There are ‘no plans’ to combine the Isle of Wight Council with other local authorities as part of a ‘once in a lifetime’ devolution opportunity, County Hall’s leader has said.
Addressing an Extraordinary General Meeting of Full Council yesterday evening (Wednesday), Phil Jordan said his administration would ‘argue strongly’ that the Island’s unitary authority should remain ‘as is’ in response to contentious local government reorganisation plans included in Whitehall’s recently published English Devolution White Paper.
The devolution plans
The 16th December 2024 policy paper said the government would ‘facilitate’ a programme of reorganisation for areas of England with two tiers of local government, district and county councils, and unitary councils where there is ‘evidence of failure’ or where ‘size and boundaries’ might be hindering their ability to deliver sustainable and high-quality services.
The document also states new unitary councils created from reorganisation must be the ‘right size’ to ‘achieve, efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks’. The paper adds,
“For most areas this will mean creating councils with a population of 500,000 or more, but there may be exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area, including for devolution, and decisions will be on a case-by-case basis.”
Jordan: No plans for amalgamation
Councillor Jordan said,
“There are no plans to enlarge this unitary authority by amalgamation with Southampton, Portsmouth or Hampshire, or any other authority for that matter.
“I believe the water around this Island, the Solent, is a good reason that we can convince government that this Island is an exception – there are lots of other reasons we can build into that case, including the cost of delivering services.”
Robertson: This is no longer a sensible conversation about genuine devolution
Earlier this week, Isle of Wight East Conservative MP, Joe Robertson, tore into the English Devolution White Paper, fearing it would “abolish the Isle of Wight Council”.
He said,
“Previous Conservative and Labour governments have talked about devolving power down from Whitehall, but, until now, nobody was proposing the abolition of the Isle of Wight Council.
“This is no longer a sensible conversation about genuine devolution — it is a proposal by an out-of-touch government, to transfer all of our decision-making powers off the Island to a new body on the mainland.
“The idea is both absurd and offensive.”
Jordan: It is not changing the Island council into anything it is not already
Speaking today, Councillor Jordan said,
“The devolution project – which is happening anyway – is a once in a lifetime opportunity for this Island which we must grasp very firmly and quickly.
“It offers an opportunity for far more beneficial powers being transferred from Westminster to our Island and the Solent area and it offers millions of pounds of additional funding to our Island and the Solent area for at least 30 years.
“Devolution is a strategic arrangement. It is not changing the Island council into anything it is not already, amalgamating with other councils or being merged with the mainland.
“The Island council will remain as is in any devolution arrangement and we must secure this opportunity without delay.”
The cabinet will this evening decide on the council’s response to the government plans, considering yesterday evening’s Full Council vote on the matter.
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
Catch up on the latest in relation to the Devolution plans by accessing OnTheWight’s Solent Devolution archive. Ed
