THE Council of Ministers is not likely to receive the OFT report into the Steam Packet Company until early next year, according to Chief Minister Tony Brown.

In a written response to a question from Speaker Steve Rodan (Garff), the Chief Minister said that the price investigation report has yet to be submitted to the Council of Ministers for consideration.

He said, “The Office of Fair Trading has advised me of the current status of the investigation and the remaining procedures that are required to be followed under Section 19 of the Fair Trading Act 1996 before the investigation is completed.

“I have set out the position as advised by the Office below:

• The draft investigation report is currently with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (the company) for them to make comments regarding factual accuracy and to identify any items within the report that they consider to be commercially sensitive and that should not be made public. They have been requested to respond by 2nd December 2010. 

• Once their comments are received and any necessary factual amendments made, the final report including the conclusions and recommendations will be sent to the company for further consideration and (in accordance with the legislation) they will be given the opportunity to make written or oral representation to the Board of the Office of Fair Trading. Normal procedure is to allow a further 10 days for the company to respond.  

• Once their response is received the final report (including any representations) will be considered by the Board of the Office of Fair Trading and then submitted to Council for their consideration and decision regarding the publication of the report.

• Obviously various factors could affect the timing of the above actions. However, if the company adheres to the timetable set, it is hoped that the report will be submitted by the Office for consideration by the Council of Ministers in January or February.