’Our Island Plan’ was tabled and published just four days before the sitting. This was too much like the last minute for a group of eight members, led by the Speaker, who used new rules on process to block the item.
The only surprising thing about this rebellion was that ministers were surprised by it. They should have known that such little notice for so large a subject would be deemed contrary to the proper conduct of parliamentary business.
Something as consequential as a new government’s manifesto for the next five years needs to be aired in the public domain for a decent interval before it is debated and voted upon.
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It is worrying that ministers, along with many other Tynwald members, could not see this important and obvious point of principle.
The fact that an initial draft plan was produced for public consultation is no excuse for cutting corners with the (much longer) final version.
The rebels were firing a warning shot across the bows of government rather than trying to sink it. The episode need not be an omen of further trouble for the Council of Ministers provided it learns the lesson of respecting the role of parliament.
’Our Island Plan’ will be back before members soon. Meanwhile we have had more time to examine this historic document and attempt to winnow the wheat from the chaff.
As is usual with this type of publication there is no shortage of the latter, with much rhetoric of an abstract and aspiratioal nature.
The wheat of specific commitments is harder to find, but there is some.
The completed plan includes a helpful list of key dates.
From this we learn that the Housing and Communities Board was due to be established in January (did this happen?) and will produce its first ’action plan’ by March.
Whether this will be action to tackle the housing crisis, or merely a programme of activity for the new board, remains to be seen. But it’s good to have a few deadlines.
Similarly the strategy on childcare also due in March may, or may not, produce actual proposals to improve the provision of pre-school education. Meanwhile a quality assurance system to guarantee standards in schools is scheduled to be in place by September.
Climate change is set to dominate the agenda in May, with the unveiling of the Isle of Man’s ’roadmap to net zero’.
In July we can expect reports on waste management, the prioritisation of town centres and, most importantly, the development of the economy.
The economic strategy is a crucial missing piece of the jigsaw and it should be at the centre of future iterations of ’Our Island Plan’.
In addition to solving the housing problem and global warming, this government has ambitions to provide greater access to quality health and social care, improve infrastructure and invest in education for all ages.
Those wondering how we can afford the journey to utopia will note page 19 of the plan, headed ’Medium Term Financial Strategy’. This envisages ’the prudent use of reserves’ to support investment in services and infrastructure in the short term ’whilst making appropriate plans to eliminate this reliance in the medium term.’
That statement seems rather significant and it was not in the initial draft plan.
It suggests a controversial policy of raiding reserves in order to postpone difficult decisions on spending. Doubtless this month’s budget presentation will explain all, including how long the short term will last.
For old-fashioned folk who still believe in strict fiscal discipline there is the promise of a dedicated ’workstream’ looking at the efficiency of government and its value for money.
They are advised not to hold their breath.