There are regular meetings between officials in the Ministry of Justice and their counterparts in the Isle of Man and it would not be possible to list each one. Some of these meetings have taken place in the Isle of Man, some in the Ministry of Justice and some in other Government Departments. In general no formal or permanent record of these meetings is kept and most often action points are agreed between the respective officials.
From records and in the time available I can confirm that the following high-level meetings have taken place.
On 31 July and 1 August 2002 the then Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor’s Department, the right hon. Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton), with officials visited the Isle of Man and held meetings with the Chief Minister, the Lieutenant Governor, the Chief Secretary, the President of Tynwald, the Speaker of the House of Keys and members of Tynwald. Among the issues discussed were international tax, the exchange of information, terrorism, the undersea gas pipeline, the euro, access to national lottery proceeds, student visas and Sellafield.
Between 26 and 28 November 2002 the Lord Chancellor and Permanent Secretary with other officials visited the Isle of Man and held meetings with the Chief Minister, the Lieutenant Governor, the Chief Secretary, the Chief Financial Officer, the President of Tynwald, the Speaker of the House of Keys, members of Tynwald and the Financial Supervision Commission. Among the issues discussed were, international tax, the euro, security issues (routes to Isle of Man), speed of response on fisheries matters, the Isle of Man aircraft register, extension of maritime conventions to Isle of Man and Sellafield.
On 4 and 5 November 2003 my hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr. Lammy) (then Parliamentary Under Secretary to Department for Constitutional Affairs) with officials visited the Isle of Man and held meetings with the Chief Minister, the Lieutenant Governor, the Chief Secretary, the President of Tynwald, the Speaker of the House of Keys, members of Tynwald and the Deputy Deemster. Among the issues discussed were, the competitiveness of the Isle of Man shipping register, airport slots and regional access, taxation and market access, fisheries, the lottery, UK higher education and top - up fees, qualified teacher status, visa applications for full time study in the Isle of Man, the inclusion of the Isle of Man in UK co-production treaty arrangements, UNESCO and the nomination of Tynwald Hill as a World Heritage Site.
On 22 and 23 September 2005 the Lord Chancellor with officials visited the Isle of Man and held meetings with the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary, the Attorney-General, members of Tynwald, the Deemster, the Chief Financial Officer, the Director of External Relations, the Financial Services Commission and the Insurance and Pensions Authority. Among the issues discussed were relations between the Isle of Man and the UK, the Isle of Man financial services industry, the impact of EU and UK initiatives on the Isle of Man, tax information exchange agreements, development of the Isle of Man’s international profile, the Isle of Man space business, UK e-gaming regulation, the World Trade Organisation, immigration and anti-terrorism measures.
On 25 and 26 January 2007 the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Constitutional Affairs with officials visited the Isle of Man and held meetings with the Lieutenant Governor, the Chief Minister, the President of Tynwald, the Treasury Minister, the First Deemster, the Chief Secretary, Attorney-General, Chief Financial Officer, and the Director of External Relations. Among the issues discussed were the Isle of Man’s external relations, the development of the relationship between the Isle of Man and the UK and the development of an international identity framework, taxation and entrustment.
On 5 December 2007 the Isle of Man Chief Minister with officials visited the Ministry of Justice for an introductory meeting with me. Among the issues discussed by Ministers and officials was the Isle of Man’s external relations and working relations between the respective administrations.