This week’s Examiner reports on concerns that jobs being created in the island are low-paid ones.

Also on page one is a report on the start of the murder trial.

Inside:

We celebrate the success of two long-distance runners who’ve run around the Isle of Man.

A full update on the latest with the LegCo elections.

A court report on a teenager who did not complete his community service so has been sent to jail

Another court report on a nightclubber who punched a love rival

The verdict on what went wrong with the Peel Road roadworks

Four pages of Comic Relief photos, including one of the editor being hit in the face with a wet sponge

Two pages of letters

The latest business news

The top sporting action over the weekend.

The Isle of Man Examiner is on sale now.

Five senior staff are moving on up after securing promotions with the Equiom Group.

The moves come at a pivotal time for the international trust and corporate services provider while it expands across four jurisdictions, following several acquisitions during the past 18 months.

Caroline Ashley has been promoted to Senior Manager in the Corporate Communications department.

She leads a recently expanded team of marketing professionals with responsibility for all aspects of Equiom’s promotional activities and overall marketing strategy.

Michael McHale and Emma Corlett have both been promoted to Managers within the Fiduciary department based at the Isle of Man office, and now have the increased responsibility that will see them take on Client Directorship roles.

Emma’s role will also see her travel to Hong Kong on secondment to assist with the integration of Equiom’s new Hong Kong office.

Susan Hall has been promoted to Senior Manager within the Equiom Solutions tax department. She also continues to manage a number of private clients for the business.

Within the same department, Glenn Cassidy has been promoted to Manager, having taken on additional responsibilities and a lead role on a number of private tax clients.

Group Managing Director Sheila Dean said: ‘Equiom is currently going through a significant period of growth and expansion, which creates a number of opportunities for our people within the business.

‘I am proud to lead such dedicated, hard-working and experienced teams who have whole-heartedly bought into the strategic goals and plans for the growth of the business and are fully committed to its success.

‘We place great emphasis on rewarding staff, and I am delighted to congratulate Caroline, Michael, Emma, Susan and Glenn on their well deserved promotions.’

Police are investigating after graffiti was scrawled at an elderly people’s complex.

Officers say the ‘rude’ graffiti was aimed at elderly residents and written on walls in a communal stairwell at Westlands complex in Peel.

People have also urinated in the stairwell.

The Motor Neurone Disease Association is to hold a coffee morning to raise funds later in the week.

It will take place at Onchan Methodist Church hall from 10am on Friday.

Organisers are promising cakes, books, a raffle and great coffee.

A motor neurone disease is degenerative and causes increasing disability and, eventually, death.

Manx National Heritage has nominated the Viking Horse Bridle Pendant that was found in the island in October 2014 for recognition in a British Isles competition.

The pendant was found by detectorist Daniel Crowe in the south of the island.

The competition ‘The Nation’s Greatest Find’ is run by The ‘Searcher magazine, a publication about the hobby of metal detecting.

Nominations for the annual awards which have been running since 2005 are received from England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man.

The Manx nomination will receive its own national trophy for most significant find. The competition focuses on ‘significance’ rather than monetary value.

It is judged at the British Museum by Dr Roger Bland, head of the portable antiquities scheme (PAS) and keeper of prehistory and Europe, Dr Michael Lewis, deputy head of the PAS, and Peter Spencer, numismatic consultant for The Searcher.

Additionally, Ed Vaisey, UK culture minister, has been on previous panels and it is hoped that he will be available to judge again this year.

Allison Fox, curator of archaeology at Manx National Heritage, said: ‘This wonderful 4.5cm copper alloy pendant is a decorative feature on a horse bridle and would have adorned the forehead of a Viking’s horse. Vikings were accomplished horse riders, often taking their animals on their ships when they were travelling to new lands.

‘Bridle decoration emphasised the power and wealth of the horse’s owner and this pendant would have been a magnificent golden colour when worn.’

She added: ‘This style was popular in northern and western Europe and the beast is shown gripping the inner edge of the pendant with its tail and tongue.

‘It dates to around AD 1100, a time when the Viking Kingdom of Man and the Isles was at its most powerful and the Isle of Man was the seat of power.

‘We know much about this period from documentary sources but the number of artefacts from this time is fewer than from the early centuries of Viking residence, so this wonderful addition helps us further picture the time of the kingdom.’

Rehearsals for the Isle of Man Choral Society’s forthcoming performance of Handel’s Messiah are well under way.

