Health minister to seek £15.3million to cover 2024-25 overspend

Motion to be debated in July's Tynwald after being blocked in March

The health minister will be seeking approval for an additional £15.3million at next month's sitting of Tynwald to cover last year's overspend on health services.

The supplementary vote has been tabled for July's sitting after it was blocked in March.

Claire Christian's motion confirms Manx Care's operational overspend for the 2024-25 financial year was £15.61million, while the Department of Health and Social Care underspent by £370,000.

A previous motion was put forward in March, but with the item having not completed the necessary four weeks on Tynwald's Register of Business, members chose not to debate the item.

Some members expressed concern that the financial year had not yet been completed, and the final figures were not known.

The revised motion has been published four weeks ahead of July's sitting, ensuring the item will be moved next month.

It states Manx Care identified cash savings of £11.8million as part of its cost improvement plan, but employee costs, tertiary care and drugs spend all increased over the 12-month period.

The department previously estimated it would need up to £20million to cover the overspend, but says specialist support and forecasting has reduced the monthly spend and mitigated additional risks.

The DHSC previously forecast a larger underspend, but final quarter costs relating to the medical pay award of £2.3million, improvement initiatives costing £1.19million and £130,000 spend on vaccines reduced its underspend to £370,000.

Manx Care's total operational expenditure for the period was £362million, with the healthcare provider having an approved budget of £347million.