At yesterday's sitting of Tynwald, Ramsey Member, Leonard Singer raised a question as to whether the contract awarded for the demolition of the Laxey Bridge and the bus removal was conducted in accordance with Government's procurement rules.

Phil Gawne MHK, Minister for Infrastructure's response confirmed that the total value of the works to the selected contractor was about ?16,000.  He then went on to clarify the reasons why the Department could bypass the 3 prices normally required by the financial regulations.

The Minister added: ".. the best value is not always the same as the cheapest prices."

He went on to say: ".. the bus formed a very sizeable restriction in the river and I am sure you will agree that it was important to remove that blockage before any further downpour could result in the flooding of Laxey's Glen Road."

He also stressed the limited weather window they had in which to safely retrieve the bus.

He concluded: "I am confident that the Department has complied with the procurement rules and that existing framework agreements were not appropriate in this particular instance. I am pleased that this urgent and high profile work was completed professionally and without injury and I think that the standards shown on site are a credit to the professionalism of the contractor and our staff."