The purpose of the consultation was to seek comments on the proposed content of the Safeguarding Board (Qualifications and Procedures) Regulations 2018, which set out the functions and operation of the Board and the Safeguarding Together Guidance, which provides a framework for professionals to work together to meet the requirements of the Safeguarding Act 2018.
Views were sought from everyone, but in particular from relevant stakeholders, including Government Departments, the third sector, private sector organisations and voluntary agencies that provide services to children and vulnerable adults.
Within the Programme for Government 2016-2021 the Isle of Man Government has committed to a society that is inclusive and caring. Within the theme of ‘Healthy and Safe Island’ there is a further commitment to improve the quality of life for children, young people, vulnerable adults and families at risk.
The consultation had 14 responses:
Of these total 14 responses:
Of the 12 online responses, 8 were submitted by individuals and 4 were submitted on behalf of organisations.
Responses to the consultation included:
Full consideration has been given to the consultation responses received resulting in a number of amendments to the Regulations and Safeguarding Together Guidance.
The Regulations and Safeguarding Together Guidance have been submitted for consideration at the January 2019 sitting of Tynwald.
The Communications Commission requested views from consumers on the provision of telecommunications services in the Isle of Man.
28 responses were received in response to the survey. 22 of the respondents gave permission for their response to be published.
Responses to the survey have been analysed and will be taken into account as part of the market review which is currently underway. A consultation on the market review findings, including Significant Market Power designations and appropriate remedies, will be released in 2019.
The Cabinet Office asked for feedback on proposed changes to the Isle of Man’s GDPR and LED Implementing Regulations 2018 (GLIR) and Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018 between 10 October and 7 November 2018. The proposed amendments to the GLIR and the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018 were published with the consultation.
The consultation attracted over 15 responses in total, from a number of categories of respondent, including businesses, industry associations, and individuals in addition to Government Departments. The majority of responses supported the specific questions set out, and set out further comments on diverse areas from drafting and typographical issues, areas requiring clarification or further regulation, or specific issues such as modifications and exemptions.
The Cabinet Office has considered all of the comments and suggestions received. A paper providing full details of the consultation feedback, and the Cabinet Office’s responses has been published on the Isle of Man Government’s Consultation Hub.
The revised Implementing Regulations as amended are due to be laid before Tynwald at its January sitting.
The Cabinet Office asked for feedback on proposed changes to the Isle of Man’s Town and Country Planning Act (1999) between 3 September 2018 and 1 October 2018. These changes were included in a draft Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill 2018.
The consultation attracted 71 responses in total; the majority via the Consultation Hub and 6 by letter. These have been published where permission was received, sometimes anonymously. There were a number of types of respondents, including local authorities, conservation and heritage groups, government departments and individuals.
A summary of the consultation and responses is published and is available for download.
These responses have been analysed carefully, and are being taken into account as the Bill is prepared for introduction into Tynwald. The revised Bill is due to be introduced into the House of Keys in early 2019.
We Asked
The Treasury asked for feedback on the draft Dormant Assets Bill 2018.
The main aims of the proposed legislation are:
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:
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.
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 Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture asked for feedback on whether or not there should be a ‘sunset clause’ introduced in the Agricultural Holdings Act 1969 to remove it over time, in favour of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 2008.
Overall there were 68 respondents to the consultation that provided a name and/or email address.
The majority of respondents were tenants, so they were generally not in favour of introducing a sunset clause in the Agricultural Holdings Act 1969. The main group in favour of introducing a sunset clause was landlords, and they opted for the quickest transition offered (10 years).
However, a significant part of the resistance to introducing a sunset clause is related to a belief that the 2008 Act does not provide adequate security of tenure. Some statements around the inflexibility of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 2008 and a belief that only 5 year tenancies can be arranged shows some basic misunderstanding of the 2008 Act.
The consultation process did not deliver suitable clarity on a preferred mechanism for introducing a sunset clause into the 1969 Agricultural Holdings Act. However, it did highlight a strong resistance to change from tenants on the basis that there is inadequate security of tenure in the 2008 Agricultural Tenancy Act. There appears to be a fundamental misunderstanding of the flexibility of the 2008 Act which may be preventing more widespread acceptance of it as a replacement for the 1969 Act.
The next steps are as follows, which are planned to be completed before the end of 2019:
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.
The Attorney General’s Chambers sought your views on proposed new legislation which aims to update and improve the effectiveness of the registration and regulation of Charities in the Island.
The consultation attracted 20 responses. There were a number of categories of respondent, including Statutory Boards, individuals, businesses and a charity. The responses were broadly supportive of the proposals in the Bill, with the creation of a Charities Tribunal, clarification of the meaning of “charitable purpose” and the improvements in regulatory effectiveness being particularly welcomed by a number of responders. Other themes raised included:
We considered the responses and made appropriate amendments to the draft Bill. No amendment has been made in respect of (1), (2) and (3). This is because the purpose of providing a statutory definition of “charitable purpose” is so that the meaning in the Island remains at least as broad as in England and Wales, where the advancement of religion continues to be a charitable purpose. Further, an express purpose of the draft Bill is to ensure more effective regulation, which would be hindered if charities could legitimately operate in/from here without sufficient connection, or if they did not have to provide adequately detailed information as to their activities connected with the Island. However, changes have been made to increase (4) oversight as regards safeguarding matters. Automatic disclosure to the FSA (5) has been replaced with provisions enabling disclosure between public bodies and the Attorney General for the purposes of the discharge of their respective statutory functions. A number of other mostly consequential/technical amendments have also been made to the draft Bill.
