New format of Sectoral Debate yields positive results

The revamped format of the Sectoral Debate is being given a positive review.

Closing the debates yesterday, Tourism Minister, Dr Wykeham McNeill, said the new format has already yielded results, including improved attendance by parliamentarians.

Changes this year saw presentations being limited to 45 minutes for government ministers and 30 minutes for Opposition Spokespersons.

McNeill said this forced MPs to condense their usual two or three hour presentations.

He said these shorter presentations received better than usual coverage in the media and therefore had greater reach.

He said it was obvious that they were more interesting for even MPS as almost 70 per cent of them stayed for the duration of each sitting.

Meanwhile, while welcoming the use of technology by some presenters, McNeill says care must be taken to balance the technology so that it does not become a distraction but an effective tool of communication.