Committees
The work carried out by the Committees of Tynwald and its Branches, the House of Keys and the Legislative Council, is an important part of the work of the Legislature. These committees consider policy issues, scrutinise the work and expenditure of the government and investigate matters referred to them. Much of the detailed work of parliament is done in committee as matters before them can be explored to a level of detail which would not be possible during the normal business of a sitting.
Committees have the authority to call for papers, submissions, and witnesses for examination.They may hold private and public sittings to discuss the information they have gathered and question people who may have detailed knowledge about the matter being explored. Government Ministers and senior civil servants often appear before those parliamentary committees whose remit includes scrutiny of government.
Committee reports are usually produced at the conclusion of an investigation. These reports, and any recommendations made therein, are laid before the Chamber by which the Committees were appointed, where they may be debated and voted upon.
Upcoming Committee Evidence Sessions
The following oral evidence sessions are scheduled to take place on the dates listed below. All evidence will be heard in the Legislative Council Chamber, Legislative Buildings, Bucks Road, Douglas. Members of the public are welcome to attend.
Public committee evidence can also be heard via the ‘live and listen again’ audio webcast service on the Tynwald website.
Current Committees
Standing
These are permanent committees constituted under the Standing Orders of Tynwald and its Branches.
Select
These are ad hoc Committees which are established by Tynwald or the Branches if a Motion calling for a Committee to investigate a topic is approved.
Tynwald Youth Select Committee - https://www.tynwald.org.im/learn/YSC
Mirroring the current Committees structure of Tynwald and its Branches, the Youth Select Committee will enable young people across the Island to scrutinise and hold inquiries of topics of interest to them.
Bill
These are ad hoc Committees which are established to consider a Bill before the House of Keys or Legislative Council.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
About Parliamentary Committees
Updated August 2023
Procedure
Some of the procedures for the operation of a Committee are set out in Standing Orders.[1] Beyond that, each Committee is in charge of its own procedure. Unless the Standing Orders provide who is to be Chairman of the Committee, the Committee itself chooses one of its members to take this role. A Clerk of the Committee is nominated by the Clerk of Tynwald and, with the assistance of other staff in the Clerk of Tynwald’s Office, the Clerk of the Committee supports the Committee with administration, research and report writing.
Committees have the authority to call for papers, submissions, and witnesses for examination.[2] They may hold private and public sittings to discuss the information they have gathered and question people who may have detailed knowledge about the matter being explored. Government Ministers and senior civil servants often appear before those parliamentary committees whose remit includes scrutiny of government.
Committee reports are usually produced at the conclusion of an investigation. In the case of a lengthy investigation, reports might be written as the work progresses, or there may be intervals for reporting determined in the Committee remit. These reports, and any recommendations made therein, are laid before the Chamber by which the Committees were appointed, where they may be debated and voted upon.
Types of Committee
There are several kinds of Committees of Tynwald Court and its Branches.
Standing Committees
These are permanent committees constituted under the Standing Orders of Tynwald and its Branches. A Standing Committee of Tynwald or the Legislative Council remains in being despite dissolution of the House of Keys; membership of Tynwald Standing Committees, however, ceases upon the dissolution.[3]
Select Committees
These are ad hoc Committees which are established by Tynwald or the Branches if a Motion calling for a Committee to investigate a topic is approved. In the Branches they may also be set up to consider Bills in more detail. The members are elected when the Committee is formed, and they normally serve for the life of the Committee which ends when the Committee reports.
Joint Committees
These are Committees with members appointed by and from each of the Branches, the House of Keys and the Legislative Council, and not by Tynwald Court. They are appointed by the Council and Keys, by consent of both Branches, when sitting separately. Their reports are presented to each Branch separately.
Policy Review Committees and the Justice Committee
The three Policy Review Committeesare Standing Committees of Tynwald. They each scrutinize the established (but not emergent) policies,[4] as referred to or deemed necessary by each Committee, of the Departments and Offices named in their remits, together with associated Statutory Boards and other bodies. Each Policy Review Committee may take evidence from witnesses from other areas of government in cases where the subject matter cuts across different areas of responsibility of different Departments, Offices, Statutory Boards or other organizations. The Policy Review Committees may also hold joint sittings for deliberative purposes or to take evidence. The Chairs of the Policy Review Committees, who are all members of the Public Accounts Committee, agree on the scope of a Policy Review Committee’s inquiry where the subject cuts across the respective boundaries of the Policy Review Committees’ remits.
The function of the Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs and Justice are similar to those of the Policy Review Committees, but with reference to the administration of justice, legal services, and the work of the Attorney General and constitutional issues.[5]
Elections to Committees of the Legislature
Tynwald
All Members of Tynwald are eligible to serve on its Committees, except for the President of Tynwald. The President does, however, sit ex officio on the Tynwald Management Committee and the Tynwald Ceremony Arrangements Committee.
