Four government departments showing an overspend

The quarterly figures have been released following a commitment by the treasury minister

A snapshot of the Isle of Man government's finances has revealed four departments are predicted to go over their budgets by the end of the financial year.

The Central Government Summary Management Accounts report outlines the budget and spending of all departments between April and June.

Departments forecasting an overspend were health and social care, infrastructure, enterprise, and education, sport and culture.

The report revealed there was forecast to be a £16.4m overspend overall "largely as a result of the current forecast position of Manx Care", which has said it was working on reducing its current £16.8m shortfall.

The breakdown of the figures showed the Department of Infrastructure was on track to overspend by £1.1m by next April due to increased costs for the provision of social housing and the bus service.

The Department for Education, Sport and Culture has forecast it would be about £1m over its allocated funding because of an expected rise in pay awards for teachers and income being below expected levels.

The report states the Department for Enterprise is likely to be £1.4m over its £1.7m budget, partly down to a dip in income from the ship and central registries.

Overspending for the Department of Health and Social Care has been primarily driven by increased costs in Manx Care.

'Financial discipline'

As part of its bid to reduce its deficit, the health care provider has since cut the number of elective surgery procedures carried out each week.

That was one of 195 schemes being considered to make savings during the current financial year.

Treasury Minister Alex Allinson said the accounts showed the financial pressures facing the government, "especially related to staff pay and inflationary increases in supplies and services".

He said monthly scrutiny panels had been introduced to challenge the forecasts and officers had been working on a range of efficiency measures across government.

It was "essential" to "reinforce financial discipline" to provide front line services while reducing the "dependence on reserves", he added.