The government has unveiled what it describes as ’an ambitious plan to build a secure, vibrant and sustainable future for the Isle of Man’.

Chief Minister Alfred Cannan will today (Tuesday) ask Tynwald members to approve the plan, the final version of which was published on Thursday.

Our Island Plan, as it is called, ’establishes a firm direction of travel for the island over the next five years,’ he said. ’This finalised version builds on the initial draft from November and provides greater detail on how this government will go about building a secure, vibrant and sustainable island.’

The 68-page document is not crammed with specifics or costs but is more about government’s broader ’vision’ - a word that appears in the report 75 times.

Substance is more likely to appear in individual annual department reports.

Mr Cannan said: ’The Isle of Man faces significant challenges but there are also significant opportunities.

’The big policy issues all require in-depth thought and planning to resolve immediate issues that matter to our community as well as delivering sustainable policies for the future. This plan provides the road map of how we will achieve this.’

The plan sets out five priorities for the government: ’building great communities’; health and wellbeing; a ’strong and diverse’ economy; an environment ’we can be proud of’; ’outstanding’ lifelong learning and development opportunities for everyone.

Although due to be debated in Tynwald today (Tuesday), the document itself was published too late to appear on the main Tynwald order paper, which is drawn up 12 days ahead of a sitting, and instead was included on a supplementary agenda released on Friday.

The Island Plan document includes a list of ’initial key dates’, which is topped by a ’housing debate’ due at this week’s Tynwald sitting.

There is nothing on either the main or supplementary agenda that constitutes a standalone housing debate. The supplementary agenda motion to approve the Island Plan includes a sub-paragraph, however, asking that Tynwald ’further notes the Housing and Communities Board proposed workstreams’, which are outlined in an appendix of the report.

It is possible this will turn into a full-blown housing debate on how the government will achieve the Island Plan’s stated aim of tackling the ’housing crisis by ensuring everyone has a suitable and affordable place to call home’.

Underneath the heading ’one vision for the Isle of Man’, the document says: ’Our over-arching vision is to build a secure, vibrant and sustainable future for our island nation.’

It says the plan sets out ’high-level’ commitments for 2021-26.

As well as the housing crisis, the plan aims to ’address critical issues in Health and Social Care’ while delivering greater access to its systems.

It promises a ’stronger and more diverse economy’ and to ’improve our basic infrastructure’. There is also a pledge to ’recognise the importance of investing’ in education and put in place an ’action plan’ for climate change transition.

’Fundamental measures and metrics have yet to be developed,’ the report states. However, the appendices provide a more detailed breakdown of aims under each of the key priorities and ’indicative measures to monitor delivery and performance’

The document acknowledges that, in addition to housing and climate change, challenges include a skills shortage, wage disparity and inflationary pressures.

February’s Budget will also see the key principles for a medium-term financial strategy outlined, the report says.

The majority of items listed in the key dates section are for the delivery of reports, strategies and action plans, although one notable inclusion is the transition from mandatory minimum wage to the living wage by 2025.

The legislative programme for 2021-22 does not look onerous, with just eight government bills mentioned, including an Energy Bill to ensure security of supply.