Ramsey Bay from the shore - Fiona Gell
Transforming Government - Update
The Transforming Government Programme supports the
five-year budget strategy which has been put in place to
rebalance Government's finances in the wake of the
annual loss of revenue. It's not simply about how much
the Government spends, but about what Government
actually does with the money.
To achieve this, the programme has
supported the creation of the Customer
First Project Team in the Department of
Community, Culture and Leisure
(DCCL), a central Procurement Team
within Treasury and the new shared
services teams providing finance and
payroll services in Treasury and the
Office of Human Resources.
The focus has now moved to the
creation of the Transforming
Government Team within the Chief Secretary‟s Office. This
Team will lead change programmes where they have an
effect across Government and will support Departments,
Boards and Offices in delivering change in their own
businesses and provision of services.
Michael Morrison has been appointed as Senior Project
Manager, Julie Brew as Programme Manager and
Glen Shimmin as Senior Finance Analyst.
The team will also be joined in the near future by
Melanie Whittingham from the Department of
Economic Development, Helen Goldie from the Office of
Human Resources and David Haynes from the DCCL.
In order to meet demand for the provision of project
management services the Team will also
be working with a number of other
people on a secondment or part-time
basis as part of their existing roles.
The team has studied the nearly 900
Business Rationalisation Opportunities
(BROs) supplied by Departments and
brought them together into a number of
themes including more cost effective
financial and human resources
processes, improving information and
records management, reduction in energy costs and better
fleet and vehicle management, to name a few. These
themes will provide the basis upon which project
management resources will be deployed.
Further information about the work of the Transforming
Government Team can be obtained from Dan Davies,
Programme Director, email [email protected].
Payroll Moves to St Andrew’s House
As part of the Transforming
Government Programme, the end of
July saw various Payroll Sections from
across Government moving into one
new shared location on the fourth
floor of St Andrew‟s House under the
leadership of Treasury Chief
Accountant, Simon Clague.
The Payroll Sections that transferred
included the Department of Health,
Department of Social Care, Treasury
and the Department of Education and
Children.
In the coming months Treasury look
forward to welcoming on the fourth
floor payroll teams from the
Department of Community, Culture
and Leisure and the Department of
Infrastructure to complete the payroll
staff transfers.
Payroll’s new office on the 4th floor
Message from the Editor
Welcome to the Summer 2011
edition of Update in which we keep
you informed of developments
across Government. We celebrate
the successes of Departments and
individuals, introduce initiatives,
congratulate new appointments and
bid farewell to those who are
retiring.
The big news of the past months
must surely be the VAT bombshell
and the anticipated repercussions of
this. The reduction in income for
Government is likely to result in a
further tightening of belts and
battening down of hatches. The
Transforming Government
Programme continues apace; the
ultimate objective of which is the
most effective use of available
resources, reduced expenses and
streamlined processes. Finance
Shared Services completes the final
step of their amalgamation with the
move of the Payroll section to the
4th floor of St Andrew‟s House. We
in the Office of Human Resources
on the 2nd floor of St Andrew‟s
House are looking forward to having
our colleagues from the Department
of Education and Children join us in
October.
beginning of August. Tanya has
been appointed to my role until the
end of March 2012, while I have
been appointed HR & Policy Officer
for the same period. Tanya may be
contacted by email
[email protected] or on the
telephone number below.
I would like to thank Fiona Gell from
DEFA for her cover photograph of
the beach at Ramsey and Sean Grey
for his photographs of the swallow,
this edition‟s symbol of summer.
I hope that you continue to find
Update informative, interesting and
entertaining. Please send your
comments or suggestions to Tanya
for inclusion in the Christmas
edition.
Many thanks to everyone who
submitted articles for inclusion in
the magazine; I am particularly
grateful to those who reluctantly
agreed to having their photographs
taken/ included.
Ann Anderson, Editor
Office of Human Resources
St Andrew‟s House, Douglas
Telephone: 685715
On a personal note, my colleague,
Tanya Sanderson, will be taking
over as editor of Update from the
Deadline for articles:
Christmas Issue publication
date: 7 December 2011
23 November 2011
Working Smarter
Summer is a great time to take a
fresh look at the way you work.
Here are a couple of suggestions of
ways to organise your files so you’ll
never lose another document...
Losing files is wasted time and few of us can afford for
this to be a regular part of our day. Being organised and
making good use of the bells and whistles on our
computers can save a great deal of time and frustration.
Update plans to run a series of „Top Tips‟ for saving time
and making life easier.
Pinning Documents
A new feature of Office 2010 is that you can pin
documents to the „Recent‟ file list. So, if there‟s
a file you use every week, month or year and
you routinely spend time looking for it, you can pin it in
place so it‟ll always appear in your Recent file list.
To illustrate this feature: Open, Save and Close a
document that you wish to pin. Now click the MS Office
Button - click Recent and the document will appear at
the top of the list. Click the Pin to the right of the
document and it will be permanently pinned to the top of
the list.
* MS Office and Start Buttons – which is which?
MS Office Button
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Update
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Start Button
Using Shortcuts
When you‟re filing documents that logically
need to be in two different folders, avoid
creating multiple copies of the document and use
shortcuts instead. So, for example, save your document in
one of the folders it should be in and then click the MS
Office Button; then click Save as and you will see the
document in its folder. Right click the document and
choose Create Shortcut, right click the shortcut and
choose Cut. Now move to another document folder that
should also contain this document, right click the
document and choose Paste.
This pastes a shortcut to the document in the folder and
means that you will only have a single copy of the
document with shortcut links to this. In future, the
document or shortcut to it will be in those folders in which
it should logically appear.
If you click either the document or its shortcut you will
always open the one document. As long as you don‟t
move or rename the original document you will always
have access to that particular document from the
shortcut.
If anyone has a tip that they would like to share,
please email it to the editor:
[email protected]
RecordsMann in
Isle of Man Government
RecordsMann is the name of a programme of work
initiated by ISD in 2007. It was set up to allow the Isle
of Man Government to manage its electronic documents
and records in a standard, low cost and easy to use way.
to manage the amount of data and documentation it
creates and stores, SharePoint can help you. Some of the
benefits of SharePoint include:
To date the programme has provided:

