Today (23 February 2022) is budget day for Isle of Wight Council.

This is the first time that the Alliance Group of independents and Greens have put forward budget proposals since they took over the council’s administration from the Conservatives last May.

There are some welcome proposals such as investing in affordable housing and acting on environmental issues.

But, due to government underfunding and without a proper “Island Deal”, Isle of Wight Council still has to make cuts. These are not as bad as recent years under the Conservatives.

However, three proposals are particularly concerning:

• charging for video streaming of funerals
• cutting staff in the council’s contact centre
• putting up WightCare charges by 13 percent

I’ve proposed a budget amendment to remove the first two proposals, and drop the WightCare increase to a sensible 3 percent.

I’ve also recommended that the council develop an anti-poverty strategy, and back this up with a £300,000 fund. This will make sure that the council can act on its Corporate Plan commitment of overarching consideration to tackle poverty – something that I proposed and the council backed.