Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan has revealed the shareholder agreement penned after the government bought the Steam Packet could be re-written in the future.

In the House of Keys this week, he defended the agreement that effectively means the company’s directors will need government approval for operational decisions.

But he added: ’In all circumstances, both in terms of the shareholder agreement and in terms of the user agreement, we must ensure that built within those documents is the ability of Tynwald to revisit if it isn’t working satisfactorily.’

Mr Cannan was challenged this week on how the arrangements tallied with the ’arm’s length’ control mantra that the government adopted when it successfully sought Tynwald approval to buy the ferry company.

Lawrie Hooper (LibVannin, Ramsey) said the details of the shareholder agreement, coupled with the fact that the government would also be dictating the levels of service required via the linkspan user agreement, made a nonsense of the arm’s length claim.

There would be nothing to stop future governments meddling much more in the day-to-day running of the Steam Packet.

But Mr Cannan argued the arrangements were standard. Even if they were not written into the agreement, a future government would be able to do so.

’The Treasury does need a mechanism to ensure that strategic and financial objectives for the company are reflected in its activities,’ he said.

’The company will produce and publish an annual business plan that will provide transparency regarding its strategic objectives and high level activities.’

He said there would be an annual meeting with directors, which ’does not seem unreasonable to me’.

But Lawrie Hooper (LibVannin, Ramsey) challenged Mr Cannan’s description of the business plan as ’high-level’.

’The shareholder agreement actually refers to it as a "detailed operational plan including its budgets",’ he said.

’How is this a company that is going to be operating at arm’s length when Treasury will have the veto over any detailed operational activities of the company?’

He said he had no issue with the requirement for an annual update, nor with the shareholder - Treasury - having strategic control of the Steam Packet.

His concern centred on the agreement stating that the detailed operational plan must have the approval of the shareholder, meaning the Steam Packet directors would not be able to run the company without Treasury concurrence.

’What safeguards are there to stop future politicians interfering in the operational control and operational aspects of the company?’ he asked.

The government bought the Steam Packet in a £124 million deal earlier this year.

Mr Hooper and his Liberal Vannin leader Kate Beecroft have each repeatedly questioned the finer details of the deal.

Mr Cannan said the development of the shareholder and user agreements that will be in place as part of the new arrangement should be seen as evolutionary and not revolutionary.

’It is not unimaginable or something that is not achievable for good governance to continue to be evolved if needed, or for these documents to be amended and that all parties will be in a position to sensibly sit round a table and to do so,’ the Minister added.