The concert, in conjunction with Isle of Man Symphony Orchestra, is to take place in the Royal Hall at the Villa Marina on Sunday, March 22, at 2.30pm.

The work, although often performed in parts, will be performed in its entirety.

The society is welcoming local soloists Karen Elliott (soprano), Mandy Griffin (contralto) and Graham Crowe (baritone) – all of whom are well known to Manx audiences.

They will be joined by visiting tenor Richard Pollock and local organist and harpsichord player, Nicholas Roberts.

The society says the music is thrilling, rising to heights of drama and pathos that stirs the souls of those who experience it.

The audience will be invited to stand as is usual, for the Hallelujah chorus.

Profits from the performance will be donated to the Isle of Man Children’s Centre. The reason for choosing this charity is twofold.

Firstly, following its debut in Dublin in 1742, Handel conducted yearly performances of The Messiah as a benefit for a foundling hospital, which had been established in London in 1750.

Handel, together with the artist Hogarth and philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram, were governors of the charity.

Secondly, the society’s former musical director, Pam Duchars, had been greatly involved with adoption and fostering services in the island. These are now part of the services provided by The Children’s Centre.

Tickets for the event, which is being supported by Tower Insurance, are now available from the Villa Marina Box Office, 600555 priced at £13 for adults and £3 for children and students.

The concert will have an interval, during which refreshments will be available.

The island’s Minister for Health and Social Care has met his counterparts in the Channel Islands.

Howard Quayle MHK, who {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/british-irish-council-officials-examine-schemes-for-older-people-in-the-isle-of-man-1-7152749|went to Edinburgh on government business earlier this month}, travelled to Jersey last Friday.

According to a press statement the meeting, which included health and social services ministers and their chief officers, focussed on how the Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, ‘might better support and challenge each other in the delivery of high quality, integrated and financially sustainable health and social care’.

The meeting looked at a number of areas of common interest including:

The development of cost-effective, preventive services

Improved safeguarding of children and adults at risk

Regulation of health and social care; commissioning of services

Benchmarking performance

Mr Quayle, who recently sparked controversy over plans to {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/health/radical-surgery-for-manx-health-service-bosses-travel-to-spain-and-new-zealand-for-inspiration-1-7101833|visit New Zealand} to look at its health services, said: ‘Discussions with our Guernsey and Jersey colleagues were frank, wide-ranging and positively framed in that we want to work together.

‘In the Isle of Man, we are looking at different design models for our future health and social care system.

‘I am especially interested in the different funding mechanisms used in the two Channel Island jurisdictions.

‘It is clear that in areas such as public health we share similar challenges and that there is potential to work together in a more systematic way.

‘Equally, I think there is an opportunity to benchmark the performance of health and social services across the three jurisdictions as this will enable us to identify where best practice exists (and to learn from that) as well as assist our improvement agenda where we know our performance is not yet good enough.’

Among the differences between the Manx and the Channel Islands’ health services is that patients in Jersey and Guernsey have to pay to visit their GPs.

Schoolchildren in the island will have the chance to hear a talk from the fourth man to walk on the moon on Friday.

Alan Bean’s talk via the internet will happen on the same day as a solar eclipse.

Year five children (aged nine and 10) from Onchan School and other local schools, who are studying space as part of the curriculum, will listen to a live Skype talk from astronaut Alan Bean on Friday afternoon at Onchan School.

Jo Richardson, head teacher of Onchan School said: ‘We are really excited to be given the opportunity to talk to Alan Bean.

‘Being an astronaut is often one of the first aspirations children have and to be given this unique experience, is a dream come true.

‘Our year five children are studying space as part of our curriculum and are looking forward to being given the opportunity to interview such an iconic astronaut, who has worked incredibly hard to realise his aspirations.’

For the first time in 16 years a partial eclipse with the moon covering 92.8 per cent of the sun will be seen over the Isle of Man.

The solar eclipse of 1999 saw only 88.2 per cent partial coverage, making this year’s potentially spectacular.

But the weather forecast for Friday isn’t looking good.

It’s likely that the island will be overcast when the eclipse happens.

The eclipse starts at 8.26am on Friday, when the moon will appear to touch the edge of the Sun at the three o’clock position.

The moon will then move across the solar disc with the maximum 92.8 per cent eclipsed sun visible at 9.32am.

