Consultation Hub

We Asked

The Treasury asked for feedback on the draft Dormant Assets Bill 2018.

The main aims of the proposed legislation are:

• to enable dormant assets held by banks in the Island to be transferred to a central fund called the Dormant Assets Fund and
• to allow a proportion of the amounts transferred to then be distributed for charitable purposes in the Island

The legislation will not act to disadvantage anyone who later seeks to recover their dormant asset as their right to reclaim will be preserved indefinitely.

The consultation attracted 25 responses in total, 21 of which contained comments about the draft Bill.

Respondents included:

• local banks
• local businesses / organisations
• politicians
• Government bodies
• individuals

All respondents indicated general support for the introduction of a dormancy regime in the Island. Some respondents sought further clarity over how the proposed legislation will be applied to bank accounts in the Island. Responses also sought more detail regarding the operational framework provided within the draft Bill and some amendments were proposed.

All comments received have been considered and reported upon within the consultation response document with additional detail supplied where requested. A number of amendments to the Bill have also been made. The Council of Ministers will now be asked to approve the revised Bill and agree introduction to the Parliamentary Branches as soon as possible.

Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO) sought the views of Isle of Man residents, businesses, organisations and IOMPO clients on how to best adapt letter and parcel deliveries and post offices in the community in a responsible way. This was in the context that the online digital revolution is changing the way people communicate and how and where they choose to buy their goods and pay for services.

These changes are impacting the postal industry globally as fewer letters are being sent, and fewer people are using post offices than ever before, while parcel deliveries and returns increase as more people shop online.

The change in core demand for these services locally, coupled with changing demand for IOMPO’s commercial services and increasing costs, meant IOMPO reported a loss for the first time in its history this year.

A total of 2,737 people responded, the large of majority of which were individuals, of which 67% were aged over 50 years. 2,091 people completed the consultation online and 646 by post.

• 279 gave permission to publish their response in full
• 1,773 gave permission to publish anonymously
• 685 did not give their consent to publish

The consultation asked respondents for their views on a number of key elements with regards to  Letter and Parcel Delivery Services and Post Office Network Services.

While there is clear support for a 5-day week mail service, the response to the question about IOMPO’s financial responsibility was inconclusive. Therefore, we will be assessing this further with focus groups and the free-flow responses to see if there are any further ways identified in which IOMPO can be more financially responsible in the delivery of our services.

Further analysis work on the results for the Post Office Network Services will also be undertaken with  focus groups held with interested parties such as key stakeholders, including customers, staff, unions, sub postmasters, local commissioners and other parts of Government on the key issues and the future service options available. We are grateful to the 33% of respondents who expressed their interest in participating in a focus group to discuss specific topics in more detail.

The consultation results as well as the additional scrutiny, will allow the final direction and choices to utilise the unique attributes, capabilities and social value of the IOMPO to be fully considered by the Board and in stages, they will be taken to Tynwald where the final decisions on any key changes will be made. 

The published summary of consultation responses is available below.

Julie Edge MHK, Chairman of Isle of Man Post Office, wishes to thanks all those who took the time to submit their views to this consultation.

The survey was prompted following the Isle of Man Government's decision to buy the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (IOMPSCo) in May 2018, when Tynwald agreed that a new agreement would be signed between the Department of Infrastructure and IOMPSCo.

An unprecented number of people responded to the survey. A total of 4,962 responses were received, including 100 who took part in their capacity as business owners.

The information obtained from the responses will now be used to help formulate the new agreement.