Isle of Wight Council: local authority assessment

How we assess local authorities

Assessment published: 3 June 2026

About Isle of Wight Council

Demographics

The Isle of Wight Council is a unitary authority, located off the south coast of England. It is served by ferry links to mainland England from Southampton, Portsmouth or Lymington.  It includes the towns of Ryde, East Cowes and Ventnor with the administrative centre in Newport.  

In 2021, the total population of Isle of Wight was 140,889 people. This is an increase of 1% (2,063) since 2012. The population of the Isle of Wight is older than the population of England generally, with 30.17% the island population aged 65+, compared to 18.73% across England. The Isle of Wight population is 96.98% White, 1.2% Asian or Asian British, and 1.2% mixed or multiple ethnicities.  

The Isle of Wight has an Index of Multiple Deprivation decile of 4. A local authority with a decile of 1 means it is in the most deprived group (most deprived 10%), while a local authority with a decile of 10 means it is in the least deprived group (least deprived 10%).  

The Isle of Wight is part of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) alongside Portsmouth, Southampton and Hampshire.  

The Isle of Wight Council is under no overall control and is led by a minority coalition called the Alliance Group which includes some independent councillors, Green Party councillors and councillors representing the local Island Party.

Financial facts

• The local authority’s total spend was £305,409,480 in 2024/25, in comparison to a total spend of £290.795,000 in 2023/24. In 2024/25, 28.56% of the spend was spent on adult social care. Spend figures are net current expenditure (total service expenditure) sourced from Outturn Data and are not adjusted for inflation.
• The Local Authority’s total spend on Adult Social Care was £87,157,526 in 2024/25, compared to a total spend on Adult Social Care of £79,707,672 in 2023/24. The Local Authority spent £73,669,396 (adult social care spend) per 100,000 adults in 2024/25. Spend figures are net current expenditure sourced from ASC Finance Returns and are not adjusted for inflation. 
• The Local Authority has raised the full Adult Social Care precept for 2024/25, with a value of 2.0%. Please note that the amount raised through the Adult Social Care precept varies from Local Authority to Local Authority.
• Approximately 3115 people were accessing long-term Adult Social Care support, and approximately 880 people were accessing short-term Adult Social Care support in 2024/25. Local authorities spend money on a range of adult social care services, including supporting individuals. No two care packages are the same and vary significantly in their intensity, duration, and cost.

This data is reproduced at the request of the Department of Health and Social Care. It has not been factored into our assessment and is presented for information purposes only.