Mark Cavendish was narrowly beaten in the Middle East for the second time in a week on Thursday afternoon.

Having been pipped to the line by Peter Sagan in Doha, Qatar in Sunday’s UCI World Road Race Championships in the elite men’s contest, the Manx Missile remained in the region to compete in the Abu Dhabi Tour, a four-stage race which began with a 17-kilometre ride around the town of Madinat Zayed.

The flat nature of the course meant that, much like at the weekend, he was among the favourites to claim victory.

Team Dimension Data spent the day controlling the peloton as they worked hard to deliver the Manx Missile to the finish with Jay Thomson, Mekseb Debesay and Youcef Reguigui all protecting their star sprinter.

Bernie Eisel and Mark Renshaw then led out Cav to contest the bunch sprint but it was Italian rider Giacomo Nizzolo who eventually took the honours ahead of Germany’s John Degenkolb, with the Manxman having to settle for third place.

The political memberships of every government department have been announced.

The only MHK not to get a position is Chris Robertshaw, member for Douglas East.

He had been Minister for Policy and Reform in Allan Bell’s administration but stormed out of the Council of Ministers last year, frustrated at the slow pace of change in government.

Mr Robertshaw said he wanted to concentrate on scrutiny of government. Members of departments get 30 per cent more on their salary. Members of the Treasury get 40 per cent more.

Ministers get 50 per cent more.

Cabinet Office: Ministers Howard Quayle and Chris Thomas. Member David Ashford.

Economic Development: Minister Laurence Skelly. Members Daphne Caine, Rob Callister, Tim Crookall, Lawrie Hooper and Martyn Perkins.

Education and Children: Minister Graham Cregeen. Members Geoff Corkish, Ann Corlett and Lawrie Hooper.

Environment, Food and Agriculture: Minister Geoffrey Boot. Members Tim Baker, David Cretney and Martyn Perkins.

Health and Social Care: Minister Kate Beecroft. Members Clare Bettison, Rob Callister, Ann Corlett and Jason Moorhouse.

Home Affairs: Minister Bill Malarkey. Members Alex Allinson, Clare Bettison, Michael Coleman and Juan Turner.

Infrastructure: Minister Ray Harmer. Members David Anderson, Tim Baker, Julie Edge and Jason Moorhouse.

Treasury: Minister Alfred Cannan. Members Bill Henderson, Ralph Peake and Bill Shimmins.

Planning committee chairman: Tim Baker

Children’s champion: Daphne Caine.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle MHK announced the appointments, as agreed by the Council of Ministers, today.

Proposals for the chairmanships and vice chairmanships of statutory boards, which are subject to approval by Tynwald, will be announced in due course.

Mr Quayle said: ‘I am impressed and encouraged by the eagerness of Tynwald members, both old and new, to get on with the job and work together for the good of the island.

‘The departmental memberships combine fresh faces and fresh ideas with experience and continuity.’

MLC Tony Wild, convicted last year of drink driving, has also not been given a role.

Onchan Silver Band is hosting a memorial concert for Gordon Astill, who led the band for half a century.

The concert, featuring guest artists, takes place at St Ninian’s Lower School at Bemahague on Sunday from 2pm and will feature some of Gordon’s favourite music.

Guest of honour will be Gordon’s widow, Sheila.

To reserve a free ticket call Karen on 492854 or Mark on 423493.

Mr Astill was involved with the band for 50 years, 44 of them as musical director, before leaving in 2002.

Former Liverpool and England defender Mark Wright will be in the Isle of Man next week to run a series of soccer camps at QEII High School in Peel.

The 52-year-old ex-Reds centre-back, who made 160 appearances and scored five goals during a seven-year spell at the Merseyside giants during the 1990s, recently visited the island and spoke to students in several schools, giving motivational talks to pupils about the importance of working hard within your chosen career.

Former Chester City manager Wright and his company Reds Sports, which also features several ex-Liverpool and Manchester United stars, will be running a series of football camps which will take place during half-term at QEII and are open to those aged between 7 and 17.