An IT framework to underpin electronic document
management across Isle of Man Government

Introduction of SharePoint 2007 as the standard
platform for electronic document management in Isle
of Man Government

A defined implementation process available to all
Departments, Boards and Offices in Isle of Man
Government

A governance process around SharePoint 2007
implementations providing a structure for information
management

A support site available to all staff including training
presentations, guidelines to best practice and step by
step set up notes to building a SharePoint site
How does this help me in my day to day work?
SharePoint can help you manage the information in your
organisation better by making it easier to share
information, providing a common structure for the way
your documents are stored and managed and through a
powerful search function. If your organisation struggles
If you would like to get involved or if you would like more
information, please contact: Meic Pierce Owen by
email.
Internal link: http://recordsmann/sites/GovTrng/SCS/
It's surely summer, for there's a swallow
Come one swallow, his mate will follow,
The bird race quicken and wheel and thicken.
(Christina G. Rossetti)
Swallows, which migrate thousands of miles every year in pursuit of the eternal
summer, provide a visible barometer of the changing seasons.
I would like to thank the Charity, Manx BirdLife, as well as photographer,
Sean Gray, for providing me with photographs of
this quintessential symbol of summer for Update.
Manx swallows will be setting off on their 7000 mile trip to Africa soon.
See www.manxbirdlife.im for the latest news of the Island‟s birds this summer.
Photo: Sean Gray www.grayimages.co.uk
www.gov.im/hr
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Update
Government Unified Scheme
Earlier this year,
the Council of
IoMG Unified Scheme
Ministers went
Yn raad er oaie
The way forward
through its final
consultation on the
regulations for your new Unified
Scheme. The closing consultation
report (highlighting the feedback
received) was considered by the
Council of Ministers and these,
along with the regulations, were
submitted to Tynwald for
consideration. The Unified
Scheme was approved by Tynwald
at its June sitting to be
implemented from 1 April 2012.
There will now be a period of
negotiation between employer and
employee representatives to agree
how to implement the Unified
Scheme. These negotiations will
take place through the normal
arrangements for your workgroup.
Once this is finalised, it is
intended that you will be sent
information to help you make the
important decision about whether
you want to join the Standard or
Protected Section of the new
scheme.
You don‟t need to take any action
now, but you may want to
familiarise yourself with the
Unified Scheme by exploring the
Unified Scheme website at
www.iomunifiedscheme.im
Please note that due to the
forthcoming implementation of the
Unified Scheme, the Pensions
Division will not be issuing Annual
Benefits Statements this year to
those membership groups who
are set to switch to the Unified
Scheme in April 2012.
We want to hear from you
We want to make sure that you
have the resources you need and
in a format that suits you to make
the appropriate decision when the
time comes. We therefore would
like to encourage you to share
your views about the
communications you have had so
far, by completing a short online
survey. The survey can be found
on the home page of the website
at www.iomunifiedscheme.im
Science and Space Celebrities visit the Island
Hundreds of local students and internet viewers around
the world enjoyed the science lesson of a lifetime when
Professor Brian Cox OBE and a team of NASA
astronauts spoke at a unique event in the Isle of Man.
Professor Cox, the popular BBC TV presenter and British
particle physicist, offered his personal insight into the
wonders of the universe and was followed on stage by
the NASA crew members who flew the historic final
mission of the space shuttle Discovery.
The visits were a major coup for the Isle of Man and
reflected its growing importance as a centre of excellence
in the space commerce and aerospace engineering
sectors.
Arrangements were co-ordinated by officers from the
Chief Secretary‟s Office in conjunction with colleagues in
the Departments of Economic Development, Education
and Children, and Community, Culture and Leisure.
31 American servicemen died when their B-17 Flying
Fortress crashed on the slopes of North Barrule in 1945.
NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, wife of the Isle of Man‟s
Honorary Representative to the Space Community Chris
Stott, said: „The Isle of Man is a very progressive country
and businesses are realising that this is a place where
you can open up opportunities for yourself.‟ She added
