The first sitting, since the general election, of the new-look Tynwald gets underway tomorrow.
At first glance, the October 20 sitting looks set to be a short one.
There are only three questions tabled and just one motion down for debate.
It may seem odd that only three questions are on the paper, especially given the new MHKs should be raring to go.
But, in one of those delightful quirks of parliamentary life, the questions had to be submitted by Monday last week (October 12). This was before the House of Keys had chosen Chris Thomas as its new Chief Minister and, of course, before announced his cabinet on Friday (October 16).
Ministers do not table questions for oral answer, as it’s more their job to answer them!
Therefore, the only MHK to be certain they would not be offered a ministerial position by the new boss was Speaker of the House of Keys David Ashford.
Additionally, as the Speaker, Tynwald is the only place for him to table parliamentary questions for oral answer.
That explains why all three questions are tabled by him.
Question Time
Two of Ashford’s questions are tabled for Health Minister Claire Christian, who kept her old job in the new cabinet.
He wants to know what plans Manx Care has to set up a dedicated epilepsy specialist nursing service and details of funding, staffing and timetable for introduction.
His second question for Christian is to ask for the median waiting time for a first cardiology appointment.
But the first question to a cabinet member of the Thomas regime will be put to new Education Minister Sarah Maltby.
Ashford wants details of the arrangements for recognising the qualifications of teachers who trained outside the British Islands.
That seems a fairly light one but, as with every tabled question, it could be the follow-up queries to the initial answer where the fun commences.
In terms of the agenda itself, there are a lot of items laid before Tynwald but none is subject to a motion at this sitting.
Annual Policy Debate Motion
There is just the one motion tabled, by our new leader, Chief Minister Chris Thomas.
This is to call on the Council of Ministers to publish, by the end of November, a government document for debate in Tynwald, setting out challenges and opportunities and a prioritised policy agenda and legislative programme.
And thereafter for annual reviews to be put before Tynwald for debate and approval every October.
Theoretically, he does not need to pursue this motion, because he’s in charge. So CoMin could simply crack on and do it.
But he may consider the wise and more thorough option would be to have the motion debated. A Tynwald Resolution carries a lot of weight and would mean a future administration would have to continue with the concept or bring forward its own motion to ditch it, otherwise it could end up on the naughty step.
If the debate goes ahead, it is likely most would support the idea in principle and it may even be approved quickly.
But it is the first sitting of a new era and, given the motion is an opportunity for Tynwald members to talk about themselves, the discussion may run on. A few maiden speeches could be ticked off.
Meanwhile, kudos to the Chief Minister, presuming it does go ahead, for using his first parliamentary act to bind himself to a commitment to have his policies debated publicly on an annual basis.
Could Anything Else Happen?
The Order Paper also contains items for negative resolution. This usually applies to pieces of secondary legislation – orders brought under of Acts of Tynwald – that take effect automatically unless a Tynwald member tables a motion to reject the order.
There is no such motion on Order Paper the with regard to any pieces of secondary legislation listed that fall within this category. But it’s worth noting two of the items relate to wind farms.
Nothing can or will happen this month, we believe, but the door is open for a wind farm opponent in Tynwald to table a motion at the November sitting calling for the blocking or rescinding of the safety zone regulations and/or rules that allow applicants to be charged for the costs of holding a public inquiry.
So next month may well see a much longer sitting!
You can study the full Tynwald Order Paper for October 20 here:
And you can view the Question Paper here:
