Latest news with #Tynwald
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Manx mental health patient care in UK cost £18m in five years
More than £18m has been spent by the Isle of Man government on sending mental health patients to the UK for acute care, new figures have latest figures were outlined by the health minister in a Tynwald written answer to Rushen MHK Juan Watterson. Claire Christian said 38 people had received off-island treatment since 2020, eight of whom were under the age of 18. She said these were "highly specialised placements" and included court-ordered prison transfers. The annual figures show an average of £3.6m is spent year on year on specialist care, with the highest annual spend at £4,131,785 for total, £18,468,690 has been spent in the last five years, with £3,643,868 spent in 2024-25. 'Complex placements' Christian other admissions included "locked mental health rehabilitation placements, such as after stepping down from low secure forensic wards".Placements to "specialist perinatal mother and baby units, or placements to specialist eating disorder units" were also average length of stay for an adult is just short of a year at 322 days, while under 18s have an average stay of 10 figures show that from 2020 and 2023, six people were sent as a result of a court order or transferred from 2023-25, that number rose to added that people in long term "complex placements" may be counted in more than one year, "therefore the total numbers may be different to the individual number of patients". Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
More than £7.3m spent on improving Manx homes
More than £7.3m has been spent on making homes across the Isle of Man more energy efficient since 2022, new figures have revealed. The spending amount was confirmed by the Climate Change Transformation Board chair, answering a Tynwald question on net-zero target spending.A number energy-saving schemes are now in place and aim to help low income households cope with the rising cost of living to reduce Isle of Man formally recognised the climate emergency in 2021 and a dedicated fund was established by Treasury in 2022. A total of £8,528,104 has been spent so far across the island with £5,685,342 invested in the green living grant scheme, with an estimated 3,300 total carbon dioxide (tCO2) saving per has been £1,699,739 spent on an energy efficiency scheme, with a predicted 1,900tCO2 saving per Barber, who is also the environment minister, said: "Over the last 12 months there has been a move away from a focus solely on emissions reductions to funding projects with the widest range of co-benefits." 'Emissions and energy bills' Barber said: "Many actions which reduce emissions also help to reduce costs or carry wider social benefits such as improving health and wellbeing.""For example 80% spend from the climate change fund to date has been in people's homes helping to reduce both emissions and energy bills," she £36m has been transferred into the government's climate change fund in the last three years and the Climate Change Plan 2022-2027 has an interim target to cut emissions by 35% by also aims to decarbonise the island's electricity supply by Barber outlined that more than £550,000 was spent on developing "a comprehensive blue carbon management plan to maximise carbon sequestration and maintain and restore biodiversity and wider ecosystem services", with no tCO2 saving as a written answer to Tynwald on spending to date, she said it was "important to note that the island is still in the early stages of its transition away from fossil fuels"."Many of the initiatives have an indirect benefit on emissions reduction as they involve preliminary research and feasibility assessments," she they were actions which led "to an emissions benefit later rather than a direct action which reduces emissions straight away", she added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Tynwald backs new Childcare Inclusion Scheme
Tynwald has backed a move to improve childcare provision for those with additional Childcare Inclusion Scheme, which will be launched in September, makes funding available to nursery and early education providers along with guidance to improve follows the Childcare Strategy backed by Tynwald in 2022 highlighting a shortfall in the area, and funding announced in the 2025.26 budget to improve access for children with complex Minister Daphne Caine said it was an "important step" towards inclusive childcare. The scheme "recognises that some children need more support to access early education and childcare and that providers need the right tools to offer it", she said. 'Big gap' Providers will be able to apply for up to £8,568 of funding per year to provide enhanced staffing ratios and specialist resources to better support eligible £468 per eligible child will be made available to enhance the setting and make it accessible beyond reasonable Lawrie Hooper said while he was "supportive" of the proposals, the funding did not apply for childcare providers for before and after school clubs."That is a big gap", he said, because then as children go through the ages, "the funding doesn't follow them".He questioned how the Department of Education, Sport and Culture would ensure they continued to be Julie Edge asked where there were spaces available for children in existing childcare and early education provision on the said a childcare working group would look at whether there was a need to develop "a more specialist complex needs nursery" from July said an estimated £1.73m was being made available to deliver the scheme. The department had a "statutory obligation" to meet additional needs during school term time, but not for holiday clubs and after school clubs, Caine added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Lobby group supports new minimum wage plan
