Concerns over affordability of pay expectations

Teresa Cope said that 80% of Manx Care's funding is for staffing costs

Manx Care's budget does not include enough money to "achieve a pay award that reaches a resolution" with unions, the health care body's chief executive has said.

Teresa Cope said £30m had been spent on pay awards over the last three years and there were "concerns" over current expectations in negotiations.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing took strike action last year in a dispute over pay and conditions, and while a 6% uplift was agreed for 2023-24, negotiations are ongoing with one group for the current financial year.

Ms Cope told Tynwald's Public Accounts Committee that funding for a 4% rise had been set aside, however it was "not meeting the expectations to allow for settlement".

'Standstill position'

Ms Cope said she was "concerned" the position could lead to the consideration of more industrial action.

She said while Manx Care understood the Treasury's expectations around budget setting and how much was allocated to pay awards the amount would not result in a settlement, which meant there was a need to think about a "broader strategy".

As 80% of the provider's expenditure was staffing costs, the extra funding had "just resulted in a standstill position" consumed by pay uplifts and cost rises.

The committee heard that the health care body planned to make £18.5 million in cost improvements in the current financial year, and had delivered £23 million in savings over the past three years.

Committee chairman Juan Watterson questioned whether there was value for money within Manx Care.

In response Ms Cope said the body did not know what its current services should cost, due to a lack of activity costings to use as a benchmark, as clinical data was not being collected prior to the arm's length body's formation in 2021.

Ms Cope said the body continued to be in the position of having to make "unpalatable" decisions due to funding issues and it was very difficult to "switch off services".