The training programme will be delivered by Wright as well as several other former Premier League legends and each child will receive specialist coaching dependant on position: goalkeepers, strikers, defence and midfield

The camps will also be used to possibly identify any potential stars with the hope of setting them up for trials at clubs in the UK.

‘This is a massive opportunity for youth players to be given first class training from legends who have had successful Premier League careers.’ commented Wright.

‘The course will be intensive and will give specialized training in defending, goalkeeping and attacking play.

‘This will be the first soccer camp that we’ve ran in the Isle of Man and we’ll be doing specialist camps led by myself and other members of Red Sports, covering all aspects needed become a dedicated and professional footballer.’

Wright and co will also host a five-side business tournament at the end of halftime on Friday, October 28, with the winners of the competition taking on the legends in the final.

A gala dinner and awards ceremony will follow the tournament.

Prices for the football camp are £150 per child while corporate tournament packages start from £1,500 for a squad of 10 including dinner.

For more information please contact holly@ redsports.team or telephone 07471030500.

Alternatively visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/red-sports or the Reds Sports Isle of Man Facebook page.

Police are urging the public to keep an eye out for a TV, laptop and jewellery that could be stolen goods from a burglary.

A black Samsung 42inch curved television with the serial number 07LJ3SBH300151, a black Acer laptop and some jewellery were taken in a burglary in the Onchan area between Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15.

If you have been offered any of these items or have any information about the burglary contact DC Gardner on 631308 or anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Officers say the island has low crime but appreciate when the public help with matters such as this.

Some Hop-tu-Naa wigs could be more frightening than they were intended to be.

The Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading has alerted the public to an important safety recall.

Dealz, part of the Poundland group and based in Strand Street, Douglas, is recalling ‘Fright Nite’ Halloween wigs and ‘Celebrations’ dress up wigs as they do not meet the toy safety flammability standard and, therefore, pose a risk if exposed to a naked flame.

The Halloween wigs affected have been on sale since August 2016 and the ‘Celebrations’ dress up wigs have been on sale since March 2015 at Dealz and Poundland stores, and Poundland Online.

What you should do:

Check to see if the barcode on your purchase matches any of those shown below.

If you have purchased one of these products, or have any concerns regarding any other Dealz or Poundland wigs you have purchased previously, please return it to your nearest store for a full refund.

If you think that you may have purchased one of the wigs for someone else or think you know someone who has one, please tell them about this recall.

Should you have any queries or concerns regarding this information please call Poundland’s customer service team free on 0800 731 5622 between 9am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday.

Affected Wigs:

#115428 – FRIGHT NITE SHORT BOB WIG (Green, Blue, Black, Red, Pink)

Barcodes: 5054110002626, 5054110002633, 5054110002640, 5054110002657, 5054110002664, 5054110280475, 5054110280482, 5054110280499, 5054110280505, 5054110280512

#127038 – FRIGHT NITE LONG WIG (Green, Blue, Black, Red, Pink)

Barcodes: 5054110002671, 5054110002688, 5054110002695, 5054110002701, 5054110002718

#127039 – FRIGHT NITE CURLY WIG (Green, Blue, Black, Red, Pink)

Barcodes: 5054110002725, 5054110002732, 5054110002749, 5054110002756, 5054110002763

#123716 – LONG WIG (PINK/ BLUE/ BLONDE)

Barcodes: 5053834237161, 5054110421885, 5054110421892, 5054110421908

#125690 – LUXURY SHORT WIG

Barcodes: 5053834256902, 5054110285364, 5054110285371, 5054110285388

A spokesman for Poundland said: ‘As a responsible retailer we take the testing and the standard of our products very seriously and remain committed to the highest levels of product quality which is why we are taking this precautionary measure. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.’

Get your pugs dressed up for a Hop-tu-Naa pug party on Sunday (October 23).

It will take place in the ManxSPCA Fun Barn at Ard Jerkyll from 2pm to 4pm.