It will finally leave the solar disc at 10.39am, at the 9 o’clock position. Even if there is cloud coverage, a drop in light levels will be noticeable.

To mark the eclipse, the Isle of Man Post Office has produced a special cover postmarked March 20, 2015, and is comprised of text and a cover concept from Howard Parkin of Astro Manx.

The cover includes three postmarks that show key times of the eclipse, as well as illustrating the moons passage over the sun.

The cover is further complimented by three Dark Sky Discovery stamps placed on it from the Post Office’s recently-released Dark Sky Discovery stamp issue.

Maxine Cannon, general manager, Isle of Man Stamps and Coins said: ‘Of all the natural phenomena visible from earth few can compare with a solar eclipse. Eclipses have been celebrated for millennia and we want to do everything to mark this rare occasion which we feel our special postmark cover will achieve.

‘It’s also been great working with Onchan Primary School and complementing the pupils’ studies by them hearing from someone like Alan Bean who has done something that very few people ever have.

‘I’d also like to thank Howard Parkin of Astro Manx who has provided us with his assistance in arranging the solar eclipse event and the production of our cover.’

Events at the Sound and Niarbyl will also be held to celebrate the eclipse.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/what-s-on/manx-entertainment-news/additional-event-to-mark-eclipse-1-7152909|Click here for a link.}

Caldric Randall, the government’s current chief internal auditor, is to be its next financial controller, it was announced today.

He will take over the Treasury position when Clive McGreal steps down at the end of April.

Mr Randall has been chief internal auditor for the last seven years and his achievements have included:

Introducing a shared internal audit service for the statutory boards

Implementing new processes in relation to local authority accounts

Carrying out a major review of cost improvement across the whole of government; and providing impartial advice and assistance to the public accounts committee of Tynwald.

He said: ‘I am pleased and honoured to have been offered this important role and will seek to fulfil it energetically and to the best of my ability.

‘The island faces economic and financial challenges, but does so from a strong base. I am confident that, working with colleagues across government and building on Treasury’s good relationships with the private sector, we can continue to deal with those challenges professionally and enthusiastically.’

Chief financial officer Malcolm Couch said: ‘I have worked closely with Caldric since he joined the Treasury and have every confidence that he will prove a success in his new role.

‘He has shown himself to be a thoroughly professional and hard working officer, with an innovative and reforming approach.

‘The Treasury will face many challenges in the coming years, and the work of the Financial Controller will be vital in dealing with them.

‘We will commence a hand-over process immediately to ensure a smooth transition when Clive McGreal retires later in the year.

‘I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to Clive for all of his hard work and support to the Treasury over many years.’

The Council of Voluntary Organisations is to discuss the potential of developing ‘community transport’ in the island.

A debate will be held on Thursday and feature Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne MHK, and Kate Beecroft MHK, a DoI political member, Ian Longworth, the director of public transport, and Russell Thornhill, chief ambulance and paramedic officer.

The idea behind ‘community transport’ is to provide more public transport to people who live in isolated areas.

A spokesman for the CVO explained that a team in the 2014 Manx Executive Challenge, organised by the Isle of Man branch of the Chartered Management Institute, produced an excellent report, following extensive research, which evaluated the delivery of community transport services on the Isle of Man, its significant importance to the island exploring the keys needs in this area and the barriers to delivering those needs.

He said: ‘This is a piece of work of importance to both the Government and people of the island and the purpose of the meeting is to determine how it can be taken forward on a multi-agency basis.’ The meeting will be held at Masham Court, Victoria Avenue, Douglas, at 6pm.

Tea and coffee will be available from 5.30pm/

If you don’t mind them sleeping all day, it’s easy to find boundlessly enthusiastic staff who can take the stress out of any situation.

Visit one of a handful of offices in the island and you’re guaranteed a warm welcome from their four-legged team members.

Just don’t say that they’re not part of the staff: Cloud, the old English sheepdog at Typhoon House, has his own blog on the company’s website, while the three dogs at Blythe Financial each have their own email addresses.

Blythe Financial’s pack of three - Holly, Cookie and the unmistakable giant bernese mountain dog Jesse - are a familiar sight on Myrtle Street in Douglas, and for Sue Blythe, who runs Blythe Financial alongside husband Alan, they’re just part of the office.

‘Holly is 10 years old, she’s been coming to the office all her life, and Jesse is here pretty much full time’, she said.

