Tynwald will this month consider the first mid-year report on the Programme for Government 2016-21.

Our Island: A Special Place to Live and Work, which was launched in January 2017, sets out the Isle of Man Government’s strategic aims.

It promotes an inclusive and caring society, an Island of enterprise and opportunity and a financially responsible Government.

Chris Thomas MHK, Minister for Policy and Reform, said there was positive progress on three of the Programme’s major aims:

• an increase of around 400, since April 2016, in the number of people who are economically active
• a small increase, since 2014, in median earnings after tax and inflation
• an increase in the number of registered companies employing people locally.

The Minister will tell Tynwald that 14 of the 92 actions set out in the Programme have been completed and, of the remainder, three quarters are on target to be completed on time.

An ambitious legislative timetable is built into the Programme, with nearly 40 Bills planned in the coming two years, including those covering sentencing, competition, communications and data protection.

The Programme also includes legislation to ensure that when the UK exits the European Union, the Island will retain the many thousands of pieces of EU legislation on its statute books – necessary for a smooth transition.

‘The Programme is aimed at putting money in people’s pockets and providing public services that make a positive difference to people while reducing Government’s financial deficit,’ said the Minister.

‘As we promised when we published the Programme, Tynwald will this month review our progress to date on delivering it and will refresh it to ensure it continues to reflect our aims.’

The mid-year report is available online, with other Programme for Government documents, at www.gov.im/performance.