Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK has announced the publication today (Tuesday May 8, 2012) of a revised independent report into the Scope of Government in the Isle of Man.

The report has been updated at the Chief Minister’s request by the review team, chaired by former Clerk of Tynwald Robert Quayle, which produced the original Scope and Structure of Government study in 2006.

Mr Bell explained: ‘This is an independent report which is being published purely as a discussion document to prompt what I hope will be a wide-ranging public debate over the next few months. The review team have raised some valid questions about the size and role of Government but the Council of Ministers have formed no view on these matters as yet and are making no recommendations at this stage.’

He added: ‘The Scope of Government will be the main topic for discussion at the next Council of Ministers community meeting in Peel on June 26. I look forward to hearing the public’s response to the report at that gathering and through other forums over the coming months.’  

The review team say their recommendations to reduce the range of services provided directly by Government have been made ‘even more relevant and necessary’ by the substantial revenue reductions that have occurred since their first report.

They restate their conclusion that some services should be contracted out to external operators or ‘corporatised’ i.e. run on a more commercial basis by Government-owned companies.

The review team also call again for local government to be restructured so that local authorities can take on services devolved from central Government, and for the creation of a ‘Department of Corporate Development’ to drive change within Government.

The revised report on the Scope of Government can be found on the Isle of Man Government website at http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/cso/2012scopeofgovernmentreport.pdf

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