‘More recently we adopted Cookie, Holly’s sister, who spends most of her day asleep in the back office. She snores in the afternoon.’

‘They are part of the business, definitely’, she added, ‘Everybody knows when they’ve arrived, they’re so happy to get to work.’

Apart from the dog beds, the office looks just like any other. But what about the logistics, like exercise, or the inevitable call of nature?

Sue said: ‘We have a dog walker, Peter, who comes around every day around midday and takes them out for an hour. They go to glens and beaches, nothing is very far away.

‘And I’m not saying there’s never been any accidents, but in the last 10 years I think there have only been a couple. They’re the first to tell us when they need to go out.’

And the rest of the eight-strong team don’t need any persuasion that dogs can have a positive impact in a workplace.

Describing them as part of the family, financial planner Jonathan Heyburn said: ‘I think all offices should consider it as it makes for a great working atmosphere and environment.’

But according to Sue, it’s not just the staff who benefit.

She said: ‘Our clients love them, some of them even bring in treats. Holly follows me everywhere, so she comes to most of my meetings.’

‘People come in here to talk to us about really private things’, she added, ‘after all, it’s their financial affairs and their aspirations about what they want to do for the rest of their lives.

‘So you’ve got to reveal an awful lot of information, and new clients can be quite nervous. The dogs stop all that, it’s a real ice breaker.’

‘But that’s an accidental thing, not a business strategy. I’m just a strong believer that a dog shouldn’t be left at home all day.’

Vicky Dobson stepped down from her role as sub-postmaster at Kirk Onchan Post Office after 29 years’ service earlier this month.

And the move breaks an even longer assocation with the branch as it’s been in the hands of the same family since 1971.

Vicky moved to the island from England in 1958 when her parents, Tom and Primrose Haughton, took over the running of Laxey post office.

The family remained there for 13 years before taking over at Onchan.

Vicky eventually took the reins in 1986, and continued to enjoy an excellent rapport with her customers while providing a reliable service for the community.

‘I didn’t go into the post as soon as I first started work,’ Vicky revealed. ‘But when I was married and my dad was beginning to think about retirement, my husband, Colin, and I decided that it might be the best thing for us – we had a mortgage, were thinking of having a family and we were looking at our future and the income.

‘So when dad considered retirement, we told him that we were looking to come in and run it. I went to work for my dad for three years before he retired, and took over from him in 1986.’

Vicky, who has two daughters, Christy-Ann and Lindsey, admitted that she will miss the community spirit and the banter over the counter, meeting different people every day and helping customers with their service requirements.

She said: ‘The people are so nice and everybody has been very kind to us over the years. We’ve made so many friends.’

Inevitably, Vicky has seen many changes across the postal industry. She said: ‘We’ve moved from everything being done with pen and paper to being fully computerised. We used to do cash account with pen and paper but now you just feed in your figures and the balance is done for you – whoever wrote that program is very clever.’

Hassan Patel has now taken over at Kirk Onchan Post Office as new sub postmaster and is looking forward to the challenge – and maintaining the high standards set by Vicky.

Commenting on his new appointment, Hassan said: ‘I’m very excited about my new role and servicing the local community through the provision of postal and retail services.

‘I have a wealth of experience in the retail trade as a business owner and I am looking forward to bringing my knowledge into a fresh environment and am ready for the challenge.’

Peter Cropper, Isle of Man Post Office operations director, said: ‘We are grateful for all the work that Vicky has done over the past 29 years and are sorry to see her and her Colin leave, and wish them well for the future.

‘We are delighted to have Hassan on board with all his enthusiasm and determination to continue all the great work that Vicky has done over the years.’

Hassan continues to offer the same range of postal and retail services as provided by Vicky, however service levels have been increased with the branch now remaining open throughout the day and not closing during lunch hours.

The Isle of Man College of Further and Higher Education hosted its annual health fair, giving people the chance to find out more about health and fitness on the island.

With the theme of ‘Looking after the whole you’ the fair was opened by Education Minister Tim Crookall MHK and former MLC and member for health services, Dudley Butt.

Hundreds of college students staff, school pupils and members of the public attended the fair which had over 40 stands and activities and 30 local agencies attending.

Mr Crookall said in his opening address: ‘Good health has been described as “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being” by the World Health Organisation, which is why we have such a range of stands here today.

