The Isle of Wight council last night narrowly voted through the proposed Conservative-UKIP-IMG budget for 2017-18 (see our live coverage).
Alternative budgets by the Labour/LibDem group and the Island Independents were debated, but did not receive sufficient votes in favour.
The new “care-taker” administration’s proposal received 18 votes in favour and 16 against, with no councillor abstaining.
Cuts to services and rise in costs
The approved budget – which comes in to force in April 2017, one month before the council elections – will see a 4.99% increase to Council Tax, 50% increase to pedestrian charges on the Cowes floating bridge, 50% cuts to funding for youth services, cuts to Personal Budgets for those with learning disabilities, a rise in Lease and License charges and reduced opening hours at the recycling centres.
Below is the official release from the Isle of Wight council.
This in from the Isle of Wight council. Ed
The Isle of Wight Council has set its budget and council tax for 2017/18, with the emphasis on regenerating the Island’s economy, protecting services wherever it can for the most vulnerable in the community, and providing essential value for money services for residents and businesses.
A meeting of the Full Council last night (Wednesday) agreed the budget, which was based around the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy – further developed and progressed by the council’s new Executive which was appointed in January this year. This sets out an aspiration for the council to live within its means, matching income to expenditure, and creating a strong and stable foundation from which it can focus on the challenge of building a strong and prosperous Island based on regeneration, growth and productivity.
Rise in council tax
To ensure the council and its services are well-placed and secure to serve Island residents into the future, a council tax increase of 1.99 per cent was agreed for “general purposes”, with a further 3.0 per cent increase specifically to protect adult social care, taking the total rise to 4.99 per cent. Council tax currently provides almost 49 per cent of the council’s revenue funding, with the remainder mainly coming from government grants, business rates and fees and charges.
It means the Isle of Wight Council element of council tax (including the adult social care aspect) for a band C property will rise to £1,302.10 in 2017/18, an increase of £61.95 above the previous year, or around £1.19 per week. These figures exclude the police and town and parish precepts.
Maximise deployment of resources
In his report, Leader of the Isle of Wight council, Dave Stewart, said the council needed to “resolutely” maximise the deployment of its resources – in terms of revenue, capital, property and staff – towards driving additional income/funding and cost savings to secure council services for the future.
Following the meeting he said:
“As a new Executive we have only been in place for a matter of weeks, and have had to act swiftly and with considerable focus to analyse and build on the previous draft proposals before us.”
Budget focus
The key focus of the budget was to:
- further develop the stability and resilience of the council so that it is in a strong place to meet the needs of the Island’s community;
- provide key capital investment over the medium term for regeneration and transformation projects for the Island, including in strategic employment sites and transport infrastructure, as well as rationalising and making council buildings more efficient;
- achieve £7.5 million of savings in 2017/18 on which the Medium Term Financial Strategy agreed by Full Council in October is based – while providing protection for essential services;
- set council tax at a level which is critical to securing adult social care services on the Island;
- improve the financial resilience of the council by gently building reserves over the next three years.
In setting its budget for 2017/18, the council agreed capital investments in projects for future economic growth for the Island, to be led by the authority’s new regeneration team. The capital investments are designed to help boost further investment in the Island, and create more jobs, while developing the business rates and council tax base to protect and provide sustainable key council services into the future.
Among the list of capital investments agreed for both regeneration and other key projects, were:
- £1 million to purchase and redevelop land for regeneration at Kingston Marina and the Island Technology Park;
- £1 million of “match funding” over three years to support bids for funding to improve Newport transport junctions;
- establishing a commercial property acquisition fund of £100 million over two years, through prudential borrowing, to generate long-term ongoing income for the council;
- £100,000 towards the phased implementation of the 20mph speed limit initiative in key areas of the Island;
- £3.1 million over two years for priority extensions and condition works at Island schools;
- £1.6 million towards supporting people to stay in their own homes;
- £220,000 for public realm projects from playground equipment to seafront railings.
- To ensure the council can meet its ongoing financial challenges for the future, revenue savings of £7.5 million in services were agreed for 2017/18 – with further year-on-year annual savings of £7.5 million envisaged in 2018/19, £7.0 million in 2019/20 and £4.5 million in 2020/21.
Accelerating costs
The budget report presented to Full Council stated:
“As part of the government’s drive to repair the national public finances, local government has experienced unprecedented reductions in government funding. Simultaneously, the council has experienced accelerating costs associated with essential care services.”
The council has estimated that the combined impact of these financial challenges was a predicted budget deficit of £20 million over the three years from 2017/18 to 2019/20, which led to the development of its Medium Term Financial Strategy in 2016. The strategy was supported by all parties and groups within the council.
Balancing savings with services
The savings proposals agreed by Full Council were broadly aligned with the response from the council’s budget consultation with residents and stakeholders held in recent months. The savings seek to balance the ongoing protection of children’s and adult social care services, while retaining good quality and sustainable public services across the council.
The average savings across the council in 2017/18 will be at 6.7 per cent, with children’s services at 4.7 per cent and adult social care at 1.5 per cent.
Councillor Stewart said:
“The new Executive put before Full Council a budget which we very much see as a stable and responsible starting point to build upon and develop for the future. We have acted professionally, ethically and with integrity and placed the emphasis on significant investment in the Island’s economic future alongside prudent financial management and protecting key services, especially for the most vulnerable.
“As we move ahead we hope to further develop this strategy – based on regeneration, growth and productivity – to ensure the Island and our council services are robust, healthy and sustainable long into the future.”
Conservative-Alliance Budget paper
Budget Paper for Feb 2017 IWC Meeting by OnTheWightNews on Scribd
Labour/LibDem alternative budget
Labour Lib Dem Group – Alternative Budget by OnTheWightNews on Scribd
Island Independents alternative budget
Independent Group alternative budget by OnTheWightNews on Scribd
