Latest news with #JoneyFaragher
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Tynwald backs new way of calculating Isle of Man's minimum wage
Manx politicians have approved a proposal to base the Isle of Man's minimum wage off a percentage of median earnings instead of aligning it with the living debated a recently published review into the methodology of how the rate is set and approved that the figure would be based on 66% of median earnings. It means that a previous resolution to align the minimum wage with the living wage would be change would see the current hourly minimum wage rate of £12.25 increased to £13.46 in April, a slightly lower rate than the living wage which stands at £13.74. The minimum wage in the UK is currently £12.21 an put forward by SHK Juan Watterson to instead calculate the rate based on minimum income standards were rate had previously been set out in regulations made by the Department for Enterprise and Treasury after consulting with the Minimum Wage Committee. 'Strike a balance' Considerations that had been part of the rate-setting had included the effect on employment, inflation, competitiveness of businesses and the costs of concerns were raised that the new methodology would not link the rate with the cost of living for workers, and that earnings were more Joney Faragher argued the new method "risks leaving some people behind". "It is about real people and whether someone can afford to live independently," she Minister Alex Allinson said the new methodology would provide a "sense of certainty" for the minimum wage year-on-year for argued that a greater proportion of high earners on the island could skew the minimum wage if it was based on a percentage of median wages, but Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston said it would reflect higher living said the approach would remove ongoing subjectivity while maintaining competitiveness for the island's workers and economic impact of previous plans to assimilate the minimum wage with the living wage "could not be ignored", he said, and the change "strikes a balance" offering a wage aligned to the broader working population while giving businesses backed that a review into the policy would be conducted by the end of December. 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
09-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Isle of Man private school receives £2.2m 'repayable grant'
The Isle of Man's only private school will receive £2.2m to help with construction costs as it brings together its primary and secondary school facilities on one William's College (KWC) has been awarded the "repayable grant" under the Department for Enterprise's Financial Assistance Scheme for island year the institution confirmed its campus would be consolidated to include its primary school, the Buchan, with its former site sold to developers in Minister Tim Johnston said the loan was to help cover significant spending on building works and was due to the imposition of 20% VAT on private school fees. The UK government last year announced the standard rate of VAT would be added to private school fees from January, with KWC announcing in September it would absorb the costs for the spring and summer said that change had presented a "challenge" for the school, which had coincided with it going through "major investment" as part of the consolidation but the money was not "to pay a VAT bill" but to make it a "sustainable business". 'Select few' But MHK Joney Faragher said it "feels wrong that the government is propping up private schools when state schools are under such pressure" and it could "exacerbate educational inequality".It was public money and "should benefit the whole island's young people rather than just a select few".Lawrie Hooper MHK said the grant was awarded at the same time as the Department of Education, Sports and Culture was trying to find £400,000 in savings for swimming told the House of Keys he was "perfectly comfortable" the school was eligible for the support under the scheme and the funds would be paid back within five years, with interest applied from year said with 185 staff KWC was one of the largest employers in the south of the island and brought £1.3m in exchequer benefits as well as £2.8m in local economy spending each minister said he recognised the concerns raised by members, but the application received by his department had satisfied the criteria for the loan had received approval from the Council of Ministers and Treasury concurrence so had "gone through the normal processes", he a statement Chairman of Governors for KWC Peter Clucas said the funding enabled the college to move forward with its consolidation project, which "underpins the school's long-term financial sustainability".He said the school was working toward a completion date of later this year for the project. 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.
