MHKs have called for transparency over how and why Manx Care was given an extra £4m days after Tynwald approved its budget.
Health Minister Claire Christian was grilled by members about a £4.3 million allocation to the Manx Care mandate.
Ms Christian confirmed that following a Treasury review of departmental budgets, the full amount requested for the Manx Care mandate was not approved.
However, an inflationary adjustment of £4.3 million was included.
She said: “It was initially considered that the £4.3m additional budget should be retained by the department by way of reinstating a contingency budget for unplanned costs within Manx care.
“However, the executive board on April 25 decided that this additional amount should be made available to Manx care as an additional mandate allocation.”
Approval
This adjustment, processed in June 2025, involved a transfer from a Manx Care contingency line to the Manx Care mandate line within the DHSC’s existing revenue budget and didn’t even need ministers to approve it.
However, MHKs expressed confusion and concern over the timing and justification for the move.
Lawrie Hooper pointed out that when Tynwald was asked to approve the budget in February, the £4.3 million was “very separate to the Manx Care mandate.”
He argued that Manx Care’s operating plan and mandate document, published in late February, just days after the Budget was passed by Tynwald, always reflected a £361.8 million budget, not the £357.5 million initially approved by Tynwald.
Without Tynwald approval, they decided to take an extra £4m and just give it to Manx Care, no controls, no no framework, no protection, literally just here’s £4m.”
Lawrie Hooper
He further challenged the minister on a previous statement she made to the House of Keys, saying, “on the 25th of March, she told the House of keys, funding was ring fenced inside that budget line. What is the truth here?”
Ms Christian said: “The £4.3m additional budget was retained by the department by way of restating a contingency budget for Manx Care.
“So this was in a contingency budget for them and at that point, obviously this was in discussion with them, they would have been aware, and obviously this would have been part of the mandate and the operating plan.
“If there is some procedure that we have done incorrectly, I will have to check with our treasury colleagues on this”
What’s It For?
MHK Julie Edge sought clarity on what the £4.3 million would be used for, asking, “What are we getting for our 4.3 million?”
Ms Christian replied: The funding bid, as I mentioned earlier, was over. The £357m, so the £4.3m would be going towards the mandate and the operating plan, so that it’s not additional services in any way it’s included within that.”
Rob Callister said he was “slightly confused” and requested a breakdown of what items within the mandated document is covered within this £4.3 million pounds.
Ms Christian said she would “see if there’s a way that we can look at how the £4.3 million would have been allocated in the mandate.”
Have That
Speaker Juan Watterson also questioned the definition of a contingency, suggesting a contingency should be for unforeseen events.
He said: “It would appear that what’s happened here is that the cheque’s been written nine days into the start of the year without actually any assurance, any anything that’s actually happened in order to trigger the release of that money.”
Ms Christian deferred on the specifics of contingency protocols, saying: “I haven’t been in this post long enough to know in terms of if the Treasury give it a contingency budget to the DHSC what that contingency necessarily the terms and agreements around that.”
Discipline
Julie Edge also raised concerns about Manx Care’s financial discipline, noting they had received the £4.3 million plus a further £10 million from Treasury, while also being mandated to find £7 million in efficiency savings.
What we’ve actually done is enabled them to continue to overspend.”
Julie Edge
Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson later said that his department had held back £10m in contingency funding, should it be needed, but that “none of that has so far been requested”.
Manx Care’s latest figures show it will be £9m over budget by the end of the year.
Ms Christian also told members that she is “happy” to provide a detailed explanation of the timeline and process for the £4.3 million allocation.