Press Release Date: 10/08/2006
Policy analysts working for national agencies are to visit the Isle of Wight Council to see if innovative work to devolve power down to town and parish councils could form a framework for other councils to follow.
Dr Graham Gardner, a research associate at the University of Aberystwyth has been commissioned by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to review the quality parish scheme. He is interested in using the Island as a case study and a model of good practice for other authorities and will be making a fact finding visit to the authority on 10 August. His visit will include discussions with the council’s Parish and Community Development Team (PCDT), the Leader of Isle of Wight Council Councillor Andy Sutton and Cabinet Member for Parish and Town Council Empowerment, Councillor Jilly Wood. He will also meet the Chairs of the Isle of Wight Association of Parish and Town Councils, Ron Mew and Island Society of Local Council Clerks Chair, John Whitney. He will also meet with the Parish Task Group, which is made up of parish clerks and reps of the Island’s Town and Parish Councils.
At the same time another two other leading researchers, will also visit the council to learn more about the work it is doing with parish councils.
Laurie Howes who is Head of The Centre for Policy Studies at the University of Gloucester, is currently writing a report for the Commission for Rural Communities and intends to write a section on the Isle of Wight Council. His visit will include a meeting with the Leader and Councillor Wood to discuss the council’s future plans for empowerment and devolution through the creation of quality councils together with the parish task group and the PCDT.
Elisabeth Skinner, Head of Local Policy, University of Gloucester will be visiting the PCDT to discuss the innovative work we are doing here. She believes that we should be sharing what we do with a wider audience and, as she travels all over the country lecturing, she will be a marvellous advocate for us.
Councillor Jilly Wood, the Cabinet Lead for Resources, Auditing and Council Efficiency said: “The council together with its partners in the town and parish councils have developed some innovative ways of giving neighbourhoods the power to make a difference to their communities. We are delighted that independent researchers are interested in our work and hope that it their studies will help other councils achieve similar successes.”
Innovations the council has developed on the Isle of Wight have included:
• Town and Parish Council Awards Schemes: Recently launched by Councillor Wood, the scheme offers ten awards of up to £5,000 for town and parish councils which come up with innovative schemes. The schemes are linked to benefiting Isle of Wight Council services or helping the council in achieving its own Local Area Agreement objectives and are effectively ‘Local’ Local Area Agreements. Quality town and parish councils can apply directly for the top awards.
• A tri-partite agreement between the council, the Island’s Association of Town and Parish Councils and the Society of Local Council Clerks. Under this agreement, the council provides these organisations with the functions of a secretariat and also administrative support , enabling them the access to staff and facilities that comes with large organisations.
• A dispute resolution service.
• Subsidised training for clerks.
• The council has taken responsibility for organisation and costs for all elections within the parish and town councils, releasing parish precepts money to be spent on local services.
• Silverline Service: Parish and Town Councils have a dedicated number for reporting local issues to the council, from potholes to abandoned vehicles. Once reported, the Silverline process takes ownership of the problem and has a robust tracking process to follow it to resolution.
• Town and Parish Council Portal: The Isle of Wight Council’s award-winning website www.iwight.com features a portal for parish and town councillors and clerks which they can configure to show information and news about their area and also has useful links to council information about planning issues, road works and council events in their neighbourhood. The council is also developing a feature where it hosts the parish and town councils’ own websites free of charge.
Compiled by Sarah Moss on behalf of www.iwight.com - The Isle of Wight Portal for for information on all aspescts of living, working and visiting the IOW, developed by the the Isle of Wight Council.