Tynwald has passed a motion calling for its members to get quicker responses to their queries from government departments.

Castletown, Arbory and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse proposed the motion which stipulates that responses from government departments, office and boards should be ’timely and appropriate’.

He said that government should produce guidance for officers on specific time limits for ’initial responses and substantive answers’.

Ideally, this would be within ten working days from an inquiry being received.

Mr Moorhouse also proposed that there should be a ’clear mechanism in place to allow a review of the adequacy of the response’ and for the department to take ’swift automated action’ if one is not received.

He called on the Council of Ministers to produce a report on the provision of such guidance by October, but after a successful amendment by his fellow constituency MHK Tim Glover this was changed to February 2022.

Mr Moorhouse described the motion as ’having the potential to make my life easier and far less stressful’ but emphasized that it ’must not be seen as being confrontational in any way’.

He added: ’Importantly, this motion has the potential to reduce the need for members to formally submit oral and written questions [in Tynwald]’.

Mr Moorhouse said that current government guidance on timely responses to correspondence was not being followed, pointing out that during the last parliament ’substantive answers or even acknowledgment’ of simple inquiries were not received by several members, leading to frustration and insufficient responses being provided to constituents.