The way the school meals service is run could be changed under plans to reduce the scope of government.
Chief Minister Allan Bell gave an update to Tynwald on progress by government departments and statutory boards reviewing the way they provide service.
‘Carry on as we are is not an option that we will have the luxury of adopting,’ he told the court.
Departments, statutory boards and offices have been given until December 31 to review all service delivery.
Mr Bell said already the reviews had identified a number of potential opportunities to reduce the scope of its work.
They include running the Villa Marina and Gaiety Theatre as a trust or foundation, possible corporatisation of the Post Office and alternative ways of running the bus network.
He said the Department of Education and Children had made significant changes including privatising pre-schools and introducing university tuition fees.
It will now be looking at the provision of the school meals service.
The Department of Social Care is looking at residential care services and conducting a housing review.
And he also revealed the Department of Infrastructure is looking to reduce staffing in its direct labour force.
He said: ‘The scope team has reviewed options for mitigating the impact of the MEA debt burden and put forward a proposal for a consultation looking at a potential amalgamation of the Manx Electricity Authority and the Water and Sewerage Authority.
‘This work is now underway and will be completed as quickly as possible, given the MEA’s ongoing financial difficulties.’
Mr Bell said from what he saw of the efforts of individual departments currently undertaking their self-evaluations, he remained ‘optimistic’ that the scope programme can deliver real benefits.
The Chief Minister said: ‘The people of the Isle of Man expect, and deserve, that we put our full efforts into reaching government’s objective of re-balancing the budget within the timescales set out by my colleague, the Treasury Minister [Eddie Teare].’
He said cross-department savings could be generated through the centralisation of key support services, with a shared services model expanded into areas such as catering, telephony services, vehicle management and cleaning.
Mr Bell said that risks needed to be taken to protect the island’s economic well-being and accepted that some risks may not pay off.
He said government was mindful of the impact the uncertainty arising from the review would have on staff.
‘We have a responsibility to ensure that changes to means of delivery result in the best possible outcome. There are promising signs in some areas, and I am encouraged by the specific initiatives that are currently being progressed.’