Devolution

Extraordinary Full Council meeting on 1 October

An important meeting of the Isle of Wight Council has been scheduled for Wednesday, 1 October 2025, to discuss the next steps in the government’s devolution plans.

This extraordinary meeting of Full Council will begin at 7pm

It has been arranged to meet a deadline set by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The session will focus solely on the topic of devolution and the priority programme awarded to the Isle of Wight earlier this year.

The meeting will take place at County Hall in Newport, and residents are welcome to attend in person or watch online via the council’s website.

What is devolution?

In December 2024 the Government announced a major programme of reform for local government including two related but separate initiatives, devolution and Local Government reorganisation.

Devolution is the transferring of powers and funding from Whitehall to local areas by creating regional Strategic Authorities with an elected Mayor, covering populations of over 1.5 million in all areas of England that do not already have them.

Devolution is where powers that currently sit with the national government are given to a local area so local decision makers can have more of a say in what happens in their area. It is important because it ensures that decisions are made closer to the local people, communities and businesses they affect. The Government is keen to do this through something called Strategic Authorities.

 Devolution could mean:

  • Better co-ordination of transport across the whole region
  • Better support for skills development for our residents because money will be spent locally rather than by national government
  • More strategic control over planning and housing
  • A stronger voice for our region with central Government

Devolution would see a Strategic Authority created covering the whole of Hampshire and The Solent, but local councils would still exist and be members of it. Separately to devolution, the Government is keen on Local Government Reorganisation, but that is a separate issue.

The Isle of Wight Council would still have the responsibility for setting local priorities and delivering them and the services you will be familiar with. Our elected councillors would remain accountable to the Island electorate. This would be similar to existing arrangements across the country such as Manchester where Andy Burnham is the Mayor of the Manchester Combined Authority and all the councils in that area still having council Leaders.

On 10 July 2025, the council received a letter from Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution Jim McMahon OBE MP regarding the introduction of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill to Parliament. 

Hampshire and the Solent devolution bid

On 6 February 2025, the Government announced that Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils and Isle of Wight Council had been successful in their joint bid for inclusion on the Government's fast-track Devolution Priority Programme (DPP).

A regional Mayor will be elected to head up a new Strategic Authority across the wider region. The mayor will be responsible for driving local economic growth, strategic planning and infrastructure, strategic transport, and other areas. Their powers and funding will be transferred from government departments.

Elections for a mayor are expected to be held in May 2026.

To enable our region to progress devolution to the most ambitious timeframes, the Government has confirmed that local elections for the Isle of Wight Council will be postponed until May 2026. They were due to take place in May 2025.

Town, parish, and community council elections are still planned to go ahead this year.

Devolution plans move forward – July 2025 update

Plans to establish a new Mayoral County Combined Authority (MCCA) for the region have taken a significant step forward, following confirmation from central government that the necessary legislation will be brought forward.

Subject to agreement by the constituent authorities and subsequent approval by Parliament, elections for the new Mayor will take place in May 2026.

The Isle of Wight Council, alongside Southampton City Council, Portsmouth City Council, and Hampshire County Council, continues to work closely with government to shape the legislative framework that will underpin the new powers and formally establish the MCCA.

Local councillors will have the opportunity to review and consider any proposed devolution arrangements later this year.

A copy of the Ministerial statement issued on Thursday, 17 July 2025 is available on the UK Parliament Written Statements page