Tynwald has blocked a bid for a vote on a £20m bail-out for overspent Manx Care.

Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson had asked Tynwald to approve an extra £20m of funding to cover Manx Care’s budget overspend and other potential costs.

But members first had to vote on whether the motion could be debated given it had not been on the register of business for four weeks - and this was not carried with 11 votes for and 11 against in the Keys, and six votes for and two against in LegCo.

Speaker Juan Watterson said he didn’t think it was appropriate that Tynwald should consider the supplementary vote that day.

He claimed the motion didn’t comply with financial regulations as it wasn’t moved by the designated body and didn’t come with a report from the DHSC stating why Manx Care is overspending.

Mr Watterson: ‘There’s no requirement for a supplementary vote to be put before the year end - sometimes you go right down to the wire and you’ve no idea exactly how much your out-turn is going to be.

‘What is being asked for here is kind of a supplementary budget rather than a supplementary vote.

‘Does Tynwald want to know exactly how much the overspend is going to be? It prevents the risk that Treasury has to come back with a supplementary supplementary in April or May when they’ve blown the extra money we’ve already provided.’

Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson said: ‘He’s absolutely right that fiscal responsibility is maintained on Manx Care right up to end of this financial year.

‘We’ve been working with the department and Manx Care very closely to try to make sure they come in on budget. Unfortunately, that’s not been possible.

‘It’s absolutely right that this comes to Tynwald as soon as possible for the agreement of extra expenditure.’

He apologised that an explanatory memorandum had not been published on the Tynwald order paper.

But Chris Thomas (Douglas Central) said: ‘I don’t think we gain anything by debating it today.’

And Julie Edge (Onchan) said: ‘If we just keep coming along before the end of the year and agreeing to give more multi-million pounds out there’s no actual restrictions on them to try harder.

‘Because all we’ve seen even with this £20m is cuts to the services to our people and tertiary care. A lot of people have had lots of operations cancelled, they’ve had treatments in Liverpool cancelled. Yet we are still asking for £20m.

‘There’s something seriously, seriously wrong with the accounting process in Manx Care. When you look at the papers the Treasury Minister circulated, I have to say that has to be one of the worst sets of accounts I’ve ever seen in my life.’

Former health minister Lawrie Hooper (Ramsey) said there was a ‘gulf of information’, and Tynwald should not approve a ‘blank cheque’.

Manx Care is forecasting an overspend this financial year of £15.8m. But it says there are a further £5.8m in risks to that forecast.