A Tynwald debate on whether to have an annual policy report and debate is underway.
Chief Minister Chris Thomas’ motion that would bind governments to an annual, updated policy report and debate is still under discussion going into the afternoon (October 20).
Another part of the proposal is that Thomas’ own government should come back with its first set of policy proposals by the end of November.
He told members: “When we return in November we will not have settled every detail.”
Five Points
He added: “But Council of Ministers should return with a document that does five things clearly:
“1. Describe the island’s present position;
“2. Identify the outcomes that matter most;
“3. Set the government’s current priorities;
“4. State the immediate actions, bills and legislative requirements; and
“5. An action plan.”
Connecting Policy
He added: “It must connect policy to money and people.
“A commitment without capacity is not a plan. A programme which ignores the Budget is not a programme.
“And legislation should support the priorities, not become a separate queue of Bills detached from the identified priorities.”
By the end of the morning session, the majority of ministers in Thomas’ cabinet had also stepped up to speak, many using the opportunity to give an outline of what would feature in the document due to be produced by the end of next month.
There was a broad consensus of support for the concept of Thomas’ proposals, but a number of warnings about much-heralded regular reports in the past had not always produced meaningful results.
The complete wording of the motion being debated is:
“That Tynwald is of the opinion that the Council of Ministers should publish by the end of November a government document for debate in Tynwald which sets out a) the current challenges and opportunities that face the Island and b) a prioritised policy agenda, action plan and legislative programme to address them; with annual reviews and revisions being laid for debate and approval each October thereafter.”
The debate resumes at 2.30pm (October 20).
More reports to follow.
