An MHK has questioned whoever is advising government after it failed to get through two major motions in Tynwald.
The government failed to even get to debate topping up the DHSC budget by a further £20m or the controversial new mandate for Manx Care after moves by MHKs.
Jason Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew) said the failure to get members to debate the £20m overspend should’ve “raised serious concerns amongst the Council of Ministers”.
He suggested that government should have read the room at that point and not tried to get members to debate the mandate for Manx Care.
However, Onchan MHK Rob Callister said that enough MHKs voting against suspending standing orders for the general debate on the Mandate had “left a bitter taste” and was “unfortunate”.
Money Money Money
The first rebellion by the backbenches happened on Tuesday as members were due to be asked to vote on covering Manx Care’s overspend, via the DHSC, with a cost of £20m.
However, Speaker Juan Watterson opposed this and told members that it breached rules on financial matters.
Despite a Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson contesting that charge, all bar two MHKs voted with the Speaker to prevent the motion being taken.
The Rushen MHK added that the motion should not be taken as it isn’t required to be voted on before the end of the financial year and he would feel more comfortable voting for an overspend once it is confirmed what it is.
He added: “Does it [Tynwald] want to give a round sum allowance to the department to Manx Care, or does Tynwald would want to know exactly how much the overspend is going to be?
While MLCs gave their backing for the motion, the Keys were tied at 11-11, blocking the debate and motion before it got going.
No Debate
Wednesday then saw the issue of the Mandate for Manx Care due for general debate.
However, a timekeeping issue at the DHSC opened the door to political shenanigans which if it was football would be called expert sh**housery.
Due to the DHSC missing the deadline for Tynwald by apparently as little as 30 minutes members had to give their approval for the debate to be had.
Enter stage left the former minister Lawrie Hooper, who convinced enough MHKs not to debate the mandate, largely due to them not being able to amend it or even vote on it.
Despite the efforts of four ministers and a majority of MHKs voting to support holding the debate, it wasn’t enough under standing orders and that brought the whole sitting to an end.
Reaction
Reacting to the debate, Mr Moorhouse said: “In my opinion what happened today, should have been avoided.
“Either the Council of Ministers are not receiving appropriate advice or they simply assume that they know best and that is dangerous.”
He added: “To pause the process and to debate the materials against ‘a potentially calmer backdrop’, would have given the impression that the Government know what they are doing.”
However, Onchan MHK Mr Callister didn’t agree with this summarisation and said that Mr Hooper, when he had been minister, had not brought the mandate for a debate, essentially accusing him of double standards.
He said: “As a constituency MHK, I have not been afforded a fair opportunity to express my concerns, nor those voiced by my constituents, ahead of these documents’ implementation next month.
“Given the numerous concerns raised by constituents and charities across the island regarding both documents, there was no justification for not holding the general debate today.”
Members will get a chance to debate the Mandate next month, when Mr Hooper will seek to convince members that the proposed cuts should be abandoned and a new mandate put in its place.
The Chief Minister however has warned against that saying it risks changing “the whole ethos and fundamentals around the relationship between DHSC and Manx Care”.
However, he did actually also say he is not opposed to such a change.
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