‘So, for example, talking to the student council about how you can get involved in your college community, finding out how to manage the pressure of studying or who you can talk to if you are worried about something is as much about healthy lifestyle, as are the stands related to stopping smoking, healthy eating, getting fit, avoiding or managing illness and so on.’

The British Red Cross offered the chance to learn lifesaving techniques. The NSC offered a rowing machine challenge and the Isle of Man FA encouraged women to get involved in football.

Amy Beggs-Cairney, football development officer for women and girls, said: ‘This was a well-organised event which presented the perfect opportunity to engage girls in the sport and actively promote new teams. I will definitely be back next year!’

Also available was information and activities related to diet, dental care, cancer awareness, alcohol misuse, breast feeding, dealing with bullying, keeping safe while driving and getting involved in art and drama.

College principal Geoff Draper said: ‘There was a real buzz about the place.’

The government is committed to ensuring fairness and transparency in the procurement of services.

Chief Minister Allan Bell made the comment after Isle of Man Newspapers revealed that one government department has been investigated over allegations of irregularities during a tendering exercise.

Officers in the Department of Economic Development are accused of passing information about a competitor to a company that went on to win the bid.

The complaint was made by Tromode-based Island Fire, a company that specialises in fire extinguishers, alarms and emergency lighting maintenance, and is understood to relate to procurement for TT services.

Island Fire has also issued high court proceedings against the DED, claiming damages and breaches of data protection.

The Treasury’s internal audit was called in to investigate.

The outcome of that inquiry has yet to be revealed.

Mr Bell said: ‘It’s fair to say that over the years there have been glitches in procurement processes and certain questions raised.

‘Certainly in recent times we have revamped procurement with the aim of making it as transparent, open and fair as it possibly can be.

‘But we need to understand that while it’s more transparent there will always be winners and losers.

There will be people who bid for contracts who may feel aggrieved and make adverse comments about the process rather than their own tenders.

‘The system works as well as it can.

‘We are committed to ensuring fairness - that is essential in a small community.

‘But we are keeping a regular eye on it and if there are ways of improving the system we will most certainly do that.’

Speaker Steve Rodan is calling a Tynwald select committee to be set up - to review the committee system!.

Mr Rodan believes the time is right for a review and has tabled a motion on this issue for this week’s sitting of Tynwald.

Its remit will be to consider the size of the three parliamentary scrutiny committees and the Public Accounts Committee, and to examine the merits of having full-time scrutiny committee chairmen.

Mr Rodan was chairman of the previous select committee on the committee system which was appointed in June 2010 and reported back in January the following year.

That committee resolved that the size of the policy review committees and the Public Accounts Committee should be reviewed after three years of operation, as should the question of whether there should be full-time scrutiny committee chairmen.

The three policy review committees came into operation in February 2012, with the job of holding government to account by investigating existing and developing policy. They have been hailed for bringing something new to the political process and the sessions have proved remarkably popular with the public.

The PRCs have considerable powers to request witnesses to appear and to order the production of documents and papers.

Each committee decides what policy issues it will look at but will also investigate issues referred to them by Tynwald. The inquiry into the pre-school privatisation by the social affairs PRC was one such inquiry.

Mr Rodan says he does not believe that current scrutiny committee members should be ineligible to serve on the proposed review committee.

‘I would favour a review committee with a balanced membership including some members who have served mainly in an executive capacity and some who have been involved in scrutiny as committee members,’ he said.

Mr Rodan said the original select committee recommended that the review committee had five members but he said he considers a committee of three members to be sufficient.

The murder trial of Ian Anderson continues at Douglas courthouse today (Wednesday).

Yesterday the jury of eight women and four men visited the site of the alleged murder at Mr Anderson’s former home in Queen Street, Castletown.

They also heard a recording of an emergency call made by Mr Anderson on the night or early morning in December 2013 when the alleged victim, 60-year-old Neil Roberts, died.

The jury was also shown CCTV footage of Mr Anderson and Mr Roberts hugging one another as they drank in the Bay Hotel in Port Erin earlier the same night.

The first policeman on the scene, Constable Mark Langley told the court he had tried to resuscitate Mr Roberts but this had been difficult because his facial injuries were so severe.

Mr Anderson, who is 46, denies murder and is remanded in custody.

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This week’s Manx Independent will feature full coverage of the trial so far - in shops Thursday morning.

Officers from the Manx police force’s financial investigation team are today executing six warrants in and around Douglas as part of an investigation into multiple fraud and money laundering offences.