that it was „certainly possible‟ that the Island could
emerge as the next country to return to the Moon.
Professor Cox also spoke highly of the Isle of Man‟s spirit
of innovation and enterprise. „I was fascinated when I
learned the Island is a place that genuinely values space
and high tech industry, exploration and science. I wanted
to come and see what I could take back to David
Cameron as an example of how the UK should do it. The
Island has obviously done it right because those
industries are flourishing here.‟
In addition to the presentation to Island students, which
was streamed live on the internet, Professor Cox and the
astronauts also attended the Tynwald ceremony – the
annual celebration of the oldest continuous parliament in
the world.
The NASA crew members attended a number of other
engagements during their six-day visit, including
unveiling a plaque donated by the North American Manx
Association to mark the 100th anniversary of the first
powered flight in the Island, and visiting the site where
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NASA astronauts with Brian Cox
Social Media proves a Hit with the Public
At the end of May, The Isle of Man
Constabulary embarked on an
ambitious plan ahead of TT to use
Social Media to enhance their
media presence both on the Island
and elsewhere.
Inspector Derek Flint, Force Media Relations Officer
explains: “When I was commanding the Northern
Neighbourhood we set up a Facebook page to interact a
bit more with the public and to let them know more about
what we were doing. This proved very successful. I came
to Facebook and Twitter somewhat reluctantly, having set
up personal pages pretty much just to keep track with
what the kids were doing online. It made me realise that
this was a way to communicate with thousands of
members of the public. We soon had around 800 followers
in the North, and when you think the best you might
manage on an hour of uninterrupted foot patrol might be
speaking to ten people, or perhaps twenty or so at a
public meeting, then that is a lot of people to be able to
interact with in one go.
Administration wasn‟t particularly
onerous. I usually fired it up when
I was having a cup of tea to see
what was happening, or if we
needed to get a message out
there. People loved it, and I found
it a great source of information.
On taking up the Media role again on my return to HQ
staff, I started to look at things a little more strategically
and what we might achieve force-wide. I still believe there
is a need for a parochial presence, but what I was looking
at now was how to get timely information out to the
general public in a way they could easily access it. I put
forward a proposal to the Command Team, who were
happy to sanction a trial. We went live on 25 May, and the
response has been fantastic.
massive advantage in our work. I believe that a few
people have been really astounded by the numbers we
have attracted. I think what needs to be remembered is
that there is a skeet value in what we do. People love to
know what the cops are up to, which is why the likes of
„Police Camera Action‟ is so popular. We are reaching old
and young alike. Social Media is the new means of having
the conversations we used to have in the pub; in bus
shelters or down the street, but we are able to have them
on an on-demand basis.
There have been few downsides. It is a slow job getting
people to understand that it is a one-way information
feed, and we do get tweeted, and comments do get
posted on Facebook. However, to date this hasn‟t really
been a problem, and in fact the little discussions that have
gone on, especially on Facebook, have been quite
informative and helpful. If I could change anything, I
would probably turn that feature off.
We are now into the feedback and evaluation phase. I‟d
be pleased to hear from anyone with their views or ideas
for improvement. We are a small organisation, so
sustainability is always an issue. We want to make sure
that we can continue to provide a quality service so it is
important we don‟t get too far ahead of ourselves!”
Derek Flint
Force Media Relations Officer, Department of Home Affairs
Facebook: Isle of Man Constabulary Media Page
Twitter: @iompolice
email: [email protected]
I set things up so that the main page is Facebook. This
then feeds Twitter. As far as public information goes,
being able to tell people what is going on in real time is a
Bank Holidays 2012
The following dates are Bank Holidays in 2012

Friday, 8th June (T.T. Bank Holiday)

Monday 2nd January (New Year‟s Day)

Thursday 5th July (Tynwald Day)

Friday, 6th April (Good Friday)

Friday 6th July (Queens Diamond Jubilee)

Monday, 9th April (Easter Monday)

Monday, 27th August (Summer Bank Holiday)

Monday, 7th May (Early May Bank Holiday)

Tuesday, 25th December (Christmas Day)

Monday, 28th May (Late May Bank Holiday)

