By Carole Dennett
Isle of Wight councillors will decide next Wednesday whether to approve the recommended new Members’ Allowance Scheme for 2026–27. Their decision is a a legal requirement, but if they do choose to accept increases it may not be a popular move with Islanders already frustrated by the council’s performance.
The report going before Full Council confirms that the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) has recommended increasing the basic councillor allowance from £10,124 to £10,800 a year – a rise of £676 a year. The IRP says this reflects increases in the cost‑of‑living and is in line with national benchmarks. Councillors must, by law, consider the panel’s recommendations before setting the scheme, but are not required to agree with the conclusions.
Undoubtedly, some councillors commit many hours to their duties, but public confidence in our local authority is not high. The recent Penn Report, commissioned after a series of governance failures and concerns and published in November, labelled the IW Council as “dysfunctional,” citing poor councillor behaviour, a breakdown in respect between members and officers and codes of conduct that were routinely ignored. Against that backdrop, some Islanders may question whether now the right time for elected members to vote to increase their allowances.
The report acknowledges that councillors often feel uncomfortable about voting on their own allowances, but stresses that Parliament requires the Full Council to make the final decision. Members are free to forgo all or part of their allowance if they wish. Richard Quigley, MP for the West Wight has not taken any council allowances since he was elected to Parliament in July 2024.
Alongside the basic allowance, the IRP recommends keeping existing multipliers for special responsibility allowances (SRAs), such as the leader and those who have committee responsibilities until a full review takes place after the May 2026 local elections. The leader receives three times the basic allowance, most committee chairman double and there are also SRAs for leaders of political groups with at least five members. The basic allowance covers their time and some expenses, but they also receive a sum for travel, off-island subsistence and caring allowances. It is recommended that these payments remain unchanged.
The council says the proposed scheme fits within the draft budget for 2026–27, and that all payments will continue to be published annually for transparency.
Looking at the national picture, the allowances our councillors receive is below average, which for unitary authorities is £11,943. However, it is almost double the lowest allowances, for councillors of another small unitary authority, Rutland, where they receive a basic allowance of £5,245.
Mal Butler