Lawrie Hooper has resigned from his post as Health and Social Care Minister.
The Ramsey MHK made the announcement today (15 October) in the first Tynwald session back after the summer recess.
He told the court that "resigning is the last card I have left to play":
Thank you very much for giving me permission to make this personal statement. On remembers, three years ago, I accepted the role of Minister of Health and Social Care in this Administration and it has been a privilege to serve in that capacity. And prior to all, it has been accomplished in that time. Despite significant pressures, I believe that real and meaningful progress has been made to stabilise health and care services and improve the quality and safety of services on offer. Fixing our health service was always going to be a long and difficult journey, one that needs steadfast commitment and a long-term view. But sadly, this is not something I believe the Chief Minister has committed to. I have therefore just now tended my resignation to the Chief Minister and will no longer serve in his government. I feel that appropriate to answer questions from honourable members this morning as members deserve answers to their questions at this critical time, and I did not want to abdicate my responsibilities to this honourable court. Over recent weeks, it has become increasingly clear to me that the Chief Minister does not welcome my views and is not willing to listen to the views that evidence presented to him and that his views and mine over the future of the National Health Service are becoming increasingly diverged. I am now convinced that it is his ultimate aim to try and privatise our health service and that is not something I am able to support. I have made my position on this exceptionally clear to Council in recent weeks. Last week, Council were asked to reconfirm their commitment to a free-at-the-point-of-use National Health Service and they would not make this commitment. Council were also presented with the context and likely impacts on patients of the healthcare cuts the Chief Minister is publicly calling for, in the hope that having seen the potentially serious impacts that they would change course. Unfortunately, the high risk of patient harm that was clearly highlighted did not have any such effect. I cannot in good conscience continue to serve a Chief Minister who has set out to both publicly and privately undermine my ability to do the job that is required, to undermine the ability of the Department of Health and the Manx Care Board to operate effectively and who refuses to accept responsibility for the consequences of these decisions. I had hoped that it would not come to this, honourable members, but it has become clear that I am no longer able to affect change from within the Council of Ministers and as I fundamentally disagree with the course of action that I believe has been decided upon, I have no option but to resign. I would like to take this final opportunity to thank all of those whose hard work has made such a difference over the last three years. Departmental members, officers and staff in the Department and Manx Care and the Board of Manx Care and to apologise to the people of this island for not being able to change this government's course from within. Resigning is the only card I have left to play. Good morning. Good morning, my members. We move on to item 4, autumn statement. I call on the Chief Minister to make a statement. Thank you very much, Mr President, and I would like to start by thanking Laurie Hoop, the commitment that he has made over the past three years and wish him well for the future. His resignation is unfortunate, but it is abundantly clear at this point that the difference between his ideology and the reality of the position of Manx Care finds itself in a bridge too far for him. I know, Mr President, that last year's budget was a difficult day for many people and businesses with a taxation increase for health care spending and government spending remaining dominated in many ways by health care. Last year, with the tax rising included, Manx Care received an additional £43 million in funding conditional on its promise to stay within budget. It is clear that this will not be the case and that once again health care spending looks to be many millions of pounds beyond its allocation. Whilst the happy years of commitments and actions, further strategic action is needed, this overspendings, destabilising and already finely balanced government fiscal expenditure programme. It simply cannot go on, without risking the stability of our public reserves. Departments, including health, must stick to their budgets, irrespective of whether they believe they are underfunded or not, and resolution in that respect is now needed for Manx Care. Mr President, those who are stuck on ideology when it comes to health care funding are out of touch with reality. We simply cannot afford a health care system that has unable to control its expenditure. I have heard the calls for more funding from taxation, but this will simply not solve the problem when we have a health care system that is unable to plan for and operate within budgets. More than that, it is clear that the capabilities of the organisation to undertake financial budgeting and planning and align that with clear outcomes is lacking. It is incredibly disappointing we are in this position given the investment that has been made into health care over the past three years. Nevertheless, we must move to tackle this challenge. Honourable Members, now is not the time for us to recognise that this situation cannot be addressed. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and hope that this will go away. Now is the time for all of us to work together, and I know that through direct action, thoughtful debate and a positive approach, we can find the answers that are needed.
