Staff from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Road Transport Licensing Committee (RTLC) will form part of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) from 1st April 2016.

The staff will relocate to DEFA’s headquarters at Thie Slieau Whallian, St John’s, as office and workshop space is freed up there.

The OFT and RTLC boards will remain independent and will retain their chairmen – David Quirk MHK (OFT) and Keith Watterson (RTLC).

Richard Ronan MHK, Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture, said many of the functions of DEFA, especially its Environment, Safety and Health division, were closely aligned to those of the OFT and RTLC.

‘Together we can deliver better and more coherent services for our customers and improve value for the taxpayer,’ he said.

OFT’s premises in Lord Street, Douglas, and the RTLC’s office in Prospect House, Douglas, will be released as soon as practical, which will save Government money.

Public contact telephone numbers, emails and website address will be unchanged.

Mr Quirk said: ‘The OFT board welcomes the merger of the officer teams and will work hard to make it mutually beneficial and achieve savings while retaining the important independence of the board itself.’

The OFT monitors trading standards and safeguards consumer rights while the RTLC regulates road-based public transport.