We asked what your views are on the proposed Port Erin Boundary Extension Order 2018 which seeks to adjust the boundaries between the districts of Rushen and Port Erin so as to move the entire residential estate at Ballakilley into Port Erin.
A total of 92 responses were received overall throughout the whole consultation process.
Those that granted permission for us to publish their responses are now available to view.
A public inquiry is scheduled to take place during the week of 4 March 2019 starting at 9.30am at the Civic Centre in Castletown.
More detailed information on the inquiry process can be found on our Local Authority News. Further updates will be provided on this page as and when they become available.
We asked for the views of the public on the proposed Civil Aviation (Charges) Scheme 2019 which would revoke and replace the Civil Aviation (Charges) Scheme 2018.
There were no consultation responses.
The Scheme will be submitted to Tynwald for approval.
Our consultation paper outlined proposals in relation to the current exemptions from registration as an insurance intermediary on the Isle of Man (‘IOM’) and the allowances for insurance intermediaries providing services on a cross border basis into the IOM from another jurisdiction.
We received 3 response from interested parties.
We will now develop regulations taking account of feedback on the proposed requirements which will be subject to consultation in due course.
The Department of Infrastructure invited comments on the proposed scheme aimed at making financial support available for people living with long-term health conditions to adapt their homes and continue living independently. The purpose of the consultation was to gauge public opinion before the proposed scheme was finalised and taken forward for approval by Tynwald.
We received 48 responses to our consultation which were generally in favour of the proposed scheme.
A summary report of responses has been published on the Consultation Hub. Based upon your feedback we are progressing with the proposed amendments which will be submitted to Tynwald for approval.
Following permission in October 2017 to bring forward a Private Members Bill, Mr Martyn Perkins MHK sought views from the public on draft legislation about introducing a ‘presumed consent’ system for organ donation between 29 March 2018 and 8 June 2018. The intention of the Bill is to increase the number of people willing to become an organ donor.
In total 292 responses were received: 96% of the responses were from Isle of Man residents and 98% were from private individuals.
• 82 people gave their permission to publish their response in full
• 157 people gave their permission to publish anonymously
• 53 people did not give consent to publish their response
When asked whether they are a registered organ donor, people responded:
• Yes: 166 (57%)
• No: 79 (27%)
• Don’t know: 18 (6%)
• No – but I have thought about registering: 15 (5%)
• No – I don’t know how to register: 11 (4%)
• Not answered: 3 (1%)
A number of respondents had had experience of part of the process of organ donation. 89% of respondents had discussed organ donation with family members or next of kin.
Mr Perkins is grateful to all those who took the time to submit their views to this consultation.
The results report is now available to download below.
The Attorney General’s Chambers sought your views on proposed new legislation which aims to improve and clarify the position in relation to certain evidence in criminal cases, particularly in relation to hearsay evidence.
We received one response from the judiciary on technical issues relating to the power to make Rules and the use of “live link” video recording.
We considered the response and the draft Bill was amended accordingly. The Bill was introduced into the Legislative Council on 26 June 2018.
As part of the root and branch review of the Isle of Man’s election legislation, the Cabinet Office sought your views on how elections should be run in the Isle of Man in future between 5 April to 20 May 2018.
We received 109 responses in total, from a number of types of respondent, including organisations, local authorities, Tynwald members and individuals.
Clear themes emerging from the consultation responses include:
The Cabinet Office is grateful to all those who took the time to submit their views to this consultation.
The responses to this consultation will be used to inform the policy options required to underpin drafting instructions for the new legislation.
The purpose of the Consultation was to seek comment on proposed updates to our Regulations relating to the following:
We received three responses concerning minor technical matters – these comments were responded to individually, and where appropriate, addressed in the Regulations or accompanying Shipping Notice.
The Regulations were laid before Tynwald on 20 November 2018 and came into operation on 1 December 2018. We also published MSN 064 to provide guidance on complying with the Regulations.
The Communications Commission is required to review the Mobile Termination Rate annually. We consulted on our draft decision to retain the rates at 1.25 pence per minute for a further year from 1 May 2018.
We received 2 responses to our consultation. Neither objected to our draft decision.
We have made the decision to retain the rates at 1.25 pence per minute. This will be effective from 1 May 2018 for a one year period.
For feedback on proposals to make new Regulations to give effect to the latest version of SOLAS Chapter V: Safety of Navigation. The areas where the Ship Registry has some discretion to determine how the Convention is applied is with regard to smaller ships (below 150gt) and we specifically asked for feedback from operators of smaller ships on these areas.
We received one response on behalf of the Charter Skippers Association which was generally positive, however there was a concern regarding purchasing an IAMSAR manual.
We changed the requirement for purchasing an IAMSAR manual and agreed that an acceptable equivalent would be the Reeds Nautical Almanc. The Reeds Nautical Almanc is reasonably priced and suitable for craft operating in the Irish Sea. We will also accept other publications on request on a case-by-case basis.
The Cabinet Office asked for feedback on proposed changes to the Isle of Man’s new data protection framework between 23 January and 5 March 2018. The proposed enabling Data Protection Bill, with secondary legislation comprising draft Orders implementing the GDPR and the LED, and implementing regulations were published with the consultation, along with a number of questions on various areas of fundamental policy.
The consultation attracted over 50 responses in total, from a number of categories of respondent, including businesses, industry associations, local authorities and individuals, in addition to Government Departments and other associations. The majority of responses supported the specific questions set out, and set out further comments on diverse areas from drafting and typographical issues, areas requiring clarification or further regulation, or specific issues such as modifications and exemptions.
After the recent consultation and feedback on the Island’s move towards full GDPR compliance, it’s important that you are kept up to date with all the latest developments and the likely legislative timetable.