Mr Bell explained:
‘This was a fairly limited readjustment of positions following the recent elections to the Legislative Council, which provided an opportunity to talk to all Members about their work for Government. It is important for Members to change roles from time to time, to develop a breadth of experience and understanding of the wide variety of issues that Government deals with.’
The Chief Minister added:
‘It is also important to monitor the contribution that Members make in their Departmental positions. At present all eligible Members of Tynwald apart from one have places within the Government structure of Departments and Statutory Boards. I am conscious however of disparities between Members in terms of their workload, responsibilities and input in their Government roles, and this is a further reason to keep the situation under review. At a time when Government is expecting more and more from its staff, it is only right that we look at the performance of political Members to ensure a consistency of commitment and contribution across these positions.’
