Future Governance of the Isle of Wight Council

Changing from Cabinet to Committee system

The Isle of Wight Council currently operates under a leader and cabinet model of governance. However, many councillors have expressed concerns that this system does not allow them to fully represent their constituents' views. In response to these concerns, the Council decided in July 2024 to explore transitioning to a committee system. This change aims to enhance councillors' ability to effectively represent their electorate.

A cross-party working group of councillors was established to inform the debate. The group examined how other councils manage their decision-making processes, gathered insights from individuals with experience in those systems, considered various proposals for change, and ultimately recommended that the council transition to a committee system.

Where are we now?

At an extraordinary meeting of Full Council on 1 May 2024, it was resolved to move to a committee system effective from the Annual Council in May 2025. 

• Read the news story for more information

By law, these changes can only be fully adopted at an annual council meeting. Now that councillors have passed a formal resolution for a new governance system, the decision cannot normally be revisited for five years

Since May 2024, the Audit and Governance Committee, working with officers, has been implementing the necessary changes, including preparing a new Council constitution for the committee system.

What is the difference between the two decision-making arrangements?

In law, a council can choose to have

• an executive leader and cabinet
• a directly-elected mayor
• a committee system

The council currently uses an executive leader and cabinet form of decision-making. This is where a leader of the council is elected by a vote of all councillors at their annual general meeting after a local election has taken place. The leader then appoints councillors who will form a cabinet. There can be up to ten cabinet members and are usually made up of councillors that are part of a majority political group or an alliance of councillors that make up the council.

There are some decisions that can only be taken by all councillors at a full council meeting such as setting the budget and council tax, but this group of councillors are given executive powers to make council policy decisions. There are other committees that deal with any regulatory matters such as planning and licensing as well as several scrutiny committees that seek to influence the policies and decisions made by the council.

Currently, the cabinet is made up of these roles:

• The leader (with responsibility for transport and infrastructure, highways PFI and transport strategy strategic oversight, and external partnerships)
• Cabinet member for adult social care and public health
• Cabinet member for children’s services and education 
• Cabinet member for climate change, biosphere and waste
• Cabinet member for planning, coastal protection and flooding
• Cabinet member for regulatory services, community protection, and ICT
• Deputy leader and cabinet member for housing and finance and corporate functions

This approach means that there are identified councillors who are responsible for decision-making and who can be recognised by the public as being accountable. Because decisions are taken by a small number of councillors, the speed for decision-making can be quicker.

However, because decision-making is allocated to a small number of councillors there is the perception that this is less democratic.

Where there is no one political party or alliance of councillors that has overall control of the council as now, it can leave many councillors to feel excluded and not able to properly represent the views of their electorate.

The directly-elected mayor system is like the leader and cabinet system but a mayor is elected by the public during a local election.

A committee system is where the council is divided into several committees that make the decisions on different parts of the council’s business. Each of these committees is made up of a proportionately balanced number of councillors from each of the political groups and those not aligned to any of those groups. As with all models, some decisions can only be taken by all councillors at a full council meeting such as setting the budget and council tax and other committees that deal with any regulatory matters such as planning and licensing.

Full council have now resolved to move to a committee system and there will be a policy, finance and resources committee and four service committees including:

• children’s services, education and skills committee
• adult social care, public health, and housing needs committee
• economy, regeneration, transport, and infrastructure committee
• environment and community protection committee

This means that more councillors are actively involved in decision- making and is seen to be more inclusive. Decisions are made collectively by committee members with shared accountability for the decisions made. This means that no one councillor can be held to account. Some consider this is less transparent than that of the leader and cabinet model, and that consensus decision-making can mean it takes longer for decisions to be made.

New committee functions effective from 21 May 2025

Policy, Finance and Resources Committee

• strategic oversight
• county deals and devolution
• civic affairs
• communications and design
• human resources (HR)
• elections
• democratic services
• legal services
• financial management
• business centre
• benefits and grants
• audit
• treasury management
• property and asset management
• commercial property investments
• leasing
• procurement and contract management
• business intelligence
• digital and ICT
• emergency planning
• people and organisational development

Children's Services, Education and Skills Committee

• adoption
• fostering
• disabled children support
• respite care
• early help
• care leavers
• safeguarding
• Short Breaks
• youth service
• youth council and youth MP
• special educational needs (SEN)
• alternative education
• early years development
• school improvement
• schools
• home to school transport
• adult community learning

Adult Social Care, Public Health, and Housing Needs Committee

• Integrated Care System (ICS)
• community care
• residential care
• nursing care
• home care
• direct payments
• day care
• supported living
• learning disability homes
• respite care
• resettlement
• safeguarding
• domestic abuse
• Early Help services
• obesity
• social health
• substance misuse
• 0 to 19 years services
• homelessness
• rough sleeping
• housing related support
• housing renewal and enforcement
• disabled facilities grant

Economy, Regeneration, Transport and Infrastructure Committee

• parking services
• floating bridge
• harbours
• concessionary fares
• subsidised bus services
• transport planning
• highway PFI contract
• highways authority
• rights of way
• economic development
• regeneration
• tourism
• leisure centres
• sports development
• libraries
• theatres and museums 
• archaeology
• records office
• skills and development training that does not fall within the remit of Children's Services, Education and Skills Committee
• strategic planning and associated strategy

Environment and Community Protection Committee

• planning services
• trees and landscape protection
• building control
• coastal management
• beach and safety and cleansing
• lead local flood authority
• national landscapes (ANOB)
• local nature recovery delivery (LNRS)
• countryside management
• countryside parks and open spaces
• allotments
• biosphere
• climate change
• bereavement services
• registrars
• coroner
• licensing services
• environmental health
• trading standards
• community protection
• waste collection, recycling and disposal
• closed landfill sites
• littering and fly tipping

What’s next?

Annual Council will approve a new Council Constitution aligned with the committee system during its meeting on 21 May 2025. Once approved, the new system will become operational.