A contingent from the Isle of Wight council met with Minister Lee Rowley today (Tuesday) as part of ongoing discussions to secure an Island Deal.
As reported many times over the past decade, studies by Portsmouth University have found that it costs the Isle of Wight council at least £6.4m more each year to provide services when compared to local authorities on the Mainland. That figure is now more in the region of £10m per annum.
Leadership contingent
Council leader, Lora Peacey-Wilcox, Chief Executive, Wendy Perera and Head of Finance, Chris Ward, travelled to Westminster to meet with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government.
Peacey-Wilcox: A good meeting
Following the meeting, the council Leader told News OnTheWight,
“I had a good meeting with the minister as part of the on-going formal project for the Isle of Wight.
“We are in the continuing process of collecting and discussing evidence, required by Government.”
Timeline unclear
Asked whether the Minister had given any indication of when the Island Deal might materialise, Cllr Peacey-Wilcox told News OnTheWight,
“I hope a timeline can be agreed and kept to.”
Failed to deliver
You only have to page through the News OnTheWight archives of Island Deal history to see how many times Ministers have alluded to this long-promised, but never delivered deal.
Prior to the General Election in 2019, former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, promised that the Island Deal would be going ahead.
Indeed, Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely, has come under criticism for failing to deliver the Island Deal.
Not new funding
Last week, the current PM, Rishi Sunak, said he would ensure a meeting with the Minister for Local Government went ahead.
During PMQs, Sunak claimed a ten per cent uplift in funding for the Isle of Wight council, but the Leader said she’s unsure whether that is new money.
Earlier this year, the Leader also stated that the additional £1m announced by the Government was not new funding.