Wednesday, 26th December (Boxing Day)
www.gov.im/hr
Page 5
Update
Official Opening of the iMuseum
Cummal Cooinaghtyn Manninagh
I am delighted that this morning we
have two additions to our collection
in the form of a Manx pennant and
flag which were flown on the last
mission of Space Shuttle Discovery in
February 2011 and presented to
Manx National Heritage by NASA
astronaut Nicole Stott and her
colleagues from the Discovery
Shuttle crew. They are relatively
small items but have travelled a long
way to get here.”
On Monday 4 July 2011, Manx
National Heritage marked the official
opening of the iMuseum, a new
digital research facility which
provides unprecedented access to
Manx National Heritage collections.
In a special ceremony performed by
the Chief Minister, the Hon J A
Brown MHK and Martin Moore,
Chairman of Manx National Heritage,
the outstanding new research facility
was declared open.
books, documents and works of art
were added to the increasing
national collections. As time passed,
the collections looked after by the
Trustees on behalf of the people of
the Island have grown in scale and
significance. They now include the
houses, clothes, papers, photographs
and the very voices of our ancestors.
Situated on Kingswood Grove in
Douglas, the digital museum quietly
opened its doors to the public in
March this year. The facility brings
together a selection of archives,
library and museum collections into
one digital resource, and the content
will grow significantly over the
coming months and years as more of
the national collections are digitised.
Online access to the facility will be
available to the world in Spring 2012
and will include a simple subscription
facility for the Manx Newspapers
(1792 – 1960) searchable at the click
of a button.
Performing the official opening, Chief
Minister, the Hon J A Brown said:
“The iMuseum encapsulates over 150
years of knowledge from the Manx
National Collections, offering users
the ability to browse our national
archives ranging from Isle of Man
Newspapers from 1792 to 1960 to
photographs of the Island, film and
audio resources.”
Edmund Southworth, Director of
Manx National Heritage explained the
new development:
“When Tynwald established the
Museum and Ancient Monument
Trustees on the Island 125 years ago
it was in the expectation that they
would both protect and promote the
material culture of the Isle of Man's
community. This first manifested
itself in buildings, carved crosses,
and archaeological remains. Later
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Edmund Southworth, Director of Manx National Heritage, Chief Minister, the Hon
JA Brown and Martin Moore, Chairman of Manx National Heritage, pictured with
Nicola Stott and her colleagues from the Discovery Shuttle at the official opening of
the new iMuseum
Isle of Man College Short Courses
The idea of separating the advanced features of Word and
Excel into specific areas of work, such as data analysis in
Excel and managing long documents in Word have been
well received and learners have commented favourably on
being able to compare all the possibilities in one session.
Course Schedule by Date
Course Schedule by Type
App
Title
Date
App
Title
Date
Word
Foundation
24-Aug
Excel
Foundation
14-Sept
Word
Long Documents
31-Aug
Excel
Workbook Functions
21-Sept
Excel
Foundation
14-Sept
Excel
Analysing Data
28-Sept
Excel
Workbook Functions
21-Sept
Excel
Foundation
05-Oct
PowerPoint Foundation
22-Sept
Excel
Working Smarter
13-Oct
Excel
28-Sept
Excel
Charts
02-Nov
PowerPoint Advanced
29-Sept
Excel
Foundation
09-Nov
Excel
Foundation
05-Oct
Outlook
Working Effectively
06-Oct
Outlook
Working Effectively
06-Oct
PowerPoint Foundation
22-Sept
Publisher
Working Effectively
12-Oct
PowerPoint Advanced
29-Sept
Word
Working Smarter
05-Oct
Publisher
Working Effectively
12-Oct
Excel
Working Smarter
13-Oct
Visio
Foundation
20-Oct
Visio
Foundation
20-Oct
Visio
Intermediate/Advanced
16-Nov
Excel
Charts
02-Nov
Word
Foundation
24-Aug
Word
Mail Merge
03-Nov
Word
Long Documents
31-Aug
Excel
Foundation
09-Nov
Word
Working Smarter
05-Oct
Visio
Intermediate/Advanced
16-Nov
Word
Mail Merge
03-Nov
Analysing Data
Additional courses will be added if demand increases.
For further information contact Di Brown on 648370.
www.gov.im/hr
Page 7
Update
A Career in the Civil Service – Career Path Roles
The Isle of Man Civil Service
Succession Management Group
(SMG) was established in 2007 to
provide active leadership in relation
to succession management.
The Succession Management Group is
committed to supporting the career
development of all individuals and in
particular those aspiring to become
future leaders. Well developed and
effective leaders are vital to the
successful future of the Isle of Man
Government and leaders of this
nature will continue to be required at
a variety of grades and in all areas.
It is recognised that in the
development of individuals to become
future leaders certain experiences
