The number of public servants has risen by 500 since a mechanism to control headcount was scrapped.

Figures released in Tynwald show the full-time equivalent number of government employees rose from 6,736.5 in March 2016 to 7,265.9 at the end of February 2023. This represents about one in six of the working population.

Those figures include civil servants and the wider public service, taking in – among others – teachers and lecturers, health and social care workers, police and firefighters. But they do not include Manx Utilities and Isle of Man Post Office staff nor Crown appointments, the judiciary, Manx Heritage Foundation, Tynwald members or agency staff.

The figures were released by Cabinet Minister Kate Lord-Brennan in a written reply to a Tynwald question from Douglas North MHK John Wannenburgh.

He asked what consideration has been given to restoring the headcount control mechanism which was in place before 2016.

The personnel control mechanism was established by the Council of Ministers in 1991 in response to concerns that a 16.6% increase in the public sector workforce over the previous four years was unsustainable.

But it was abandoned amid concerns that it was open to abuse.

Some departments were using fixed term appointments or contract posts to circumvent the need to secure CoMin approval for additional staffing.

It was replaced from April 2015 by the employment costs budgetary control mechanism.

This manages personnel numbers based on strict budget allocation, which ring-fences salary costs and includes all employee costs, such as pension.

A report by the Office of Human Resources on the impact of removing the personnel control mechanism found that the public service had grown from 6702.9 FTE in 2015 to 7049.4 in 2021, a rise of 5.2% (346.5 FTE) over seven years.

But the report found no evidence that this increase in headcount was as a result of abandoning the personnel control mechanism.

The OHR said the growth of the public service reflected the response to new challenges, such as Covid-19, Brexit and climate change.

And in percentage terms the increase had been lower than that seen in the UK, Ireland, Jersey or Guernsey.

But in her written reply, Ms Lord-Brennan said it was intended to review this policy again in the autumn and following appointment of a chief executive officer to head up the government.

She said reasons for the increase in headcount could include newly-created roles; people changing their hours; limited-term positions created to cover maternity or long term sickness absence; new positions to support a handover period and previously vacant rolls having been filled.