Members elect fellow Members to serve on Committees whenever there is a vacancy. This always happens after a General Election, but also whenever a Select Committee is set up, or a vacancy in an already-established Committee arises for any other reason. Each nomination must be seconded. If there are more nominations than positions to fill, Members vote on those nominations as one body by ballot. Members must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected to serve on a committee. The ballot is public, with the details of voting published in Votes and Proceedings.[6]
If a Member ceases to be a member of either Branch, a vacancy occurs in any Committee of which they were a member. However, the existing Member continues until a successor is elected, and may be re-elected to the Committee through the usual nomination process if he or she becomes a member of either Branch before the vacancy has been filled.[7]
House of Keys
After a General Election, whenever vacancies occur, or when Select Committees are set up, Members nominate fellow Members, each nomination being seconded, to serve on the various committees detailed later in this chapter. If there are more nominations than positions to fill, an election is held by ballot. Members must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected to serve on the committee. The ballot is public, with the details of voting published in Votes and Proceedings.[8]
Legislative Council
All Members of the Legislative Council are eligible to serve on committees of the Council.
The Standing Orders of the Legislative Council do not have specific procedures for electing Members to Committees; such elections are seldom contested.
As the Legislative Council is in continuous existence it only has vacancies in its Standing Committees when members cease to belong to that Branch.
[1] References to Committees appear throughout the Standing Orders of Tynwald Court and the Branches but specifically: Standing Orders of Tynwald, 4.7-4.8 and V; Standing Orders of the House of Keys, VI; Standing Orders of the Legislative Council, IV(A).
[2] Standing Orders of Tynwald, 5.10(1); Standing Orders of the House of Keys, 6.14; Tynwald Proceedings Act 1876, s.3.
[3] Standing Orders of Tynwald, 5.5(2)
[4] Standing Orders of Tynwald, Schedule, 1.1.
[5] Standing Orders of Tynwald, Schedule 10.1
[6] Standing Orders of Tynwald, 5.3(14).
[7] Standing Orders of Tynwald, 5.5(1)
[8] Standing Orders of the House of Keys, 6.3(13).
Search Parliamentary Reports
Committee Reports
Completed Committees
- Breastfeeding Bill Committee
- Constitutional Matters
- Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill
- CPA Bench Marks - Self Assessment Committee Members
- Economic Initiatives Committee
- House of Keys Committee on the Education Bill 2020
- Joint Committee on the Constitutional Principles Raised by the Electoral Reform Bill 2011
- Landlord and Tenant (Private Housing) Bill Committee of the House of Keys
- Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander
- Select Committee on the Business and Functioning of the Council
- Public Sector Pensions Bill Committee
- Scrutiny Committee
- Select Committee of the Legislative Council on the Highways (Amendment) Bill 2015
- Select Committee of the Legislative Council on the Road Traffic Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2016
- Select Committee of Tynwald on Advertising in the Countryside
- Select Committee of Tynwald on Animal Welfare (Petition for Redress)
- Select Committee of Tynwald on the First Time Buyer Scheme (Petition for Redress)
- Select Committee of Tynwald on the Operation of the Jury System
- Select Committee of Tynwald on the Television Licence Fee
- Select Committee of Tynwald on redress for Mr & Mrs Spadoni (Actions of the Marine Administration)
- Select Committee of Tynwald on the Poacher's Pocket
- Select Committee of Tynwald on Legal Aid in Family Matters (Petition for Redress of Grievance)
- Select Committee of Tynwald on the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
- Select Committee of Tynwald on Immigration
- Select Committee of Tynwald on the Petition for Redress of Grievance of Donald Whittaker
- Select Committee of Tynwald on Crossag Farm
- Select Committee of Tynwald on the Affairs of Braddan Parish Commissioners
- Select Committee of Tynwald on Public Footpaths, Bridleways and Green Lanes (Petition for Redress)
- Select Committee on Building Regulations etc. (Petition for Redress)
- Select Committee on Accommodation for Vulnerable Young People
- Select Committee on the Code of Conduct for Public Servants (Petition for Redress)
- Select Committee on Civil Legal Proceedings
- Select Committee on Development of Unoccupied Urban Sites
- Select Committee on Free Train and Tram Travel (Petition for Redress)
- Select Committee on Financing of Infrastructure Schemes and Projects
- Select Committee on the Funding of Nursing and Residential Care
- Select Committee on Poverty
- Select Committee on Public Service Broadcasting
- Select Committee on Public Service Media (PSB2018)
- Select Committee on Whistleblowing
- Special Committee on the Public Services Commission Joint Negotiating Committee
- Tynwald Ceremony Arrangements Sub-Committee on Procedure
- Tynwald Ceremony Enhancements Sub-Committee
- Tynwald Honours Committee