Tomorrow (Tuesday, 13 January 2025), the Members of the House of Keys will debate a Bill that local authorities island wide, including Onchan District Commissioners, have consistently opposed in relation to Clause 5.
Clause 5 (Imposed Functions) is potentially dangerous because mandated functions give the Department of Infrastructure power to impose duties on local authorities, with only consultation as a safeguard.
Additionally, there are no funding guarantees, so services could be transferred without funding, forcing higher local rates to cover the costs, and no periods for review, meaning there is no accountability to check if imposed functions have been fair or effective.
This new Clause could negatively impact members of the public as the Department of Infrastructure could retain its revenue from taxes while transferring its responsibilities, so potentially, ratepayers will be paying twice for the same services. More worryingly, rates are not income assessed like taxes, so this burden would fall hardest on those with fixed or low incomes.
The manner in which this Clause was introduced into the Bill has meant that members of the public have not had an opportunity to consider it or have any input, even though they are the most important stakeholders.
It appears as though this matter has been made into a political tool regarding local authority reforms, and that local authorities are opposed to this. This matter is not about local authorities resisting reform; it is simply about protecting local democracy and preventing unfair charging for services.
It is hoped that the Members of the House of Keys consider the members of the public, especially those most vulnerable, when casting their votes tomorrow.
Anthony Allen, Chairman, on behalf of the Board of Onchan Commissioners.