Department for Enterprise welcomes PAC Media report

Committee said department needed to improve transparency

The Department for Enterprise has welcomed the Public Accounts Committee’s fourth report into the Media Development Fund.
 
The report says the department needs to improve transparency and report the economic benefits of its development scheme investments.
 
In a statement issued to Manx Radio, the Department for Enterprise says it welcomes the new approach to the media sector, operating through existing business support schemes rather than funding individual projects.
 
DfE also says it provides an annual report to Tynwald, the ‘Enterprise Support Report’, and ‘notes’ the suggestion this approach should be adopted more widely.
 
When the report is laid before Tynwald, the department will consider a formal response through the normal process.
 
The statement in full:
 
The Department for Enterprise welcomes the publication of the report into the Media Development Fund and the recognition of the Department and Executive Agencies’ work in building a positive private and public sector relationship, and the risk aware approach being applied through the separate governance frameworks between the Executive Agencies and the funding through schemes for individual businesses.
 
The Department also welcomes the message that going forward, developing an Island-based media sector is entirely different to the previous scheme of investing in individual film projects; and that support schemes are open to businesses where the current aim of creating jobs is met.
 
At this stage the report has not yet been laid before Tynwald. 
 
As and when it is, the Department will consider a formal response through the normal process, at the relevant time, to the one recommendation against it; that it should report annually on economic indicators and outcomes as a result of the work that the Department has undertaken. 
 
It is worthy of note that the Department already provides an annual report to Tynwald through its Enterprise Support Report and notes the recommendation that this approach is adopted more generally.  The Department also already produces a range of separate and regular updates on performance and outcomes through the individual divisions and agencies. An example of this is the report the Department had already produced in July 2021 detailing some of the successes over the last five year term: https://www.gov.im/media/1373643/updated-dfe-key-achievements-2016-2021_compressed.pdf