The cost of producing paper vehicle tax discs costs £10,000 a month to produce, the Infrastructure Minister has admitted.

Michelle Hayward was responding to a question from Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse at this week’s House of Keys sitting who asked what consideration had been given to ending paper discs and going digital.

Dr Hayward explained that there were no immediate plans to end the discs but a review is underway.

She said: ‘As part of our ongoing drive to digitise services and create efficiencies, the department is reviewing the requirement for paper tax discs.

‘However, at this time, there is no established timeframe for the development or introduction of the removal of paper tax discs.’

Mr Moorhouse then asked about the cost of alternatives considering the department had spent £650,000 on the discs in the last five years.

Dr Hayward responded by saying: ‘It does cost us about £10,000 a month producing paper tax disk.

‘However, in order to step away from tax discs, there is a considerable background project that needs to be done in terms of how we handle the data, and setting up the database and then working out amending the legislative provisions around tax discs.

‘So it's not as simple as just the cost efficiency. We realise that there would be savings there, but we don't have the infrastructure in the background yet for that.’

Onchan MHK Julie Edge asked about the impact would be on the Isle of Man Post Office if tax discs were to stop being issued.

Dr Hayward said: ‘There are very few tax discs now that are issued via the post office. So I imagine that that change, which originated several years before I was minister, had an impact there.’