Latest news with #JasonMoorhouse
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
£13k cost of Douglas swimming pool damage surveys revealed
A total of £13,000 has been spent on investigations into the cause of damage at the the main pool at the Isle of Man's National Sports Centre, it has emerged.A 16ft (5m) stretch of two of the lanes in the pool have been closed since November 2023 after a fault was identified with the flooring at the centre in Sport and Culture Minister Daphne Caine told Tynwald the department had been "eager to understand the root cause" of the issue at the confirmed a series of investigations and specialist reports had now been completed, and the department was currently considering the findings. The swimming complex at the sports centre has faced a number of problems since a £4.4m revamp began in 2018, including lengthy delays to the reopening of the leisure pool and water slides. Calling for an update on the progress of the investigations, Jason Moorhouse MHK said the timescale to find a resolution had been a costs had been £10,500 for a site visit and report and £2,500 for material analysis, Caine were also in dialogue with the main contractor about the outcome of the surveys and the minister said she would be able to provide a further progress report once those meetings had taken department had expected repair work would have been completed by September 2025 to ensure school swimming would not be affected, but that was now unlikely, she added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Isle of Man education minister reveals cost of schools inspections
The education minister has reversed a decision not to reveal how much it was costing to send external inspectors into Isle of Man schools. Daphne Caine had previously declined to say how much money was being spent on the external validators despite concerns raised by MHKs about value for has now confirmed that it costs between £150,000 and £250,000 for the validators to undertake visits of up to eight weeks, observe and speak to staff and pupils and decide what could be improved. In an email to Tynwald members, Caine said she had been "reflecting" on matters raised in the House of Keys on Tuesday and noted many felt it was acceptable to provide a cost range for the three-year contract. 'Provide assurance' She would not provide the exact figure having argued that it could impact commercial sensitivity and the government's ability to get "best value for money" in this week's House of Keys sitting, Lawrie Hooper estimated that based on information made public by the UK government, the cost of the contract was between £150,000 and £250,000. Kate Lord-Brennan said there was "political support" for a cost range to be provided and Jason Moorhouse questioned whether the department was paying "too much" for the the price bracket, Caine said it included costs of travel, accommodation and expenses of the external validation team . It also covered the compilation of the information gathered and annual overviews, she told members."I hope this will provide reassurance as to the value for money obtained through the contract to enable independent external validation of all schools and educational services", she added there were plans to improve the information provided to parents and carers after the validation visits to schools. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Move to introduce all island leisure rate rejected
A bid to introduce a leisure rate to replace local authority contributions to regional swimming pool costs has been thrown move would have seen the additional funds ring-fenced and allocated to the island's four local facilities and the National Sports Centre (NSC).Lawrie Hooper MHK had said the measure, which would have seen changes to the rates in Douglas, Onchan and Braddan, would raise £250,000 and make the system "more equitable".But Treasury Minister Alex Allinson said "full rate reform" would instead provide a "fair, modern and equitable way of funding community services and facilities". An all-island tax would "not solve the problem of how our regional swimming pools are funded, how they are managed, and their operations co-ordinated", he said. 'Lessening the burden' Hooper argued it was about "making things a little bit fairer and a little bit better" as rate reform would not happen all at once. Although the regional rates for the pools did not raise a lot of money in comparison to the total running costs of the facilities, the measure would have the effect of "lessening the burden" on the Department for Education, Sport and Culture the proposal, Jason Moorhouse MHK said it would resolve the issue of "imbalance" in the rating system, which saw some ratepayers pay for the pools, but not all, and would "ensure uniform contributions".But Chris Thomas MHK said the only reason that the facilities were paid for by rates was so that local authorities had control of the pools. He said introducing a fee in the east of the island could lead to the NSC being run by a local authority. Similarly, Cabinet Office Minister David Ashford said the measure would "centralise" the funding to the government and "remove that power from the local level".In a vote in Tynwald the measure was rejected by the politicians. Additional reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
