The Isle of Wight Council spent almost £34,000 on consultancy work linked to controversial local government reorganisation plans which have now been withdrawn by the government.
Figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) show County Hall spent £33,830.57 on activity connected to local government reorganisation (LGR).
The entire amount was spent on consultancy work relating to the proposed plans.
The Isle of Wight was set to retain its existing status as a standalone unitary authority under the proposals, while councils across Hampshire were preparing for a major restructure into 4 larger authorities.
The plans were thrown into uncertainty on Monday (7th September) when Communities Secretary Angela Rayner withdrew the government’s previous approval for the Hampshire reorganisation following new legal advice. This sparked concern from Joe Robertson earlier this week, but council leader Jonathan Bacon has said the halt will have no impact on the Isle of Wight.
Councils across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight had already spent months committing staff time, resources and money to preparing for the changes.
Last year, work carried out by consultants KPMG estimated indicative one-off implementation costs for LGR across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight at £133million.
Hampshire County Council subsequently suggested in May that implementation would cost between £80million and £132million.
Former Secretary of State Steve Reed had said each new unitary authority would be entitled to £900,000 to help with transition costs, although the overall costs of restructuring were expected to be considerably higher and met from councils’ own resources.
Following the government’s decision, the LDRS contacted all 15 councils involved in the process across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to establish how much had already been spent preparing for LGR.
Of the 7 authorities which responded, the Isle of Wight Council was the only one to provide a specific data relatiing to the financial cost of the LGR.
Other authorities said significant resources had been committed to the process, including staff and councillor time and external support, but did not provide an overall cost.
Southampton City Council had previously approved the recruitment of 17 roles to prepare for reorganisation, carrying combined salaries of £879,933, funded from a £3.5million LGR reserve.
Councils involved in the Hampshire reorganisation are now awaiting the outcome of the government’s review before considering what happens next.
