The leader of the Isle of Wight Council, Cllr Dave Stewart, has said that he has discovered millions in extra government grants coming to the Island, despite the previous administration suggesting it was a victim of austerity.
Cllr Stewart and his team have been looking at the books since taking over control of County Hall in January and have found big sums from Whitehall or government-funded bodies to help the Island in specific ways.
There is now a question mark over how the Independents had managed the cash, if their view was the authority could not balance its books.
Cllr Stewart has explained that 1 example of extra money available is a staggering £1.3million granted over 3 years for Local Sustainable Transport. The Island was only 1 of 2 authorities in the country to have repeatedly bid for the cash and got it.
Other grants include £9.6million the Isle of Wight received from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) this year and a further £245,950 granted to local initiatives by the Police and Crime Commissioner for the coming year. Substantial sums have also been directed towards the Island’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), adult & community learning, troubled families and coastal communities – all adding up to over £939,000. Add to this the capital received for areas such as Dementia improvement and Community Housing and the Isle of Wight has received over £3million.
Council Leader Dave Stewart has said:
“In all, I have been pretty astounded about just how much extra money, on top of our usual grants, this island has been given over the last few years for projects, particularly when everyone was given the wrong impression we were getting next to nothing from the Government”.
“So, when the previous independent leadership suggested we have not had enough Whitehall help, that is just not accurate and the question must now be: how effectively were the independents using and managing that money for the benefit of the Island before they walked out?
Article continues below this advertisement “Without these extra sums, the council would be in an even worse financial position in terms of our overall funding needs but to pay for care for our increasing elderly population means that we, like 3 out of 4 councils, have had to use the full 3% tax allowance to meet that need.
“All councils are under pressure to save money and we must find ways to cut costs just like every other authority. But the way forward is not to throw hands up in the air and say we haven’t got any money. The way forward is to use the money we have wisely, lobby hard to get as much money from government as we can and manage the money we do get well.
“We need to be innovative and look to the long-term future for the good of island residents and we are working on ways to do that with announcements due soon.
“My aim now is to engage with our government in an open and transparent dialogue to seek support, including funding support for those innovations, that will make a big difference”.