This is part of a investigation involving UK HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the Manx police, Cheshire Constabulary and Guernsey Border Agency.

Four of the warrants being undertaken under section 22 (1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, are assisting requests from HMRC to search premises in the island central to their investigation into a suspected £21 million VAT and money laundering fraud.

Two further searches are being conducted under section 12 of the Police Powers and Procedures Act 1998 in respect of linked matters involving conspiracy to launder money and an act against public justice on the Isle of Man.

This operation is part of a co-ordinated approach across all three jurisdictions, with a number of simultaneous warrants being conducted in the UK and Guernsey.

As part of the continuing investigation into the offences one person has been arrested in the Isle of Man in relation to the investigation and will be interviewed by the officers from the Manx police.

A number of other arrests have been made in the UK and Guernsey and inquiries are continuing.

There will be considerable police activity in and around Hill Street in Douglas and Manor Park in Onchan.

People should not be alarmed to see officers from HM Revenue and Customs and the National Crime Agency, who are supporting the searches on the Isle of Man.

Police say a ‘considerable’ number of staff have been deployed to the various addresses with a view to minimising the time it takes to search each address and reduce the impact on businesses and staff in and around those premises.

The searches could take a considerable length of time and the police will continue to keep the media up to date with developments.

The police have contacted all organisations regulated by the Financial Supervision Commission in the Isle of Man about the matter.

The email reads: ‘The Isle of Man Financial Crime Unit wishes to advise all Isle of Man regulated entities that the following individuals and companies are currently part of an active criminal investigation with regard to a variety of serious offences, and would ask that a search of your records takes place for evidence of any type of business conducted with any of these individuals or companies, as well as any other entity associated to or with the subjects.

‘Any suspicion should be reported to the FCU and without delay. Grounds for suspicion should be clearly stated.’

It names four individuals, all of whom live in the Isle of Man, and 25 different Manx-registered companies.

While Isle of Man Newspapers has seen the email, we have decided not to publish those details after taking legal advice.

A man with a long track record in the UK’s prison service is to be the new head of the prison and probation service in the Isle of Man.

Bob McColm brings a wealth of experience to the role having held senior management posts in a number of UK establishments.

He will take responsibility for the management of 140 members of staff across the combined prison and probation service, succeeding Alison Gomme who retires at the end of this month after a 34-year career.

Mr McColm said: ‘This is an exciting chapter in my career and I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to lead the development of the Isle of Man’s offender management strategy.

‘I intend to build on my predecessor’s good work and will place a strong focus on meeting the rehabilitation needs of prisoners to keep them from returning to custody. I’m aware of the work taking place to reform the island’s criminal justice system and the important contribution to be made by the Prison and Probation Service.’

Mr McColm has served as governor at HM Young Offenders’ Institute (HMYOI) Lancaster Farms, HMP Garth, HMYOI Thorn Cross, HMP Kirkham and HMP Altcourse, working with both adult and young offenders. He also led the transformation of HMP Risley from a failing prison into one with significant performance improvements.

During almost three decades in the UK prison service, Mr McColm has gained vast experience of heading change management and performance improvement programmes and has led a project in Lancashire examining how probation services are delivered in a prison setting.

Home Affairs Minister Juan Watterson MHK who said: ‘Alison Gomme has made an outstanding contribution to the prison and probation service during her time in the post.

‘We needed an exceptional candidate to continue that work and believe that Bob McColm has the qualities and experience to drive forward what is a diverse and complex organisation.’

He added: ‘Home Affairs is committed to protecting vulnerable people and the prison and probation service has a fundamental part to play in that. We are determined to achieve further modernisation of the criminal justice system and deliver meaningful results for offenders, victims and the general public.’

Mr McColm will start work in the Isle of Man on 23 March and have a short handover period before taking over as prison governor and head of the probation service.

Michael Coleman MLC, the politician with responsibility for the prison and probation service, said: ‘During his career in the UK, Mr McColm has demonstrated the ability to lead significant organisational and cultural change and to motivate and develop a multi-disciplinary team. I am confident he will be a great asset to the department.’

Chief Minister Allan Bell has expressed concern that a large number of jobs being created are low paid.

He made the comments as two sets of figures – on employment and earnings – were released, showing the Manx economy was performing well and sectors that had been struggling, such as construction, were seeing a turn around in their fortunes.

