Nicola Cowsill | November 2015
For the month of November I have been spending a lot of time
working as Secretary of the Tynwald
Advisory Council for Disabilities (TACD), as Secretary I have to plan
future meetings, manage the minutes and catch up on all correspondence. I had my first meeting with the Council and my
first experience of taking minutes. Thankfully a former secretary is mentoring
me in all aspects of the role. Having a mentor in this role is important as
there has been a steep learning curve as the Secretary to the Committee.
The TACD had a Tynwald question in the November sitting where
the Tynwald member wanted information about what advice the council had given
over the past parliamentary year. I had to collate all the information and read
through all past minutes and correspondence so I could give an accurate,
complete and clear response.
I have been working with the Deputy Clerk of Tynwald this month on a
progress with inquiries report that the Social Affairs Policy Review Committee
(SAPRC) want to produce. This is an excellent way for me to get up to date on
what the committee have been interested in and what has been achieved as part
of their work. I look forward to watching more evidence sessions with this
committee and see how the inquires affect the policy of the departments they
scrutinise.
My desk is situated in the Office of the Clerk of Tynwald in
the Chamber and Information Service. The Chamber and Information Service mange
the Tynwald Library and gift shop on the ground floor of Legislative Buildings.
As a public library, I sit at the counter 2 afternoons a week and deal with queries
from the public and from Members who need assistance from the library. Queries
vary from people wanting to look at an old statute to checking a name on the
electoral role.