Efficiencies to cut £10m public service spending

The chief minister delivered the opening speech of the 2024 Government Conference

A plan to make £10m of savings and efficiencies within Isle of Man public services will be introduced in April next year, the chief minister has confirmed.

He made the announcement as part of his opening address at the 2024 Government Conference at the Comis Hotel in Santon.

Alfred Cannan said the chief executive officer for the government would be tasked with delivering a reform plan, which would not include healthcare, to be announced in conjunction with the budget.

In his speech, he said an "immediate turnaround plan" was needed for Manx Care following a predicted £16.8m overspend, as well as tighter border controls.

The chief minister said while productivity would be a focus "technology must play a fundamental part in this".

He also said overspending by Manx Care, the island's arm's-length provider of health care, was "destabilising" and "simply cannot go on without risking the stability of our public reserves".

He said: "Departments including health must stick to their budgets irrespective of whether they believe they are underfunded or not and an immediate turnaround plan is now needed for Manx Care."

Discussions were underway and "as soon as the plan has been agreed it will be communicated to Tynwald and the community", he said.

Manx Care's chief executive Teresa Cope previously said the body was committed to its "ambitious" mandate but the body's £346m budget did not meet a recommended funding model suggested in 2021 when it was created.

Immigration

Cannan also said, as part of the common travel area, the Council of Ministers "increasingly believe we need to know more about who is arriving on our shores" and more money would be spent on "operational improvements" to immigration services.

As well as a rise in post-Brexit immigration demand, "increased attempts by foreign actors to use our island for purposes that do not fit with our values and goals" had to be dealt with, he said.

In response the government would continue to "develop stronger controls and oversight".

Home Affairs Minister Jane Poole Wilson is set to discuss the issue further at the conference on Wednesday.

Other issues on the agenda include economic challenges facing the island, national air and sea connectivity ambitions, and utilising artificial intelligence.