Department of Infrastructure updates policies after Ombudsman criticism

DOI outlines policy changes and new flood management guidance in response to 2023 ombudsman findings

The Department of Infrastructure says it has updated its complaints procedures, introduced a new customer service policy, and strengthened flood management guidance in response to a Tynwald Ombudsman report that criticised the way it handled a planning application.

Infrastructure Minister Michelle Haywood told Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse that the department’s complaints process was reviewed and republished in June 2025, alongside a new internal customer service policy.

Both will now be reviewed annually.

Specific changes in the Flood Management Division include publishing an operational policy for works affecting watercourses, drafting updated planning policies and technical guidance for flood risk assessments, and formalising criteria for assessing applications.

The department says these measures aim to make its approach clearer, more transparent, and consistent.

The changes follow the Ombudsman’s 2023 report into a complaint about the handling of a farm culvert planning application.

While the case did not examine the merits of the scheme, it found the department’s Flood Risk Management Division had submitted late comments to the planning process, failed to carry out site visits, and did not follow its own complaints procedure.

Internal reviews were also found to lack independence and failed to address the main issues raised.

The Ombudsman recommended better communication, more timely service, accurate record keeping, and improved accessibility of complaints procedures – areas the department says it is now addressing through its updated policies and guidance.