Bid to expand Isle of Man coronavirus pandemic response review

A bid to expand an independent review into the Isle of Man government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been put forward.

Kate Brunner KC, who is leading the probe, has asked for it to cover the period between December 2019 to April 2022, rather than September 2021.

That would see the review cover the time up to the axing of Covid restrictions.

Home Affairs Minister Jane Poole-Wilson will ask Tynwald to back the changes.

Ms Brunner's review is set to examine all aspects of the Manx government's pandemic response, including legal restrictions, the vaccine roll out and Covid support schemes, as well as the deaths as a result of the virus.

More than 100 people have died from the virus on the Isle of Man.

Conclusions from the review and any subsequent recommendations are due to be laid before Tynwald by December 2023.

Tynwald's Public Accounts Committee, which led previous investigations into the island's Covid response, and the Council of Ministers have both agreed to Mr Brunner's "logical" request.

The extension to April would allow "the entirety of the major responses to the pandemic to be considered", they added.

At the November sitting of Tynwald politicians will also be asked to approve another tweak to the review's terms of reference to make clear how evidence will be presented.

The change clarifies that any evidence will be published at Ms Brunner's discretion, "subject to considerations of confidentiality, relevance, cost and practicality".

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