Should gov't ministers be more accountable to the public?

Monday, 12 June 2023 06:27

MHKs call for greater transparency over decisions taken by Council of Ministers

There are calls for greater transparency when it comes to decisions taken by government ministers on the Isle of Man.

One MHK is calling for a summary of decisions taken by ministers to be automatically published each year.

Douglas North MHK David Ashford asked for a list of all decisions made by the chief minister and health minister to be made public back in February, but he's still waiting for the details to be released.

Initially he was told a report with all ministerial decisions would be laid before Tynwald in April, and then May, but it's been delayed again to ensure the details comply with data protection laws.

In response to a written Tynwald question from Speaker of the House of Keys Juan Watterson, Chief Minister Alfred Cannan said:

"Due to the large volume of sensitive data this Question covers, officers wrote to Mr Ashford on 04 April 2023 to provide an update on the response to W-202301-0581 and reassure him that work was underway. During this correspondence, Mr Ashford was advised that it had not been possible to complete the submission in time for the April 2023 Tynwald sitting as initially anticipated.

"Although it was hoped that the document would be laid before the May 2023 sitting, the data provided by Departments contains sensitive information which requires consideration to ensure compliance with GDPR and Freedom of Information requirements.

"Until this information was provided by Departments, it was difficult to anticipate the content and volume of the work required. Data has now been received from all Departments, and work is actively underway to complete the report with urgency."

Ahead of asking for a further update on the report at this week's sitting of the House of Keys, Mr Ashford told Manx Radio the details should be released annually:

Meanwhile, another MHK believes Government would be making bigger steps forward on issues like climate change if ministers were more accountable to the public.

Douglas East MHK Joney Faragher says the Council of Ministers should publish minutes from its meetings so the public knows which ministers are supporting which policies.

She believes ministers would be more inclined to support bolder climate change targets if they knew the public would see what proposals they supported:

Manx Radio has invited the Isle of Man Government to respond to Mr Ashford and Ms Faragher's comments.

The chief minister is due to provide on update on the ministerial decisions report in tomorrow's sitting of the House of Keys - you can listen live to that sitting on Manx Radio's AM 1368 frequency, on DAB, or via our digital platform.

Should gov't ministers be more accountable to the public?

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