The Isle of Wight Council may be forced to abandon its newly adopted committee system after the Government announced plans to scrap the model across all English local authorities.
In a Written Ministerial Statement issued on Tuesday (24th June), Local Government Minister Jim McMahon said all councils currently using the committee system would be required to switch to a leader and cabinet model – the most common form of governance in England.
The committee model, which the Isle of Wight Council adopted just last month following a vote at County Hall, was criticised by McMahon as being ‘complex and opaque’ and for slowing down decision-making. The Government claims the changes will bring greater accountability and clarity for taxpayers.
New legislation will be introduced in Parliament, with transitional regulations already in place to freeze any further governance changes. This includes delaying any planned governance referendums until May 2027.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has raised concerns about the move, warning it could cause disruption and additional costs to councils that have recently changed their systems. The LGA has urged ministers to work closely with local authorities to manage the transition effectively.
Back to where we were then, a leader and cabinet that ignores a full council recommendation / vote.
A Mayor in the near future will sort that lot out.
A Mayor would solve many problems.
Another sh*t show by the Isle of Wight Council and it’s leader Phil Jordan. It needs to be put under special measures by the government.
Yes, the council spent about £1million changing something because 1 councillor was upset have now got to spend a lot of money changing it all back again.
And not once did they stop to think whether the changes they made the slightest bit of difference to the general public, or to the services they provide to the public.
Remind me, when was a council member upset and who was it?
The council must have known about this considering they only adopted their new system last month. What a waste of OUR money.
There should be more accountability as long as it doesn’t cost £29,000 a week surely some heads should roll over that debacle
Accountability doesn’t exist in Government run
organisations.