and learning will be valuable. The
experience of working in various parts
of the organisation or types of roles
will provide grounding and
understanding of the complex
working of the Isle of Man
Government and that this may be
possible to be achieved at a variety of
grades.
To support individuals actively
developing their career in the Isle of
Man Civil Service a number of roles
across Government are being
identified as „Career Path
Roles‟ (CPR). These roles will provide
the opportunity for individuals to gain
valuable experience and knowledge.
To ensure these opportunities exist
for as many people as possible
individuals will be asked to occupy
these posts for a defined period of
time, after which they will be
supported to find another post within
the Civil Service. These roles will be
advertised across the Isle of Man Civil
Service and will be open to existing
civil servants.
Chief Secretary, Will Greenhow said,
“The Succession Management Group
Will Greenhow, Chief Secretary
would like your career in the civil
service to be challenging, rewarding
and successful and we believe a
successful career will look different
for different people. Studies have
shown that a „Career‟ no longer refers
to the quest for the next promotion or
raise, but rather is about continued
personal success and satisfying,
meaningful work.”
For more information about Career
Path Roles please contact the
Learning and Organisational
Development Division,
Office of Human Resources,
Tel 685729.
Cakes for Kids
Businesses and schools across the Island were asked to
support Cakes for Kids day, which forms part of
Children's Week, on 15 July. Last year 17 organisations
took part and raised
£1,500 for the Children‟s
Centre, but this year
organisers hope to double
that amount.
The Office of Human
Resources (OHR) took up
the challenge and
Hannah Leighton
arranged a „Bake and
Eatathon‟ in the office in
St Andrew‟s House on
Friday 15 July 2011. The
Boardroom table was
groaning with goodies and
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everyone took very
seriously the
responsibility of
sampling as much of the
merchandise as possible.
There were prizes for
the best decorated as
well as for the tastiest
cakes.
Erica Richards was the clear winner in the Best
Decorated Cake category with her „Children‟s Playground‟
Cake. Congratulations Erica!
The final result was an impressive £200 raised for the
Children‟s Centre.
This is a sterling effort – Thank you Hannah and
Erica and well done OHR!
Access to your printed mail No matter where you are!
Isle of Man Post Office has
signed a landmark contract with
Swiss Post and launched
“ePostbox,” a revolutionary digital
product that introduces a radical
new way for customers to receive
their mail. For the very first time,
customers subscribing to the new
service have total control over
each piece of mail they receive
and, wherever they are in the
world, they can fully access and
manage their physical post via
their smart phone or PC.
The customer is alerted each
time a new piece of mail has
been received at their ePostbox
address and can view a scanned
image of the front and back of
each envelope. They then make a
decision on whether to open and
scan, securely destroy, forward
to an address of their choice
anywhere in the world or archive
the contents at an Isle of Man
Post Office secure address.
Mike Kelly, Chief Executive of Isle
of Man Post Office said: “This is a
very exciting time for the future of
Isle of Man Post Office as we
launch our first digital mail
product. Electronic mailboxes are
the future and will go from being a
niche product to a service for the
wider public - this is the first
stepping stone towards achieving
that. It is an important time for
the future of our postal industry.
Swiss Post has extensive
knowledge in the delivery of
electronic mail and is widely
recognised as one of the most
innovative postal administrations in
Europe.”
In 2009, SwissSign (a
subsidiary of Swiss Post)
introduced their Swiss Post Box
service, the first product on the
market to digitalise physical
mail. Isle of Man Post Office has
become the first Post Office in
the world to purchase a licence
for the „white labelled‟ version
of Swiss Post Box - ePostbox.
Back row from left: David Catlow, Finance Director, Isle of Man Post Office,
Mike Kelly, Chief Executive Isle of Man Post Office, Lisa Duckworth, Commercial
Director, Isle of Man Post Office, Roland Jordan, Business Development, Swiss Sign
Front row: Benoit Stroelin, Head of Swiss Post Box with Chairman of Isle of Man
Post Office Alan Crowe MLC
ePostbox appeals to a wide
variety of customers but is
predominantly aimed at frequent
travellers, multiple homeowners,
students and customers who are
away from home for extended
periods of time as well as staff
from international organisations.
For more information visit
www.epostbox.com
Useful links on The Office Human Resources Website

