The final sitting of the House of Keys this year does not look set to be a very long one, writes Paul Speller.

You could be forgiven for thinking the MHKs must have a cracker of a lunchtime engagement to look forward to, given the shortness of the agenda.

Actually, it might even be a brunch engagement, all things considered.

MHKs, usually very keen to hear themselves on the question time playback, have only a trio of queries tabled for this morning’s sitting.

They’re all from Jason Moorhouse, MHK for Arbory, Castletown and Malew.

Mr Moorhouse has questions about the performance of the government reserves, whether there are any plans to consult the public over TV licence payments for the over-70s and if the Sunday openings at the Manx Museum have been a success.

Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper claimed on Twitter that his questions got lost, blaming ’technical issues’.

There are five questions tabled for written answer, all from Kate Beecroft (LibVannin, Douglas South) and nearly all for Health Minister David Ashford, of whom she will inquire about the findings of the quality review of the health service, how many times Noble’s Hospital has been placed in special measures, the age profile of GPs and unoccupied beds.

The Criminal Evidence Bill is due to complete its parliamentary passage with a third reading.

And that will be our lot from the House of Keys until January 22 unless MHKs take up the option of a sitting on December 18.

Given the size of the agenda today, nobody is going to bet their Steam Packet shareholding on that happening.

The Legislative Council, however, may indeed opt for another sitting, given the pressure to deal with the Brexit Bill, which reaches the second reading and clauses stage today. An option might be to suspend standing orders and crack on with the third and final reading this week.

If any amendments are made by the upper chamber, the bill will have to go back to the House of Keys once it completes its passage through Legislative Council.

In which case, the MHKs may have to put down their mince pies, after all, and turn up for one more sitting before Christmas.

Once MLCs complete their detailed scrutiny of the Brexit Bill, a new piece of legislation, the Charities Registration and Regulation Bill 2018, will be introduced for a first reading.

There is a Tynwald sitting next week with a busy agenda.