A business lobby group has said it supports the new "direction of travel" in the Isle of Man's minimum wage calculations but has raised concerns about how the new benchmark is week, Tynwald approved a move to base the minimum wage from a figure of 66% of median earnings on the island. The Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce said the new methodology was an "important step" towards a more "consistent and evidence-based wage-setting system". However, it warned that using a benchmark based on both the public and private sector could "distort outcomes". The lobby group said that public sector pay was "significantly higher and not tied to profitability or investment". 'Economic viability' It argued that a high minimum wage has a "cascading effect" on the median "reinforcing upward wage spirals".The change would see the current hourly minimum wage rate of £12.25 increased to about £13.46 in April, a slightly lower rate than the living wage which stands at £ meant that a previous bid to align the minimum wage with the living wage was Chamber of Commerce had argued that the previous plans to align the minimum wage and living wage this year would have a "significant impact" on the new approach "supports fair pay while maintaining economic viability for employers," the group executive Rebecca George said: "We support the direction of travel, but we also want to ensure that this policy shift results in fair, workable outcomes for businesses and employees alike." Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Nearly 40% of Manx prisoners linked to organised crime
More than a third of Isle of Man prisoners have links to organised crime, the chief constable has said in his annual Foster released the findings for the 2024-25 financial year, which showed overall crime dropped by 10%. Home Affairs Minister Jane Poole-Wilson welcomed the report, which was accepted by Tynwald members on said areas of "drug-related and serious and organised crime remain a key focus" for the department. The number of prisoners with links to Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) had risen to 39% in 2024-25, the report figure is 6% higher than the start of 2024 at 33%, and 14% higher than at the end of 2023, at 25%.This year has seen violent crime reduced, but the proportion of crimes linked to drugs has risen from 9% to 14%.Mr Foster's report outlined there were 239 "disruptions" to OCGs throughout the financial year, which included arrests, seizures, sentencings, and "other action which affects the ability of the OCG to operate".The number of disruptions was 71% higher than the previous year, where 140 disruptions were logged in 2023-24. 'Deter, disrupt, detect' Mr Foster's report outlined there were 239 "disruptions" to OCGs throughout the financial year, which included arrests, seizures, sentencings, and "other action which affects the ability of the OCG to operate".The number of disruptions was 71% higher than the previous year, where 140 disruptions were logged in Foster said the force had made a "major impact on two OCGs", a "moderate impact on two OCGs", and a "minor impact on six OCGs". The groups were mostly related to drugs and money laundering, the report said, including four international money laundering OCGs. Three related to fraud, one related to immigration fraud and two related to human trafficking and modern slavery, the report Foster said there had been 37 local arrests, and 22 in the UK, as a result of operations carried out related to organised crime. They saw a total of £464,000 of cocaine seized, £250,000 of cannabis, and £75,000 of ketamine. There was also about £127,000 of criminal property seized. Poole-Wilson said the report reflected the risk from OCGs and the department was making "continued efforts to deter, disrupt, detect, and bring to justice those who commit such crimes".Poole-Wilson said work had taken place at the island's ports, which had resulted in closer working arrangements in immigration and customs. "These areas of drug related and serious and organised crime remain a key focus and align with ongoing work to address exploitation of young and vulnerable people and reducing violence and harm," she added. Elsewhere in the report, Mr Foster reported a rise in reported domestic abuse and sexual offence crimes, which the chief constable said reflected the "impact of new legislation and increased public confidence".He said: "The full implementation of the Domestic Abuse Act 2020 and the Sexual Offences and Obscene Publications Act 2021 has led to improved victim safeguarding, enhanced enforcement capabilities, and strengthened multi-agency coordination."There had been a 25% increase in the number of rape offences reported this year and a 24% increase for other sexual offences, the report said.A new Sexual Assault Referral Centre is set to open later this year. Staffing challenges The report highlighted "stretched resources" and "significant staffing challenges" which led to a reduction in the number of community based officers. Mr Foster said there were an estimated 30 officers leaving the organisation between 2025 and 2028 which was "compounding the existing shortages".Starting salaries for new recruits had been increased to £33,690, compared to £29,907 in the UK, which he said aligned them with other law enforcement agencies on the new recruits had completed their initial police training, and would begin the next phase of training, which would "alleviate the officer shortages we have been experiencing", Mr Foster Tynwald, Poole-Wilson said there was a further recruitment drive under way, adding: "We are absolutely building back."The report was received unanimously by the Manx parliament. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
