The government’s efficiency oversight board has no direct sight of Manx Care’ssavings programme, a Public Accounts Committee hearing has revealed.
The Public Accounts Committee heard from the Chief Minister, as well as the CEO of the government and COO of the Cabinet Office.
Chief Minister Alf Cannan confirmed the separation, telling the committee: “We have no sight on the running of that Manx Care savings programme.”
He added: “The operation performance and change board is not including that Manx Care cost improvement programme.”
This is despite Manx Care facing a savings target of approximately 6% of its budget, compared to the 2% target for core government departments.
Committee members highlighted this disparity, noting the health body must deliver higher savings with no dedicated support from the central government efficiency team.
Visibility
Mark Lewin, Chief Executive Officer, explained that while Manx Care runs its own programme, there is some visibility.
“We do talk about it. We keep an eye on it,” he said, reporting that Manx Care was forecasting savings of £10.9 million against a mandated target of around £7 million.
However, the committee raised concerns about whether the Department of Health and Social Care is effectively holding the statutory board to account.
Tanya August-Phillips MLC, one of the committee pointed out: “The functions of Manx Care are owned by the Department of Health and Social Care through the Manx Care Act. So therefore it’s the DHSC responsibility to hold them to account.”