There will be pug races, costing £1 per race, in which dogs will be in with the chance of winning rosettes, trophies and goody bags.

There will also be a raffle and refreshments.

Money raised will go to the ManxSPCA.

The much anticipated Christmas lights switching on ceremony will again take place a short distance away from its traditional spot in front of the town hall this year.

The occasion, which coincides with the start of late night shopping in the run up to Christmas, has become a victim of its own success forcing councillors to find a way of staging it where there is more spectator space.

This year the event will take place on November 24 and will be at the junction of Ridgeway Street and Lord Street. The location was first used last year instead of outside the town hall. This year there will be a specially constructed stage offering cover for performers in bad weather. There will also be a better sound system following some complaints last year about sound quality. Snow machines will be in place and enquiries are to be made about live streaming of the event on big screens for those at the back of the crowd. Councillors are also to investigate if the event can be streamed on the television sets on display in the window of Colebourn’s electrical shop.

Civil partnerships could be a new way to get more tourists to come to the island.

Today (Friday) a woman and man from London will become the first UK-based heterosexual couple to enter into a civil partnership in the British Isles.

They have to travel to the Isle of Man for the ceremony as different-sex civil partnerships are currently not available to couples living in the UK.

Claire Beale and Martin Loat, who live in Ealing, with their two children aged 14 and 10, have lived together since 1992. They have said that they want a formal recognition of the relationship but they have never wanted to get married.

But, despite being legal for same-sex couples since 2004, civil partnerships are not permitted for different-sex couples in the UK.

The Isle of Man introduced different-sex civil partnership in July this year.

Ms Beale and Mr Loat have decided to form their civil partnership in the Isle of Man so they can achieve the legal recognition for their relationship that they have always wanted in the only form that is available to them.

They hope that that either the UK government will have to follow the Isle of Man’s lead and end discrimination against heterosexuals seeking civil partnerships, or that pressure will build until such a civil partnership formed in the Isle of Man will be deemed as valid in the UK.

‘We respect that other people in committed, lasting relationships might want to opt for marriage, but it’s not right for us,’ they said. ‘We regard ourselves as one of the millions of “happily unmarried” couples in the UK.

We want a less encumbered, light-touch civil union that recognises our relationship on our terms, free from the trappings and social pre-conditions of marriage, while protecting our family financially and in law.”

Last week Adeline Cosson and Kieran Hodgson became the first ever different-sex couple in the British Isles to get a civil partnership. As residents of the Isle of the Man their union will be recognised by their home government unlike Ms Beale and Mr Loat, who must hope for a change in UK law.

The Isle of Man ceremonies come less than two weeks before the Appeal court in London is due to hear the case of another London couple - Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan - who have brought a legal case against the UK government on the grounds that the ban on different-sex civil partnerships goes against the Human Right Act. The couple lost the first ruling on their case in January this year.

They decided to appeal following a wave of public support which has seen 70,000 people sign an online petition in support of civil partnerships being open to all, regardless of sexual orientation

Both the London couples are part of the campaign for Equal Civil Partnerships.

Mr Loat added: ‘We now have 0.1 per cent of British Isles sewn up, only another 99.1 per cent to go!’

The Isle of Man Examiner will have more coverage of this story on Tuesday.

Douglas councillors have confirmed they will not offer a new contract to a former tenant who left a council property needing thousands of pounds spending on it.

Councillors were supplied with photographs of the property in question and were told it had cost £4,265 in repairs to return the property to a state where it could again be rented out.

Councillors were also told no court orders were made to recover the expenses where there were no assets to claim.

All refusals were made by the housing management team and decisions were made according to council policy and government regulations.

The new Minister for Infrastructure says he wants to see the whole of Douglas’s promenades reconstructed as quickly as possible.

And in the meantime, Ray Harmer said the northern end will be resurfaced to give ‘road users much needed respite from the current bone jarring conditions’.

