Government Committees and Quasi-Autonomous Entities

At the January 2016 sitting of Tynwald the Council of Ministers was called on to review the existence, purpose, nature, membership, functioning and cost of all committees and quasi-autonomous entities in which any Department, Board or Office of the Isle of Man Government has a role, considering in particular the relationship of each committee or entity with Tynwald and its Policy Review Committees and the complaints process, and to report by July 2016.

For the purposes of the review, Government Committees and Quangos were defined as

‘A group of people appointed either by statute or by delegation to perform a specific function in relation to the operation of Government.”

‘A quasi- autonomous non-governmental organisation (“Quango”) that is not defined in the Government Departments Act 1987 or the Statutory Boards Act 1987, but is still funded by the taxpayer, although not controlled directly by central Government.’

The terms of reference for the review were as follows:

1. Review the existence, purpose, nature, membership, functioning and cost of all committees and quasi-autonomous entities in which any Department, Board or Office of the Isle of Man Government has a role;
2. Consider the relationship of each committee or entity with: a) Tynwald and its Policy Review Committees; b) the complaints process; and
3. Report with recommendations and an action plan to the July 2016 sitting of Tynwald.

The following criteria were established to determine the organisations which should be included in the review:

• Non-statutory committees;
• Statutory committees (including any which have yet to be formed);
• Quasi-autonomous organisations (“Quangos”); and
• Any other bodies which do not fall into any of the above categories

All Departments, Offices and Statutory Boards (“Departments”) were asked to provide details of the organisations within their Department which fell into the criteria above.

The review report which was laid before Tynwald at the July 2016 provided the following recommendations:

1. The Cabinet Office, in conjunction with Departments, validate the list of Quangos and Government Committees prior to a definitive register being published;
2. The Cabinet Office maintains the public register of Quangos and Government Committees;
3. That each sponsoring Department undertakes a review of the purpose, scope, structure, cost and value for money of each organisation to ensure that the organisation, as constituted, remains the most appropriate vehicle to deliver the remit;
4. That the Cabinet Office be advised of the outcome of the Departmental reviews;
5. In conjunction with the Audit Advisory Division of the Treasury, the Cabinet Office coordinates a review of the current corporate governance arrangements for Quangos and Government Committees with a view to [the Cabinet Office] subsequently implementing a standard framework which can be applied consistently across all such organisations; and
6. An Assurance Certification process for each Quango and Government Committee, to validate the governance arrangements, be implemented and monitored to ensure the arrangements in place are appropriate and remain so.

The Report and the current Public Register of Committees and Quasi-Autonomous Entities is included in the list of downloadable documents.