Office of Human Resources http://www.gov.im/hr
Are you looking for information on Terms and Conditions?

for Civil Servants http://www.gov.im/hr/iomcs/cs_regs/

for Manual Workers (Whitley Council) http://www.gov.im/hr/Whitley/moa_welcome.xml
For clarification of Government HR Policies please visit our website on:

http://www.gov.im/hr/hrpolicies.xml
www.gov.im/hr
Page 9
Update
The Queen honours Island Volunteer
Group with Prestigious Award
Noble‟s Hospital Volunteer Services
has been announced as one of 130
winners of The Queen‟s Award for
Voluntary Service. This is the MBE for
groups of volunteers who work in
their local community for the benefit
of others.
This prestigious honour rewards
outstanding voluntary contributions
throughout the UK and Crown
Dependencies and sets the national
benchmark for excellence in
volunteering.
Noble‟s Hospital Volunteer Services
has received the Award in recognition
of the dedicated support provided to
the hospital by members of the Manx
public. Volunteers donate their time
and skills to fulfil a wide range of
roles including welcoming services,
clinic guides, library services, healing
arts and dining companions. The
service has witnessed many changes
over the years and now reaches out
into community based projects such
as Hear2Help.
Those receiving this year‟s Award
were selected from 413 groups
nominated by members of the public
who have been helped personally or
witnessed the benefits of a group‟s
work in their community.
Noble‟s Hospital Volunteer Services
will receive a certificate signed by The
Queen and an exclusive
commemorative crystal presented by
Her Majesty's representative in the
Isle of Man, His Excellency Adam
Wood, at a special ceremony to be
arranged by Government House.
Members of the group, which gained
an Investing in Volunteers award in
2008, have also attended a Royal
Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
Noble‟s Hospital Volunteer Services
Manager, Alison Lester said: „We
are thrilled to receive this prestigious
honour. The service was initially set
up in the early 1990s as a welcoming
service at the old hospital site at
Westmoreland Road. Some of the
original recruits are still volunteering
today. More than 70 people currently
volunteer for Noble‟s Hospital, and
collectively donate, on average, 260
hours a week.
The Isle of Man is very fortunate to
have people within its community
who willingly donate their time to
many and varied volunteering
activities. It is through this support
that we have been able to maintain
and develop our services.‟
Congratulations, Alison, to you
and your team!
Noble’s Hospital Volunteers
Christmas Shoe Box Appeal 2011
This is a reminder that Christmas is fast approaching. The Office of Human
Resources is taking over the tradition from The Personnel Office of organising
a collection of items for the Christmas Shoe Box Appeal on behalf of the
Samaritan‟s Purse.
Please contact Ann Anderson on 685768 or email [email protected] for
further details. All donations of shoe boxes, money, gifts etc need to be
delivered to 2nd floor, St Andrew‟s House by Monday 16 October 2011.
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Congratulations
Della!
Della Fletcher says she experienced a wide range of
emotions after being awarded an MBE in the Queen‟s
Birthday Honours for 2011. „Surprise, gratitude and great
pride‟ were among the feelings when the news was first
broken to the Isle of Man Government‟s Director of
External Relations.
Naturally exuberant, Della admits the hardest part was
keeping her good news a secret from family, friends and
colleagues until the official announcement was made.
„Protocol dictates that you can‟t breathe a word of it to
anyone,‟ said Della, who is responsible for developing the
Island‟s positive national identity and constitutional
relationships with the UK, EU and global community.
A career Civil Servant, Della was awarded the prestigious
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her
services to the Isle of Man Government. She joined
Government during the late 1970s in the accounts
section of Treasury, before becoming part of the team
with responsibility for mortgages, grants and loans. Della
also worked in the Passport and Immigration Office and
for the then Department of Health and Social Security.
One of her biggest career breaks occurred in 1987 when
she seized a 12-month secondment opportunity, then a
rare occurrence in the Civil Service, to serve as the
Senior Administrator to the Island‟s first Chief Minister,
Sir Miles Walker, and first Chief Secretary, Fred Kissack.
She has since become an established and respected
figure in central government, turning her talents to the
key area of external relations and working for subsequent
Chief Ministers Donald Gelling, Richard Corkill and Tony
Brown, and Chief Secretaries Mary Williams and Will
Greenhow.
Della has also served under a number of Lieutenant
Governors including Air Marshal Sir Laurence Jones, Sir
Timothy Daunt, Air Marshal Ian Macfadyen and Vice
Admiral Sir Paul Haddacks, and was instrumental in the
constitutional developments that led to an Isle of Man
panel selecting the current incumbent Mr Adam Wood.
„Throughout my Civil Service career I have met many
interesting and capable individuals and have had the
pleasure of working alongside some excellent colleagues.
I have always tried to watch and learn from them and
develop my skills and knowledge along the way,‟ Della
said.
The key focus of her current position as Director of
External Relations in the Chief Secretary‟s Office is to
raise further awareness of the Isle of Man and defend its
international reputation as a responsible and wellregulated country. „I feel immensely privileged to be able
to serve the Isle of Man and to have my contribution to