No rise in bluetongue risk due to Isle of Man TT, minister says
Increased visitors over the TT period "do not fundamentally increase the risk" of bluetongue reaching the island, the Environment, Food and Agriculture minister has Sunday restrictions were placed on the movement of some livestock in Lancashire, including cattle and sheep, following the discovery of the virus in the county.A Manx ban on livestock imports has been in place since November 2023 to prevent bluetongue, which can cause infertility and breeding problems in animals and can be Barber said while cases of the virus in the Lancashire area were "concerning", it was spread by midges and not carried or transmitted by people or equipment. While additional visitors would not increase the risk of the spread of bluetongue, the main "potential route" would be from imported susceptible animals or midges blown across from England, she Gary Clueitt questioned whether restrictions had been placed products used in the artificial insemination of livestock in line those implemented in the UK, Jason Moorhouse MHK raised concerns about infected midges or larva being brought to the island on visitors' camping equipment. Awareness Barber said there were still permissions for reproduction products to be imported but it was "the only way" the island could diversify its livestock government had put a "huge amount of precautions in", but there came a point "where we have to acknowledge that we are doing all we can short of closing our borders permanently", she told Tynwald members foot and mouth disease cases in Europe had also prompted restrictions on the importation of meat and dairy products for personal use from anywhere other than Great had been placed in the island's airport along with the Heysham and Liverpool ferry ports warning travellers of existing restrictions ahead of the TT races. Similar information would also be placed in Dublin and Belfast ports, she on the risks of leaving food where livestock could eat it, and more widely on foot and mouth disease, has been shared with local commissioners, TT campsites, community organisers and farmers. The TT was cancelled in 2001 following outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in the Barber she said her department currently considered the risk of the disease reaching the island to be "low" as there was no direct travel from Eastern Europe, which was where the latest cases had been identified. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
Parking fines of £75k owed by off-island vehicles
More than 1,300 tickets issued to non-Manx registered vehicles between April 2022 and March 2025 remain unpaid, the infrastructure minister has confirmed. Speaking during a House of Keys sitting this week, Michelle Haywood said it meant outstanding fines amounted to £75,390 across the period. The Department of Infrastructure (DOI) could not chase an unpaid ticket issued to a UK car owner as it did not have access to the licensing database, she explained. But some MHKs questioned if new number plate recognition technology, set to be introduced at Douglas harbour next month, could be used to recoup funds. It was confirmed that between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, a total of 735 parking tickets were issued to non-Manx registered vehicles. Of those 372 tickets with a value of £23,430 were paid and 363 with a value of £20,850 remain outstanding. In the 2023-2024 financial year, 916 parking tickets were issued to owners of off-island vehicles, 388 tickets with a value of £24,270 were paid, and 528 with a value of £30,990 were not. Between April 2024 and March 2025, a total of 744 parking tickets were issued to non-Manx registered vehicles, 449 with a value of £23,550 remain outstanding, while 295 tickets with a value of £18,570 were paid. During the sitting, Jason Moorhouse asked if "given the substantial value" of the fines any discussions with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) had taken place about incorporating "some kind of catch system" into a new number plate recognition scheme. In February, the Isle of Man Constabulary announced it would be joining the UK's Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) database in March, with cameras at the Manx port set to be connected to it in May, allowing checks on vehicles travelling on and off the ferries. Haywood said the General Registry was the responsible authority for collecting the fines, but she would undertake to have a conversation with them to see if they would enquire about doing so with the DHA. She also confirmed the DOI did not have the authority to write off the fines but it did carry out periodic checks as to whether vehicles with outstanding fines had since been registered on the island, to then follow up on notices. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. Number plate checks to be rolled out at port Facial recognition part of port security plans Drivers to face tougher approach to parking fines Tynwald - Parliament of the Isle of Man Isle of Man Government - Department of Infrastructure
