing the council’s resources by savings and efficiencies; tackling climate change at the heart of all decisions; and increasing community wealth and social value.
“Community wealth building is key to the new strategy, and so, for example, we propose to maximise procurement and spending to benefit Island-based local partners and businesses, which will feed money back into the Island to in turn generate more local wealth.”
Jarman: The outcome will be a better economy for the Island
The cabinet member finished by saying,
“This is a document that recognises the changes that we have already put in place, and sets the scene for much more transformative work in the future.
“If we adopt this strategy, I expect to see many new and innovative projects and plans coming forward as a result.
“The outcome will be a better economy for the Island, and a more vibrant and locally-focused community of businesses and organisations serving the Island’s community.”
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
Image: alaur rahman under CC BY 2.0
