The fight for fair funding from government continues – Isle of Wight Observer News

The leader of the Isle of Wight Council, Phil Jordan (pictured), is renewing his push for fair funding from the Government, arguing that the Island continues to be short-changed in local authority financial settlements.

Citing a significant funding gap, Cllr Jordan has written to Minister for local government Jim McMahon, reiterating the case for increased funding to reflect the higher costs of delivering services on the Island. While the Government granted an additional £4 million last year in recognition of the Council’s financial challenges, this figure falls far short of the £10 million to £24 million the Council says it needs and has provided evidence for.

Cllr Jordan highlighted that the shortfall in funding has put the IW Council in a precarious position, forcing successive years of budget cuts. “Once again this year, we are being forced to make savings of around £3 million, on top of savings we’ve made since 2021. Savings on top of savings on top of savings cannot go on,” he said. He warned that the current funding level is simply unsustainable and pointed out that some other councils at breaking point have already collapsed.

The council is preparing an extensive document to submit as evidence to the government’s ongoing Fair Funding Review to demonstrate that the Island has been consistently underfunded due to an incorrect funding formula. Cllr Jordan is urging the Government to provide at least £10 million immediately as a temporary measure until the review is finalised. “We are not being unreasonable,” he stated. “Nothing less will do.”

The leader vowed to continue pressing the government for a fair settlement, pledging to continue to fight for the Island’s financial future.

MP for IW West, Richard Quigley said: “”I’ve spoken to Jim McMahon and the previous local government minister. The issue with previous settlements, was the previous government didn’t believe we needed additional money. This misunderstanding is still present in the civil service.

“I’ve made representations to Jim McMahon and will do so again. The first positive change will be multi year funding, devolution will also bring more money for the Island . I’ll continue to work closely with the council leader to get a fair deal for the Island.”

Government refuses to say how funding was decided

In March last year the IW Observer used the Freedom of Information Act to ask how the last government took evidence submitted in previous years into account when making funding decisions. They refused to release any information, claiming it wasn’t in the public’s interest, as it could discourage “free and frank” advice to ministers. We disagreed and argued that since the decision had already been made, there was no risk. But they refused to reconsider.

We took the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the body that ensures public access to information. However, the government then changed its argument, successfully claiming that because so much time had passed (due to government delays and how long the ICO took to deal with the issue) the information now related to ongoing decisions about future funding.

Once this year’s funding decision is finalised, we plan to request the information again.