JONATHAN YOUNG WRITES: The week after next, Isle of Wight councillors will decide on yet more spending cuts and savings.

If they're to set a lawful budget, they've no choice but to slash away, because central government shrinks its funding for councils year on year — while effectively capping council tax rises at 2.99 per cent.

I do get cross we never get a word of apology from the council's ruling group on behalf of their Westminster political chums for putting us through this year after year, but there we are...

Anyway, a couple of months back council leader Dave Stewart said he wanted Islanders' ideas as to how £5.5 million could be saved this year without damaging vital services.

A tall order, but I do have one idea. I can't promise to deliver the whole £5.5 million but it will involve plugging a leak of cash which ought to be spent elsewhere.

It's a loophole County Hall has known about for ages but seems not to have done much about. It concerns the rather unsexy topic of the way in which holiday properties get their bins emptied.

Holiday lets in England legally now count as businesses if they're “available” to let for 140 days a year — bizarrely, there's no requirement to actually let them — and so pay business rates, not council tax. At the same time, businesses with an annual turnover of less than £12,000 — a large majority of holiday lets — get small business rate relief of 100 per cent. So they pay neither tax.

Great news for the little man, of course, not so good for the public purse. But that's a government decision, and not something Cllr Stewart can immediately do much about — except, of course, bend the ears of those Westminster chums I mentioned.

But here's the rub. Remember the bins. Islanders' council tax pays for Amey to empty domestic bins. Businesses, including all those holiday lets and regardless of whether they get business rate relief or not, are supposed to pay someone — Amey or another contractor — to do the honours, or make alternative approved arrangements.

County Hall has known for months, if not years, that lots of holiday home owners are paying no council tax, and no business rates — 720 of them as of last August — and that many of them are enjoying a free lunch by getting their bins emptied for nothing. Just 132 were paying business rates.

Freedom of Information requests about loss of revenue caused by the legal framework drew the response: “This information is not held.”

Tellingly, when asked in August how many registered holiday lets were using Amey's free domestic waste collection service, the council said: “Currently no data is held, however it is under investigation.”

A request before Christmas for an update drew this response: “This has not yet progressed, no information has as yet been gained, we hope to progress this in 2019.”

Yes, well I hope they progress it, too, beyond the present information page buried on the council's website, because it would seem to involve little more than comparing two databases and giving quite a lot of people Amey's phone number. And, of course, telling Amey where not to collect domestic wheelie bins and paying them a lot less for not doing so.

Yes, the Island tourist industry needs support in these straightened times. But nearer the front of the queue must surely come, for example, the disabled Island kids who, from April, will see the support offered by the council's dedicated support staff scaled back if current budget proposals are adopted.

The council's revenues services department and waste contract managers have some urgent work to do. It's a no-brainer.