At the first full Tynwald sitting of the parliament since the election, Mr Harmer was asked by new member for Douglas North David Ashford to make a statement on how his department intends to proceed on the Promenades redevelopment.

The DoI Minister told members: ‘After many years of consultation and false starts, I believe it is important we proceed with the reconstruction of Douglas Promenade.

‘The highway has clearly reached the end of its life and there is an urgent need – as well as a public and political appetite – for decisive action.

‘I have concluded there is no solution that meets the aspirations of all parties.

‘With the support of the Council of Ministers I have therefore decided the department will reconstruct the whole of the Promenade as quickly as possible, subject to Tynwald approving the required financial motions.’

He pledged to give the matter full consideration, consult with members and wider afield and he would hope to be able to confirm his position by the end of the year.

Mr Harmer told Tynwald there were effectively only two options – reconstruct the highway on a like-for-like basis and keep the tram tracks in the centre of the prom, or reconstruct it with improvements by possibly relocating the line to the seaward side of the road.

He said the first option is ‘very attractive in some ways’ as it can be done immediately if Tynwald supports the financial motion, as no planning permission is required.

The second option would allow horse trams to continue operating while the new track is built, and enable a range of improvements to the highway and footway, Mr Harmer said.

He added: ‘I am acutely aware the northern end of the Promenade is in an unacceptable condition.

‘I have therefore requested that resurfacing work take place to make the road safer and more acceptable for vehicles until the main reconstruction is undertaken.

‘This work will give road users much needed respite from the current bone jarring conditions.

‘This is very much a short term fix.’

He said that work would be carried out in the next few months at a cost of about £50,000.

MHK Rob Callister has called for a review of traffic flow at a prominent junction in Onchan following a fatal collision on Tuesday.

The newly-elected MHK for Onchan has sent an email to Nick Black, chief executive of the Department of Infrastructure (DoI), asking for a review of the junction at Royal Avenue in the village.

The junction comprises Royal Avenue, Royal Avenue West and Royal Drive.

It comes after a 66-year-old woman was killed at the junction following a collision with a van. The incident happened at around 9.50am on Tuesday and resulted in the pedestrian dying at the scene.

The driver of a white van is helping police with their inquiries.

Mr Callister is asking the DoI to review the traffic flow and speed of traffic, and ensure all four junctions have stop signs.

‘A lot of people have said that a couple of the junctions appear to be blind junctions and they can’t see,’ Mr Callister said.

‘I would ask the department that all four junctions have stop signs in the future.

‘I’m going to be asking that the department makes sure the roads are remarked because the paintings are not good and need to be updated.

‘I think it’s well-known with the constituents who use it.

‘We’ve got to be mindful of all the junctions in the area but this has highlighted that it needs to be reviewed and traffic calming measures need to be put in place.’

Mr Callister also sent his condolences to the family of the woman.

‘My thoughts are with the family of the deceased at this difficult time,’ he said.

‘I’d also like to thank the community and the police for their assistance.’

Detective Inspector Mark Newey said: ‘A number of vehicles are known to have been in the vicinity of the collision and I would ask those drivers to contact the police if they saw the collision or the moments immediately prior to the collision.’

He added: ‘Officers from the central neighbourhood police team, other emergency services and roads policing officers conducted inquiries necessitating the closure of the junction for several hours.

‘I am grateful to the public for the consideration they showed during this disruption.

‘At this time, no other persons/vehicles are being sought.

‘My thoughts are with the family at this tragic time.’

If anybody has any information contact police headquarters on 631212.

Leading law firm Cains is expanding its litigation department with the appointment of Andrew Newton as an associate.

Andrew, 27, joins top ranking Douglas-based Cains after four years with Appleby where he was a lawyer in dispute resolution.

‘Cains is an exciting challenge and I am enthused by the opportunity presented to me,’ said Andrew, who was born in the island and went to Castle Rushen High School.

This was followed by the University of Durham and a BA in Business and then in 2010 Manchester College of Law, graduating in 2012.

Andrew added: ‘When I met with the Cains team I found the whole experience very engaging and I’m very much looking forward to my new role.’