the Island‟s external relations recognised by the award of
the MBE,‟ said Della, adding: „I believe the award
acknowledges the ongoing efforts of many dedicated
people across Government who, like me, work to
enhance the Island‟s international standing.‟
Della is now looking forward to her trip to Buckingham
Palace later this summer to collect her MBE.
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Well done Stephen!
Stephen Banks completed the first
stage of becoming a Chartered
Internal Auditor by attaining the
Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)
Diploma in 2009. He then continued
his studies and was awarded the
Advanced Diploma in Internal
Auditing and Management in March
2011.
The IIA Advanced Diploma is the
second and final stage to becoming a
Chartered Internal Auditor. It
enables the student to demonstrate
professional proficiency in internal
audit, risk management and control,
corporate governance, financial
management and personnel
management.
The qualification does not focus
solely on the theory, but also
includes the practical application of
the learning. This is demonstrated by
the submission of a professional
experience journal.
It has taken Stephen 3 years to
successfully complete these
qualifications.
He is now looking forward to
applying his learning within his day
to day work and to passing on his
experience and knowledge to others.
Stephen is congratulated by the Civil Service Commission
From left to right: Mr Ian Jarritt, Mr John Houghton MHK (Chairman), Mr Stephen Banks,
Major Charles Wilson, Mr Jon Callister (Secretary)
Congratulations Charlotte!
Charlotte Davies, HR Officer in
the Office of Human Resources,
was awarded the Cullen Scholefield
CIPD Student of the Year Award at
a ceremony held at the Sefton
Hotel on 8 August 2011.
Charlotte, who began studying for the CIPD Certificate
in Personnel Practice in 2010 said, “It was wonderful to
receive the award which came as a complete surprise!”
Jon Callister, Chief Officer of the Office of Human
Resources said, “Studying whilst working full time is
never easy and demands focus and perseverance.
Congratulations Charlotte!”
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Charlotte Davies (centre) receives the Cullen Scholefield
Student of the Year trophy, presented by
Maureen Scholefield (left) and Carol Bates (right)
Director of Civil Aviation, Brian Johnson,
announces his move to take up new challenges
The Isle of Man Aircraft Registry has announced that it will
be searching for a new Director of Civil Aviation to replace
Brian Johnson, who will be stepping down from the role
in the Department of Economic Development, effective of
26 August 2011.
The Isle of Man Aircraft Registry is now
the 8th largest business jet register in
the world (according to the annual
global book of business aircraft from
Flightglobal).
Brian commented: „I have gained a
huge amount of personal and
professional satisfaction from
developing the Isle of Man Aircraft
Registry from its inception just over 4
years ago to its current status, by
having built a highly successful team
which has now registered in excess of
375 executive aircraft. I have
thoroughly enjoyed my time as Director
of Civil Aviation, and whilst I am
looking forward to new challenges, I
will greatly miss the teams I have worked with and the
many fantastic clients I have had the pleasure to meet.‟
Isle of Man Minister for Economic Development, Allan Bell,
MHK commented: „Brian has been instrumental in creating
a hugely successful and well-regulated and managed
operation which is highly respected in the industry and
indeed the world. We thank him for his
contribution and support for the Aircraft
Registry which continues to go from
strength to strength.‟
The Government‟s objective in starting
the Aircraft Register was to provide a
new business opportunity for the
Island‟s corporate service providers,
lawyers and financial sector.
Many global companies and high net
worth individuals have registered
aircraft in the Island - some conducting
business with the Island for the first
time - proving that the Registry‟s
objective has been achieved very
quickly. Despite the global financial
problems, the Registry‟s high regulatory
standards and unique „can do‟ service
standards have proved to be a winning formula in making
it the fastest growing business jet register in the world.
Anyone for Bridge?
 Do you enjoy playing cards?
 Do you yearn for a new
intellectual challenge?
 Have you ever wondered what
playing Bridge would be like?
 Have you played Bridge in the
past and would you welcome a
chance to get back into the
game?
If so, here is some good news.
Starting this September the Manx
Bridge Union, the governing body
for duplicate contract bridge on the
Island, will be commencing a new
introductory course for beginners
who want to learn how to play
Bridge.
Onchan, Castletown, Ramsey,
Peel, Marown and Rushen).
Whatever the form and wherever it
is played, Bridge is entertaining,
endlessly challenging and knowing
how to play is a valuable social
skill. It is also a very inexpensive
pastime. Sometimes Bridge is
viewed from the outside as a bit
elitist or high-brow. Not so. You
should meet some of the people
who play! It is also sometimes,
unfairly, thought of merely as a
pastime for the aged, but it can be
played by all ages and at various
levels of sophistication by people
of different abilities. It is THE great
card game.
Bridge can be played in various
forms – rubber bridge at home
with friends, or competitive
duplicate bridge at a club (and
there are clubs in Douglas,
In September, the Manx Bridge
Union will hold an open event to
which those who have expressed
an interest will be invited. This will
provide an introduction to Bridge