Average full-time earnings in the island increased by 0.7 per cent last year, according to statistics in the government’s latest annual earnings survey.

The survey provides a snapshot of earnings between June 2013 and June 2014 based on a random sample of 1,000 full-time employees drawn from income tax records.

It shows average gross weekly pay was £624, taking into account overtime, shift premiums and bonus payments. Average earnings were the same as in the UK.

But 10 per cent of people earned less than £315 per week in gross pay, while 10 per cent earned more than £1,114.

Mr Bell said: ‘My concern is the large number of new jobs tend to be low paid. We need to be aware of that – we need to avoid the Isle of Man being promoted as a low-wage economy.’

In January, the Manx Independent revealed that the bottom quarter of households in the island had an average weekly expenditure of £354 per week. But that their disposable income, after income tax and National Insurance, was just £341.

That means that a huge number of households cannot make ends meet.

The Chief Minister said he was not aware of zero hours contracts being used widely in the island.

Mr Bell added: ‘I recognise that the survey findings will provide little comfort to people earning much less than the average figure.

‘Some areas of the local economy have struggled in recent years and the nature of employment is also changing, with more job growth at lower pay levels.’

He expressed his hope that modest wage rises, together with falls in inflation and unemployment, will start to increase household spending power. Proposals were announced in this year’s Budget to lift more than 10,000 low-paid people out of the tax net.

Mr Bell said: ‘I am conscious of the fact that Manx Utilities has announced an increase in its tariffs that will add about £2 a month to the average consumer’s electricity bill. However, with the recent drop in oil prices and continued low inflation, I am cautiously optimistic the pressure on family incomes will start to ease.

‘This in turn should support spending in the local economy, in particular the retail and catering sectors who have found it difficult in recent years.’

At the end of last month, there were 930 registered as unemployed, the lowest February unemployment figure for four years.

This is a drop of 43 on January and a drop of 216 on this time last year. The unemployment rate is 2.1 per cent.

The biggest drop in unemployment, down 23, is in construction which is a sector that has struggled in recent years.

Mr Bell said the figures showed the resilience and the strength of the Manx economy, adding: ‘It would appear there’s an upturn right across all sectors.’

The average man in the island earns £663 a week. The UK equivalent is £673. Women here earn more – £572 here, compared with £539 there.

But, median wages, which remove the distorting effects at the upper and lower end of the scales, show that men earned £563 (£577 in the UK) and women £528 (£462, UK).

The earnings survey also shows a difference between the average levels of pay and hours worked in the private and public sectors.

Manual: Private £450; public £520. Hours worked: private 42, public 39.

Non manual: Private £596. Hours worked: Private 39; public 37.

Budgetary issues led to the highways division using inexperienced contractors to resurface one of the main routes in Douglas.

That’s one of the conclusions of a parliamentary scrutiny committee report into the Peel Road and Finch Road improvement schemes, which is due to be presented at this week’s Tynwald sitting.

The £4.3m roadworks scheme on Peel Road was completed last May after a year of disruption to motorists and businesses.

Two months earlier, sections of the newly-reconstructed highway had to be relaid – after a series of test holes discovered problems with the tarmacadam layer.

Then just after the works finished, the road had to be closed for a time when heavy overnight rain caused flooding.

Tynwald’s environment and infrastructure policy review committee heard that sections of the road base had not been laid correctly by the private contractor because poor control of the material levels led to lower than acceptable compaction.

It found that there may have been insufficient supervision by the Department of Infrastructure’s site engineer who was not present on Saturdays and in the evenings when work had been undertaken.

‘Had the site engineer been present the problem may have been picked up slightly earlier and the amount of incorrectly laid material been slightly less,’ notes the report.

‘Private contractors had been used as the DoI have cut back on their own team. These contractors do not have the requisite experience but it is hoped that their knowledge and experience will build up.’

The problem sections of the road were relaid at the contractor’s expense. The same happened on Finch Road where material was laid at an incorrect temperature.

‘This could be put down to lack of knowledge and experience in this role,’ states the report, adding: ‘It is surprising, in view of the problems on Peel Road, the same contractor’s team was still used to proceed with Finch Road.’

The committee heard evidence that construction debris in the drainage system - which should have been removed before handover - was likely to have been the main reason for the Peel Road flooding on May 10 last year. Further heavy rainfall in October didn’t cause more flooding.