The work Andrew will undertake in the litigation team at Cains will be a range of corporate and commercial disputes, including banking and trust litigation.

Peter Clucas, managing director of Cains’ litigation department, said he was delighted to welcome Andrew to his team.

‘Andrew has a keen intellect and, although only recently joining us, he has already demonstrated his ability to provide a high class service to our clients,’ said Peter. ‘He will broaden the range of talent which we can offer to our clients and I look forward to seeing Andrew succeed in his new role.’

Last year Andrew was the representative for the Isle of Man at the Commonwealth Youth Parliament in Darwin, Australia, and was elected prime minister of the Parliament.

His other interests include being trustee of Isle of Man charity DO! Developing Orphans which provides for the education of orphans in northern Uganda and is also secretary of the United Nations Association of the Isle of Man.

To kick off this week we head to the Creek in Peel where four-piece soul and classic blues band Borderline will be taking to the stage on Saturday night.

The band that consists of Heinrich Koop, Keith Randall, Alan Presford and Nigel Johnson play a set that mixes rhythm ‘n’ blues, rockabilly, a little country and western, 60s soul and delta blues.

Think Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, BB King, Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis and you’re in the right ball park.

For further information on all of their forthcoming shows, visit www.facebook.com/Borderline-Isle-of-Man-101961323485747

After a hugely successful launch and ticket sale a couple of weeks ago, Manx Pink Floyd tribute Pigs On The Wing commence their Compass Points Tour tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday at The Laxey Working Men’s Institute.

These two dates, plus the show scheduled for Port St Mary Town Hall on Saturday, February 4, are now completely sold out.

There are a few tickets remaining for the other 2017 dates, however, namely Saturday, March 18, at The Centenary Centre in Peel and Saturday, May 6, at Andreas Village Hall.

They can be purchased for £10 from: Thompson Travel in Port Erin; Celtic Gold in Peel; Shakti Man in Ramsey; and Peter Norris Music in Douglas.

Every penny raised from the these ticket sales will be donated to five local charities.

For further information on the Pigs On The Wing and any further information regarding the remaining tickets, visit www.facebook.com/Pigs-On-The-Wing-124585174540458/

As part of their current campaign trail Truman Falls is booked to appear at Ballakermeen High School’s Studio Theatre this Saturday night.

Led by singer/songwriter Simon Rea, he will be joined on the night by fellow band members Paul Teare, Dave Armstrong, Jonny Peacock, Anna Goldsmith and Mark Burrows.

Their second album, HEADSWIMS, was released in April.

The doors open at 7.30pm for the start of the show at 8pm.

Tickets can be purchased for £10.50 from https://villagaiety.ticketsolve.com/shows/873562775/events

For further information on the band, please visit at www.trumanfalls.com

That’s all for this week. If you have anything for inclusion in The Manx Sound Exchange, email leachsteve@hotmail.com

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Steve Leach brings the latest rumblings, murmurings, news and views on forthcoming events in and around the island’s music scene. Help support the scene by emailing leachsteve@hotmail.com

As we move into mixed hockey’s mid-season break, it’s a good opportunity to review the four leagues and try and separate the contenders from the pretenders.

Let’s look at the story so far, and what each team needs for success.

Champions Ramsey Crookall Bacchanalians A lead the way in the PwC Premier League and as expected have started strongly.

The point they gained after being two goals down against Crowe Morgan Valkyrs A last week could prove to be crucial.

Their closest challengers are Steven Underwood’s Canaccord Genuity Vikings side, with four wins on the spin since being beaten by Bacchas in the opening game.

Underwood will be delighted by the response and also by the fact that the title remains in their hands, though they will probably need to defeat the Whites.

It’s been a frustrating start of the season for Valkyrs, who lie a further two points behind Vikings.

They showed their notable talents in clinching a draw with Bacchas last week, but a defeat against Vikings and a draw with Bacchas’ second string means that it is imperative that they win all their remaining five games and hope that Vikings can do them a favour against Jamie Brown’s leaders.

