A debate on poverty could dominate proceedings in Tynwald today.

The first report of the select committee on poverty and its recommendations is due to be debated. The Council of Ministers will attempt to amend some of the recommendations and will oppose one - that the economic affairs division should be separate from other government departments.

Those hoping the debate today (Tuesday) will lead to immediate and noticeable action to alleviate poverty might be disappointed, however.

This first report deals with poverty definitions and data.

In September the Council of Ministers’ own report on ’cold, hunger and homelessness’ talked about ’developing an anti-poverty strategy’, and suggested a ’template for collaborative working’ with charities, while promising Treasury would look to see what it could do

Critics of government - and Tynwald - might suggest that, three years down the line, the fact that we appear to still be talking about how to define poverty and collect statistics and that we have got to the heady stage of talking about developing a strategy, rather than rather than active and specific measures, may not be quite as much comfort as people struggling to put food on the table were hoping for at this point.

It’s a start, we guess, and we will no doubt be told again the information is needed first before an effective strategy can be produced but there are many times when the government - and, again parliament - seems more interested in process rather than product.

That may well also be the feeling later in the sitting when the director of public health’s report, calling for the design of a ’core dataset’ to help combat inequality in access to services, is discussed.

At least Chris Robertshaw (Douglas East) appears to have a greater sense of urgency and an interest in specific policy with his motion for Tynwald to call upon Treasury to give employee National Insurance rebates to help the low-paid.

Also on the agenda today, we should have an update on the Council of Ministers’ working party looking at public libraries, while Policy and Reform Minister Chris Thomas will give a statement on the government regulatory framework.

Regulations covering disability under the Equality Act are due to be introduced, while Daphne Caine (Garff) picks up a petition for redress of grievance and calls for a select committee to investigate the feasibility of the Isle of Man accepting Syrian refugees (see letters in this week’s Isle of Man Examiner).

She has raised this issue before and appears undeterred by the fairly strident criticism she received for it, through the forum of social media. It’s a sensitive topic with valid arguments on both sides, we can but hope that none of those arguments take an unpleasant turn.

Bathing waters standards and harbour strategies will also take up some time today. The government strategy on the former (bathing water) will be debated, while the Environment and Infrastructure Policy Review’s Committee report on the latter (harbours) is the very next item on the agenda.

There a several related questions also tabled.

Other subjects included on the last Tynwald question paper of 2019 include the decision to transfer education support officers out of the Department of Education, Sport and Culture - some of which seem to be driving at whether there is any plan to alter the qualifications required, whether the oral health strategy has been updated immigration figures, delivery numbers since the Post Office went to a five-day system pay levels in the public sector and â?¦ canine tourism and doggy day care.

Roll on 2020.