All forthcoming sittings of Tynwald, its branches and committees are to be held virtually after Legislative Buildings closed for lockdown.
A statement from the deputy clerk of Tynwald Jonathan King added: ’As simultaneous virtual sittings of the branches are not possible, the president has determined that the Legislative Council will not sit on Tuesday, January 26, but will sit instead on Wednesday, January 27.
’Public proceedings will be able to be heard, as usual, on Manx Radio and via the live and listen again audio webcast service on the Tynwald website.
’The various teams in the Clerk of Tynwald’s office may be contacted by post and email in the normal way, as can members of Tynwald.
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’Telephone contact is also still possible but please note that if you call the Legislative Buildings you will need to leave a voicemail including your number and wait for someone to call you back.’
The first virtual sitting of Tynwald was during the island’s previous lockdown on April 3 last year. From that date until June 12 the virtual chamber accommodated 10 sittings of Tynwald, seven sittings of the House of Keys, five sittings of the Legislative Council and 10 public sittings of parliamentary committees.
The virtual chamber is run through Microsoft Teams with votes on divisions being held through the software’s chat function.