At the other end of the table, Harlequins sit bottom after defeat against Partitionware Castletown Celts last week. Only one point behind, and having drawn with Bacchas B already, Quins know that they can claim points to survive.

Celts look resurgent in recent weeks, however, and will be looking to drag Bacchas B into the relegation battle when they meet in two weeks.

Bacchas’ seconds enjoyed a strong start to the season; a result against either of the bottom two will surely cement their Premier League status for another campaign.

In Mixed Division One, LJ Ramsey A are sweeping all aside in their quest for promotion.

Their excellent performance against previously undefeated Valkyrs B underlined their superiority in the division, and it would take some imagination to conjure up how they will not be playing Premier Legaue hockey next season.

At the other end, there’s a real four-pointer in prospect between the third teams of Bacchas C and Vikings C this weekend.

John McCarrick’s Bacchas have perhaps surprisingly found themselves propping up the table, but will go into Saturday’s game knowing that victory will make it a relegation dogfight between the two sides and Saracens Sabres.

The team who will replace the relegated squad in Division One look almost certain to be either Castletown Cammags or Bacchas Colts. Both teams have won four out of five of their games and drawn with each other.

Mirroring the two top clubs are Valkyrs C and Harlequins Colts, who have both lost four out of five and again shared the spoils in the game between the two. Expect both of these games to have a huge bearing on the destination of the title and the relegation candidates respectively.

Finally to PwC Mixed Division Three and Donna Harrison’s Valkyrs C continue to boss the division. Their closest rivals are Bacchas D, who can get on equal terms on points if they can defeat the Blues on Saturday. There are plenty of games left in this league, but they cannot afford to let the westerners get too far ahead.

Saturday’s fixtures

PwC Mixed Division One

12.35pm Ramsey Crookall Bacchanalians C v Canaccord Genuity Vikings C @ QEII

Umpires: John Harrison, Iain Wrigley

PwC Mixed Division Three

11.05am Saracens Sharks

v Partitionware Castletown Southerners @ CRHS

Umpires: Gary Corkhill, George Powell

11.05am Crowe Morgan Valkyrs D v Ramsey Crookall Bacchanalians D @ QEII

Umpires: Ken Carney, Alex Cave

Dave Clark-Wilson

John Corfield has been appointed a director of Argon Office Systems.

Iain Fairbairn, managing director said: ‘We are delighted John has accepted this position.

‘The Argon Office Systems business focuses on providing print, photocopy and mailroom solutions to organisations across the island and in John we have one of the most experienced engineers having been supporting these devices for more than 20 years.

‘His knowledge of this market will be a valuable addition to the Board.’

John Corfield, pictured being congratulated by Mr Fairbairn, right, said: ‘I am looking forward to my new role and having the opportunity to input to the direction of the business and the operational processes.

‘We, the Board, have already agreed enhancements which are now being implemented with increased parts being carried by our Konica Minolta accredited engineers and extending the reach of our service software to automate stock management.

‘Both of these changes will enhance the service we provide.’

MrFairbairn added: ‘It is an exciting time for the business. We are growing.

‘We have a strong range of products and are striving to reduce costs for customers to deliver value for money while ensuring the quality.

‘John’s skills and that of our wider team is a key element to support this and our customers.’

Manx cyclist Matt Bostock helped Great Britain claim a bronze medal at the 2016 UEC Track Elite European Championship on Thursday evening.

The 19-year-old from Glen Vine formed part of the GB men’s team pursuit line-up for the event at Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines in Paris alongside Oliver Wood, Kian Emadi and Mark Stewart.

The quartet won their heat against Belgium but faced a nervous wait to see if their time would be good enough to qualify for the bronze medal race.

Eventually they were assured of their place in the fight for the last step on the podium and they duly beat Holland to finish third and claim an impressive bronze.

More in next week’s Isle of Man Examiner.

Peel Lifeboat had an early morning call out yesterday (Thursday) to help a yacht with engine trouble.

