The Isle of Wight is to have a full-time bailiff again starting this month.
Island MP, Andrew Turner, has been concerned about the lack of bailiff for quite some time, which was raised further when he heard from an Islander who had been mucked around by officials, after applying for the role way back in July 2008.
The Islander was offered a position in August, however over the next 15 weeks, the Ministry of Justice procrastinated until finally informing him in November that due to ‘operational changes’ and a ‘much more demanding financial environment’ they were not now planning to fill the post.
Andrew Turner brought this up with Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, Chris Bryant, in the House, which appears to have got it moving in the right direction.
Mr Turner said, “I was absolutely astounded that a Government Department should mess somebody around in such a way when employing new staff,” he continued, “I am glad that the situation has now been resolved and that we will again have a proper bailiff service – a number of constituents had contacted me to tell me what problems they had encountered in ensuring that court decisions could be enforced.”
As Andrew is on the Justice Select Committee, he could have raised the matter there, if that route wasn’t successful.
Luckily it was.
Image: Drown
