Winding back the Ministerial system of Government could return the Isle of Man to the ‘chaos’ of the old Board structure that was abandoned nearly 30 years ago, according to Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK.
 
Mr Bell was responding to recent criticism of the Ministerial system and of the principle of collective responsibility, the so-called ‘block vote’, that binds the Council of Ministers.
 
Said the Chief Minister: ‘There has been some comment lately about the Ministerial system being undemocratic, about getting rid of the block vote and returning power to Tynwald. In effect this would mean turning the clock back to the Board system that was abolished in the mid-1980s.
 
‘People are entitled to their opinions, of course, but a few of us remember what the Board system was like and why it was scrapped to make way for Ministerial Government.
 
‘The Board system was essentially an attempt to govern the Island through 27 disconnected parliamentary committees. It is was incoherent, indecisive and lacking in democratic accountability, as it was impossible for the public to distinguish between the parliament and the executive and to identify who was ultimately responsible for what was happening. It was a recipe for chaos and confusion.
 
‘As the central executive role of the Lieutenant Governor diminished in line with the Isle of Man’s constitutional evolution, the inadequacies of the Board system became more apparent. Its inability to provide integrated and decisive Government was further highlighted during the serious financial crisis that faced the Island in the early 1980s.
 
‘The idea of the Ministerial system was to clearly identify authority and responsibility, and promote a more joined-up approach by bringing the main components of Government together in one body, the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister.
 
‘Under the Ministerial structure Tynwald remains supreme as it has the power of appointment of the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers has to gain parliamentary approval for its spending and policy proposals.
 
‘The Council of Ministers has no guaranteed majority within Tynwald and indeed this year has seen the Council’s vote amongst the 33 Members of Tynwald reduced from ten to nine.
 
‘The Ministerial system as we know it has proved more effective than the Board system but it is not perfect. In particular the pressures of the fiscal challenge in recent years have exposed outposts of silo thinking within the Departmental structure and a relative weakness in central resources.
 
‘Far from regressing to the 1980s there is a need for the system to continue to evolve so that we can make our services more integrated and efficient. And in considering structures of Government our priority has to be what will produce the best results for the public, as the customer and taxpayer.
 
‘I believe that we will serve the public best by making Government more joined-up, not by breaking it up.’