RNLI lifeboat Ruby Clery was launched at 6.30am to assist a yacht 23 miles north west off the coast of Peel.

The yacht, Popinjay 4, was travelling to Peel from Girvan in Scotland when it encountered engine problems and called for assistance.

Ruby Clery, under the command of Frankie Horne, found the yacht after it had discharged a flare to indicate its position.

The yacht was taken under tow and arrived back in Peel at around 11am.

The one person on board was unharmed.

A crackdown on ‘legal highs’ has been approved by the first sitting of the new parliament.

Tynwald unanimously supported a move to control the importation and supply of such drugs by applying in island law elements of the UK’s new Psychoactive Substances Act.

Member for Treasury David Anderson MLC told the court that the UK had introduced the Act in May this year because of the difficulty in controlling abuse of legal highs under existing laws dealing with illegal drugs.

The island has encountered the same issues, he said, and it is intended that primary legislation will be brought forward in due course.

But as an interim measure, Treasury was using enabling powers available to it to apply island law to those elements of the UK Act necessary to control the import and supply of legal highs, and their export or removal from the island.

Speaker Juan Watterson MHK said: ‘Over the last few years we have seen far too many deaths in this area as a result of psychoactive substances and I really hope this legislation is helpful and we have the opportunity to really do something about this in the years to come.’

The provisions of the Act being applied in the island are concerned with prohibiting the import and export of psychoactive substances, making it a criminal offence to produce a psychoactive substance, such as manufacturing or cultivating one, and also making it an offence to possess a psychoactive substances with intent to supply.

Douglas North MHK David Ashford welcomed the move but raised a concern that a provision relating to enhanced penalties for dealing outside a school might not apply to University College Isle of Man.

He said: ‘We could have a situation that if someone is caught dealing with these substances outside a nearby high school they will get an enhanced penalty but if they are doing it to the same age group outside Isle of Man University College the penalty will not be enhanced.’

Mr Anderson promised to look into the matter.

PwC Isle of Man has welcomed seven students to its team through the company’s professional training programme.

The programme’s new intake joined the firm last month and are undergoing an induction period before starting ‘hands-on’ work and studying towards professional accountancy qualifications.

The students are Billie-Jo Severs, Bradley Layton, Charlie Pearson, Chloe Makin, Jack Williamson, Phil Harrison and Tom Bielich.

Ian Clague, senior partner with PwC Isle of Man, said: ‘Our new recruits come from a broad range of academic backgrounds – including graduates in economics, biology, physics, engineering and American studies.

‘We always look to embrace diverse talent, views and thinking and value differences in our people by bringing together individuals of all backgrounds, life experiences, and beliefs to create better outcomes.

‘Our people are an essential asset to the firm and we want to attract and motivate our people by being a progressive employer.

‘Developing an agile and adaptable workforce with a global mindset ensures we meet with confidence, the current and future needs of our clients in a variety of markets.’

The new Isle of Man team members join as PwC has been named as the UK’s leading graduate employer for the 13th consecutive year.

PwC Isle of Man’s training programme provides the opportunity to attract and train the best talent while supporting the students to develop their careers in the island, in addition to identifying and enhancing their skills.

HR manager Samantha Pemberton said: ‘Four of the students first joined the firm on our summer internship, which is an endorsement of the work we do with our intern programme.

‘The 2016 summer internship saw eight students join the firm for three weeks.

‘During this time, they were given a structured programme which allowed them to experience the different service lines within the firm. Spending time on an audit engagement and working within the advisory, actuarial and tax teams gave them a rounded view of working at the firm.’

Recruitment for PwC Isle of Man’s 2017 professional training programme is open now, with opportunities for school leavers, graduates and experienced professionals, as well as summer internships.

Samantha said: ‘Embarking on a professional qualification alongside work can be tough, but the firm fully supports students through these years to achieve success.’

For more information about the professional training programme and summer internships, visit www.pwc.com/im/careers.