Chief Minister told an MHK ‘it is for me to know and for you to find out’ over whether Manx Care can stay in budget without affecting frontline services.

Former Health and social care minister and Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper has repeatedly asked the Chief Minister Alfred Cannan about Manx Care’s overspend this financial year – which once stood at £16m – and what impact it will have on services.

Manx Care bosses have already identified £12m worth of savings for this financial year but it still needs to find between £6m and £8m more.

The arm’s-length healthcare provider previously put forward a plan to cut frontline services, delay non-urgent off-island procedures and keep Ramsey’s Minor Injuries Unit closed at weekends in order to balance the books.

However, all these proposals were blocked by the Council of Ministers (CoMin) which raised the question where the savings could be made.

Once more raising the issues at this week’s House of Keys sitting, Mr Cannan was in bullish mood.

He said: ‘Manx Care is continuing to take forward the saving plans they have already started implementing and will continue to ensure there is effective and rigorous budgetary control of all areas of the organisation and will keep going to try and find as much money as they can before the end of this financial year.

‘For the next financial year the Department of Health and Social Care and Manx Care are working together to put forward a mandate, an operating plan and budget that are aligned and will operate within the financial framework.’

But when pushed by Mr Hooper who said he had not answered the question and that it was ‘a simple yes or no question’, Mr Cannan quipped: ‘That is for me to know and for you to find out.’

He said the government and Manx Care had worked hard to bring down the overspend while protecting frontline services and he added: ‘From next year, I can tell you we are working as hard as possible to make sure the mandate, the operating plan and the budget are aligned so we can deliver the frontline services the public want and deserve.

‘The Council of Ministers have taken positive steps to protect frontline services.

‘The key point is that we should all continue to get behind Manx Care now as they seek to find the efficiencies they need to reduce that overspend so we have a better chance of protecting our health service into the future without damaging our economy or having to raise taxes.’