This in from the Isle of Wight Council. Ed
The current number of councillors should remain unchanged at 40, the Isle of Wight Council has recommended.
An anonymous survey alongside other research by the local authority analysed workload and committee commitments and found the current number was right for the responsibilities the council needs to undertake.
The work was carried out after the Boundary Commission initiated an electoral review of the Island.
Councillor numbers were also reduced from 48 to 40 in the last electoral review undertaken in 2007.
Time spent undertaking role “not reduced significantly”
Leader of the Isle of Wight council, Cllr Dave Stewart, said,
“It is absolutely right the council looked at whether there was a scope to reduce councillor numbers further, but the general consensus is that the amount of time spent undertaking the role has not reduced significantly in recent years.
“The role also continues to evolve and Islanders rightly expect to receive a high standard of service from their councillors, which I think is what happens.
“This good work is best achieved by the number we have now, particularly when there was a substantial reduction just over ten years ago.”
Full council vote
The full council will vote on the recommendation on March 21 and the response will be sent to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, who will make the final decision.
A public consultation looking at proposed changes to ward boundaries will start on 1 May and could come into force by 2021.