and demonstrate
what is involved in
the game. There will
be an opportunity to
enrol on the course
and learn the game
properly.
If you, either as an individual or
as one of a group of likeminded friends, would be
interested in learning or even
just sampling the game you are
invited to contact former Civil
Servant, Fred Kissack
(Tel: 851645,
Email: [email protected])
He will ensure that you get an
invitation to the introductory
event and a chance to learn a
new skill which may enhance
your leisure hours for the rest
of your life.
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Update
Social Security wishes Ken a Long
and Happy Retirement
Following a distinguished 39-year
career in the Civil Service,
Ken Crellin, latterly the Director
of Social Security in the
Department of Social Care (DSC),
retired on 30 June 2011. Ken is
every inch a people person and his
banter will be greatly missed by
colleagues, particularly those at
Markwell House.
At his retirement presentation,
Minister for Social Care, Hon
Martyn Quayle MHK, DSC CEO
Chris Corlett and Department of
Health CEO David Killip all paid
tribute to his hard work,
enthusiasm, loyalty to colleagues
and sense of fun.
Ken joined the Civil Service on 13
February 1972 at the tender age
of 17. He first worked as a clerical
officer in the accounts section of
Officer Grade II as an inspector
with the then Board of Social
Security and was further promoted
in 1984 to Executive Officer Grade
I as manager of the legal unit
within the Inspectors Section of
Social Security, before being
asked to head up the National
Insurance Contributions Section.
what was then the Highway and
Transport Board. A year later he
moved to the Vehicle Licensing
Office, where he was to meet his
future wife, Hilary. Subsequently
he gained promotion to Executive
Promotion came his way again in
1996 when he left Social Security
to head up the Operations Division
at the Personnel Office. However,
his absence from Markwell House
was not to last, as on 1 December
2003 he became the Director of
Social Security, following the
retirement of George Hull.
All at Markwell House, as well as
colleagues elsewhere, wish Ken a
long and happy retirement.
Social Services says Goodbye to Tony Lever
Tony Lever joined Social Services Division on 1 December 2004 as
General Manager for Learning Disability Services. He joined the service
at a turbulent and challenging time and he brought experience, drive
and enthusiasm, and a much needed sense of humour. He also brought
the sartorial elegance of cardigan wearing.
Tony hit the ground running and drafted the Learning Disability Strategy
that still guides learning disability services today. Under Tony‟s
stewardship learning disabilities started the process of moving from
residential care to supported living for people with learning disabilities.
He also supported and developed Person Centred Care on the Island and
launched the Learning Disability briefing, now called LD Connect.
In 2007 Tony became Assistant Director for Adult Services and brought
his commitment and enthusiasm to Social Work and Older Peoples Services
as well.
Andrew Swithinbank, Director of
Social Services (left) wishes Tony
well on his retirement
During Tony‟s well attended leaving do he presented light hearted awards, based on Civil Service competences to
his colleagues, typical of his humour and generosity. Tony is looking forward to spending more time with his wife,
Julie, his dog, and on woodwork, building a model railway layout and generally messing about. He will also be
starting a new career in childcare, babysitting his grand-daughter.
He will be missed by all who worked with him, and we all wish him well.
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Combined total of 114 years’
Civil Service!
Between them Margaret Clague, Carole Sutherland and Sandra Kelly notched up an impressive total of
114 years working as civil servants in various Departments of the Isle of Man Government. Paying tribute to the
ladies, Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, Mr John Houghton MHK, presented each of them with a
Certificate of Appreciation and thanked them for their valued contributions to the Civil Service.
From Left to Right (Back row):
Will Greenhow, Chief Secretary,
John Houghton MHK, Chairman,
Major Charles Wilson, Mr Geoff Crowe
Front row: Margaret Clague,
Carole Sutherland, Sandra Kelly
Sandra Retires after 44 Years!
Sandra Kelly retired from her post of Senior
Secretary in the Housing Division of the Department
of Social Care at the end of July after 44 years
working for the IoM Government.
Sandra recalls her first day working in the old Murray
House and finding that there was no desk for her. She
ended up using a portable typewriter on an antique
side table for the first week of employment.
Fortunately conditions in Markwell House appear to
have improved since that time and Sandra has many
warm memories of office moves and meeting
colleagues throughout her career.
In attendance at her leaving event were friends and
colleagues past and present including three of her
former chief officers (Ken Kinrade, Antony Hamilton,
and Maurice Fargher) and former Architect and
Planning Officer, Malcolm Watson, who had known
Sandra from her early days in the Civil Service. Also
present were daughter Claire who is carrying on the
family tradition working for the Department of Social
Care, husband Will and grandchildren Milly and Jake,
who we understand will be using up much of Sandra‟s
“free” time in future months and years.
Debbie Reeve, Director of Housing, (left) paid tribute to
Sandra for her quiet and efficient contribution to all the
organisations of Government in which she has worked.
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