The Council of Ministers has been blamed for delays in updating a law.

The two branches of Tynwald have been playing parliamentary ping pong since February last year over some of the provisions of the Communications Bill, with the House of Keys refusing to accept an amendment from the Legislative Council that would have meant the chairman of the Communications Commission regulatory body had to be a non-Tynwald member.

But it was the Council of Ministers’ block vote that caused the impasse, as most backbenchers favoured the move.

In the end, a compromise means that in future the board of the commission will have a non-voting member from Tynwald.

Home Affairs Minister Graham Cregeen, the current chairman off the commission, put the compromise amendment before MHKs last week.

He said that the commission had carried its own consultation and proposed that it be chaired by someone independent from both the industry and politics but retain a political member ’to ensure that there is the opportunity for public scrutiny of the commission’s work’.

Council of Ministers went further and removed the political member’s voting rights.

The Bill will provide for the updating of licensing of telecoms services in the island and provide the ’certainty needed’ in the island’s telecoms industry and infrastructure, Mr Cregeen added.

Bill Shimmins (Middle) said the spat was less between MHKs and MLCs and more down to the Council of Ministers’ block vote preventing the change, first proposed by backbencher Daphne Caine (Garff) in the House of Keys.

’What is staggering is this has gone on for so long,’ he said. ’What a carry on.’

Mrs Caine welcomed the compromise but queried the need for any politician to be on the regulator’s board.

forced

’I agree with Mr Shimmins, it is the Council of Ministers that forced this delay,’ she added.

Lawrie Hooper (LibVannin, Ramsey) said branded as ’ridiculous’ the suggestion that removing voting rights from the Tynwald-appointed board member it would prevent political interference.

And former policy and reform minister Chris Thomas, who has become a thorn in the side of his erstwhile cabinet colleagues, continued in that vein by querying what the function of the political member on the board would be.

’Is the role to be a spy?’ he asked. ’Or is it to speak for the Council of Ministers surreptitiously?’

Mr Cregeen said it was not worth trying to convince critics otherwise over the amendment, but the legislation was vital for the industry.

The compromise amendment was approved 15-7.