Tensions rise over future of Manx benefit payments

The MiCard service is due to cease at the end of the year

The Treasury minister is under pressure to confirm how some Manx residents will receive their pension and benefit payments in two months time when a card system will be scrapped.

A question in Tynwald sparked a heated discussion between members about the looming deadline of the MiCard service ceasing altogether.

The minister previously explained the service was "no longer viable" and the change would save £500,000 each year - but remains unclear how some people will get their money.

After a range of fresh concerns were raised, Alex Allinson said: "People will be told of the alternatives as soon as possible, and well before Christmas."

It was confirmed last October that the service would end by 31 December this year.

During the discussion on Tuesday, Allinson confirmed there were 1,088 active MiCard users but said it was not known how many of them had bank accounts to facilitate alternative bank transfers.

Tynwald members met for the first sitting after the summer recess

Allinson said: "We have asked them, we've reached out, but there are people who for whatever reason don't want to tell us, so some of that data is still lacking."

Fellow Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper said the minister was being too slow to find solutions.

He said Allinson was repeating statements from both April and October last year, adding he was "cutting it a bit close to the wire to still be actively looking at alternative solutions".

Onchan member Julie Edge argued the MiCard system was fit for purpose and should remain.

She said: "We've got a trusted service provider for all of our pensioners, all of our vulnerable in society, and you're switching it off without a solution."

'Adequate provision'

The Right Reverend Patricia Hillas raised concerns about the timing of the service being axed.

She said the end of the year and start of a new one was "precisely" when "there are lower levels of support".

"Can we be reassured that there will be adequate provision?" she asked.

In response, Allinson said the department had been working with MiCard users and "reaching out to a whole range of agencies to manage this transition".

"We are very advanced in terms of making some of the financial arrangements," he said.

He said they were consulting with Age Concern and Manx Citizens Advice, among other groups to find a way forward.

Allinson also said residents would hear news "well before Christmas", and options for fund transfers included cheques, bank transfers, and pre-paid debit cards.

"This is not a policy about benefits, it's a policy very much about the transition to far more electronic and digital solutions across our island," he said.