A fresh package of initiatives to encourage enterprise and employment on the Island is promised in a Government policy report being presented to the July sitting of Tynwald.

Economic growth is first on the list of priorities in the ‘Agenda for Change’ update to be moved by Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK.

Entitled ‘Securing A Sustainable Future For Our Island’, the document sets out the challenges and actions that Government will focus on for the remainder of the current administration. The report also sets out the longer term challenges facing the Isle of Man and identifies the actions Government will be taking to lay the foundations for our future sustainability.

Priority actions under the ‘Grow the Economy’ heading include a commitment to ‘develop new initiatives with the private sector to boost the economy with a focus on job creation, to be implemented by October 2015’.

The Chief Minister is expected to reveal more about the proposed initiatives when he presents the report for receipt by Tynwald Members at the sitting starting on July 21.

‘Our economy is changing and we must be able to respond to that change with a sense of urgency, shaping our Government to react quickly to new opportunities and potential growth areas’, the report declares.

‘A thriving and growing economy brings benefits to all of us. It creates jobs and brings in tax revenues. Companies spend money on Island and invest in our towns and villages.’

The report states: ‘We will continue to promote and support the creation of growth that brings more jobs to our Island. We will better use our reserves to stimulate economic growth, drive innovation and support investment in capital infrastructure where it will create jobs and support growth.

‘We will make sure that we have the right environment for enterprise and growth. We want less bureaucracy so business can flourish and grow. We will take steps to ensure that our air and sea links are secure and reliable. Our towns need to support growth – we will continue to back regeneration to drive inward investment and create employment.

‘New jobs mean new skills and we will push to develop our education system in tandem with the needs of our economy, particularly in vocational and tech skills.’

The Agenda for Change update report can be found on the Tynwald website at
http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/opqp/sittings/Tynwald%2020142016/2015-GD-0034.pdf.