Four Regulations were created from the latter part of the 9th of April to through to the 15th of April. Additionally, an earlier noted Regulation has been approved by Tynwald with an amendment.
The Entry Restrictions (Amendment no.2) Regulations were noted earlier. As with the Entry Restrictions which they sought to amend, they were the subject of considerable debate in Tynwald on the 14th of April. The proposed reg. 6A(3)(c) would not allow the issue of an exemption to a returning resident if they had stayed after the 27th of March at a dwelling owned by themselves, or a close family member. This restriction was removed; although the controversial requirement that every exemption for returning residents include a condition that they are liable “to pay all the costs incurred and associated with his or her re-entry” was not.
Also created on the 9th of April, and amended during approval by Tynwald, were the Information Sharing Regulations. The purpose of the Regulation is to allow the Council of Ministers to direct that information protected by data protection legislation be shared between Departments, or a third party required to disclose information, in order to facilitate “any regulations made under the Emergency Powers Act 1936 which relate to coronavirus” (reg.5). The direction from CoMin may include safeguards, and the Regulation notes that these may be intended to prevent abuse, unlawful access, or further disclosure; and must (not may) “provide for the return, deletion, destruction, or other recovery of date from the person with whom it is shared” (reg.5(4)(b)(ii)). Reg 3(1), defining terms used in the Regulation was amended. Working from the audio transcript of Tynwald, the effect of this amendment was to make it clear that information sharing could involve local authorities: although the breadth of the power to make directions under reg.5(1)(b) looks to have included local authorities in any case.
The Events and Gatherings (Amendment) Regulations add to the original regulations, noted here, a statutory definition of gathering as “any meeting or assembly of two or more persons who are not members of the same household” (reg.3 as amended). This is a useful clarification. It makes it clear, however, that this Regulation does not apply to assembly outside the household of members of the same household. These are governed by the Prohibition on Movement Regulations, noted here, which include justifications for gatherings such as attending a funeral.
The Suspension of Regular Service Licenses Regulations state that section 25 of the Road Traffic Act 2001 “does not apply” to Bus Vannin (reg.4). Section 25 creates a criminal offence where a person uses “a public passenger vehicle for the provision of a regular service unless he is a holder of a license”. The statutory regime for licensing of a regular service is quite detailed, and may require an application for a license to state fares, class of vehicles to be used, operating base for the vehicles used, and the route and timetables of the service (s.26). This Regulation allows Bus Vannin to make changes to regular services without the involvement of a licensing body.
Finally, a Regulation which may turn out to be influential in a variety of contexts. The Planning Committee Regulations adds a new definition of “meeting”, perhaps one we will see again, to the normal statutory document regulating the constitution of the Planning Committee. Meeting is defined as including “a meeting which is conducted in such a way that those who are not present together at the same place may by electronic means participate in it” (reg.5(2), amending original reg.3). Similarly potentially influential in the future, the new Regs remove the original requirement that proceedings “must be held in public” and replace them with “must ordinarily be held in public unless this is not reasonably practicable, when they may be held in private” (reg.5(4), amending original reg.17(2)). This Regulation also adds a power to defer consideration of an application (reg.5(3), amending original reg.15).
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