UPDATED: The Leader of the Isle of Wight Council, Councillor Dave Stewart, has named his Executive that will take care of the leadership of the authority until the local council elections in May 2017.
It’s all change at the top with plenty of local councillors taking up new roles, including Cllr Jon Gilbey for Major Contracts Management (Waste, PFI) and Cllr Wayne Whittle taking charge of Tourism and business development.
Councillor Stewart said:
“I am pleased to announce the team of members who will support and guide the council in the coming months. This cross-party team uphold my ambitions to provide professional leadership for the council in a caretaking capacity up to the local council elections in May. I know that they will act ethically and with integrity to provide the best possible service for Island residents, and to ensure that effective decisions and actions are taken as necessary.
“Over the next few weeks, our focus will be upon the need to set and agree a robust council budget for 2017/18, which will be considered by the Full Council on 22 February. We will be working closely with council officers to address service needs and establish the best way forward for council services in relation to this and to meet the £7.5 million gap in council funding already identified.
“Yesterday (19 January) we had a very productive and enlightening meeting with council officers about the budget; as a result I am confident that we will be able to lead the council to achieve our primary objective of setting a legal and balanced budget for next year.”
In a statement issued this morning, Cllr Daryll Pitcher has said:
“I would like to thank Cllr. Stewart for giving me the Executive position of Planning, Housing and Homelessness in his new Administration. I think it shows a recognition on his part of where this Council is at the moment. As a UKIP Member and I am pleased to be able to do my part in a genuine cross party way for the good of the Island in the last few weeks before the elections.
Article continues below this advertisement “I am a UKIP member so I will approach my brief in a UKIP manner by using commonsense and by listening to the people. As UKIP I thought long and hard balancing the pitfalls and benefits of working with the Conservatives. In the end I decided that as a representative of the people I had to step up and take responsibility.
“The antics of certain Members at Full Council brought shame on us all. I intend to act with the kind of calm professionalism missing from the behaviour of others, and ensure that UKIP show the capable leadership required to deliver a better future for the Island”.
| Executive responsibility/portfolio | Councillor | Political group |
| Leader and executive member for strategic and community partnerships, and public protection | Cllr Dave Stewart | Conservative |
| Deputy leader and executive member for corporate resources | Cllr Stuart Hutchinson | Conservative |
| Children’s services | Cllr Chris Whitehouse | Conservative |
| Tourism and business development (including public realm) | Cllr Wayne Whittle | Conservative |
| Transport and infrastructure (including car parking) | Cllr Ian Ward | Conservative |
| Adult social care and public health | Cllr Richard Priest | Individual Members’ Group |
| Major contracts management | Cllr Jon Gilbey | Individual Members’ Group |
| Regeneration | Cllr Julie Jones-Evans | Individual Members’ Group |
| Planning, housing and homelessness | Cllr Daryll Pitcher | UKIP |
