The Council of the Isles of Scilly () is a sui generis local government authority covering the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall, England. It is one of two local authorities in Cornwall, the other being the mainland Cornwall Council. It is currently made up of 16 councillors, all independents. The council was created in 1891. It meets at the Old Wesleyan Chapel and has its main offices at the Isles of Scilly Town Hall, both in Hugh Town on the main island of St Mary's.

History Historically, the Isles of Scilly were administered as one of the hundreds of Cornwall, although the Cornwall quarter sessions had limited jurisdiction there, due to the remote nature of the islands.

The need for a bespoke local government arrangement for the islands came from recognition of the particular difficulties of governing remote islands from mainland Cornwall. In addition to their distance from the mainland, several of the inhabited islands - Tresco, St Martin’s, St Agnes and Bryher - are themselves separated from St Mary’s, the largest and most populous island. The islands’ small population also made a conventional local government structure impractical.

The legal basis for a separate local authority in the Isles of Scilly was established by section 49 of the Local Government Act 1888. This allowed the Local Government Board to create a local authority for the islands separate from Cornwall County Council. The islands remained part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, and the act provided for the Isles of Scilly to contribute financially to Cornwall County Council for services provided by Cornwall for the benefit of the islands.

The Council of the Isles of Scilly was created by the Local Government Board's Provisional Order Confirmation (No. 6) Act 1890 and came into being in 1891. The powers of the Council were further developed by the Isles of Scilly Order 1930, which applied provisions of the Local Government Act 1929 to the islands "as if the Isles of Scilly were an administrative county". This effectively gave the Council of the Isles of Scilly powers comparable to those of a county council.Council of the Isles of Scilly - About Us

The Local Government Act 1972, which reorganised local government in England, preserved the islands’ special local government arrangements. Section 265 of the Act continued the mechanism by which the islands could contribute to Cornwall County Council for services provided by Cornwall.

Because of the council's unique status, acts of Parliament defining local government powers have generally made express provision for how those powers may be applied to the islands. In practice, where powers are to be extended to the Isles of Scilly, a government minister must usually make an order applying the relevant statutory provisions to the islands.Examples include the Health and Social Care Act 2003, section 198 and the Environment Act 1995, section 117.

On 17 April 1986, Roy Duncan, the then Chairman of the Council, and Dutch Ambassador Jonkheer Huydecoper symbolically declared peace between the Isles of Scilly and the Netherlands, ending the so-called Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War, an alleged state of war between the two.

The council was a member of the Islands Forum from 2022 until it was disbanded in 2026.

Governance

The council is responsible for all local government functions on the islands. It also performs the administrative functions of the AONB Partnership and the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.

Some aspects of local government are shared with Cornwall, including health, and the Council of the Isles of Scilly together with Cornwall Council form a local enterprise partnership. In July 2015 a devolution deal was announced by the government under which Cornwall Council and the Council of the Isles of Scilly are to create a plan to bring health and social care services together under local control. The Local Enterprise Partnership is also to be bolstered.

Where joint bodies are set up in cooperation with Cornwall Council, the term "Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly" is commonly used. The name refers to cooperation between the two Cornish councils, and does not indicate that the Isles of Scilly are not part of Cornwall. The following joint bodies are in existence:

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Climate Commission Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Creative Industries Sector Body Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Economic Forum Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Fairness Commission Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth and Skills Hub Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Historic Environment Record Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care System Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Leadership Board Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Nature Partnership Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Shared Prosperity Fund Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Strategic Housing Group Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Workforce and Skills Board

, 130 people are employed full-time by the councilLeijser, Theo (2015) Scilly Now & Then no. 77 p. 35 to provide local services (including water supply and air traffic control). These numbers are significant, in that almost ten per cent of the adult population of the islands is directly linked to the council, as an employee or a councillor.

Political control The main national political parties do not routinely field candidates for elections to the Council of the Isles of Scilly. Since the 2009 elections, all but two of the candidates have been independents. Two Green Party candidates stood in 2013, but neither was elected. The elected council has therefore entirely comprised independent councillors since at least 2009.

Party in controlYears pre-2009–present

Leadership Political leadership is provided by the chairman of the council, unlike in other English local authorities where the chairman is now a largely ceremonial role. The chairmen since the formation of the council in 1891 have been:

Councillor Party From ToThomas Dorrien-Smith 1891 1918Arthur Dorrien-Smith 1919 1955George Woodcock 1955 1960Roland Gibson 1960 1964Tregarthen Mumford 1964 1972Tom Dorrien-Smith 1972 1973Samuel Ellis 1974 1981William Mumford 1981 1985Roy Duncan 1985 1992Patrick Greenlaw 1992 1996Mike Hicks 1996 1997Colin Daly 1997 1999Dudley Mumford 1999 2005 Christine Savill 2005Jun 2009 Julia Day 23 Jun 2009 Sep 2010 Mike Hicks 23 Sep 2010 28 Mar 2013 Amanda Martin 21 May 2013 May 2017 Ted Moulson 25 May 2017 May 2018 Robert Francis 8 May 2018 21 May 2026Joel Williams 21 May 2026

Premises

The council has its offices at the Isles of Scilly Town Hall on The Parade in Hugh Town on St Mary's, the largest island. The town hall was built in 1887–1889. Council meetings are held a short distance away at the council chamber, which is the Old Wesleyan Chapel on Garrison Lane, which was built in 1828.

Elections

The council consists of 16 elected councillors: 12 of these are returned by the ward of St Mary's, and one from each of four "off-island" wards (St Martin's, St Agnes, Bryher, and Tresco). The number of councillors elected in each ward was reduced by one for the 2017 local elections; there had previously been 21 councillors, with the same ward boundaries.

Whilst each of the inhabited isles is formally a civil parish, none of them possess a council or meeting in their own right.

Notes and references

External links

Council of the Isles of Scilly official website