Consultation Hub

The purpose of this consultation was to gather views regarding the Manx Care (Duty of Candour Procedure) Regulations 2021 which will require organisations providing people with health and care services to follow a set procedure where a person's safety has been, or is likely to be, affected as a result of using a health or social care service, including what information must be provided and when.

52 responses were received: six from organisations and 46 from individuals.

• 11 gave permission to publish their response in full
• 34 gave permission to publish anonymously
• seven did not give consent to publishing their responses on the consultation hub

All responses received during the consultation have been considered and have helped to make improvements to the Regulations, including:

• Clarification that the definition of 'incident' includes omissions;
• Definition of 'relevant person' changed to provide more flexibility on who can act on someone else's behalf in receiving the information to be provided under the procedure;
• Clarification added to confirm that any questions asked by the service user should be answered by the service provider;
• Timescales added for publishing the annual report in relation to the duty of candour; and
• Additional requirements added to cover publicity of the duty of candour requirements and operational policy.

The responses have also led to further detail being included in the draft operational policy for the duty of candour, which is being worked on alongside the Regulations.

It is intended that these Regulations will be introduced to Tynwald in March (subject to the Manx Care Bill 2020 receiving Royal Assent) with the aim that they should take effect at the same time as the establishment of Manx Care.

We asked for views on proposed increases to fees payable to the Authority from 1 April 2021 and 1 April 2022.

We received 20 separate responses to the Consultation Paper. Three confirmed that they either had no comment on the proposed fee increases or that the proposals would not have a material impact on their businesses. Comments from the remaining 17 respondents covered the following themes: timing; amount; allocation of additional Authority resources; and impact on business competitiveness.

The draft fees legislation that was consulted upon, together with an updated version of the Insurance (Fees) Regulations 2021, will be finalised for laying before Tynwald at the next available sitting, for commencement on 1 April 2021.

The fees payable from 1 April 2022 will be reviewed in the summer of 2021 to determine if the rate of those fee increases should be changed in light of data available at that time on the financial impact of the pandemic on the financial position of Regulated Entities and Designated Businesses, and the state of the business environment.

The Cabinet Office sought feedback from interested parties regarding new provisions that would protect public authorities in the Isle of Man against claims for costs, damages or consequential losses when acting in matters of international assistance at the request of foreign jurisdictions, provided they were acting in good faith.

The consultation attracted a total of three public responses, two from individuals and one from a local firm of advocates. Four responses were also received from Isle of Man Government Departments concerning the legislation captured by the Bill. The Cabinet Office welcomed all responses and considered each comment made in the final drafting of the Bill.

The Bill was amended to ensure all relevant enactments are now captured. A detailed summary of the consultation responses has been published below. The revised Bill is due to be introduced into the Branches for its first reading in the House of Keys on Tuesday 26 January 2021.