’We are meeting the budgetary plan that we set out and I think that should be a cause for optimism, Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan told the Manx Independent.

We asked the Ayre and Michael MHK what he thought were the highlights of his fourth Budget.

He said: ’Our Budget is exceeding expectations and I’m absolutely confident as it stands today that we are going to meet our fiscal targets, absorb the £40 million (public sector)pensions deficit and give a platform for much better sustainability when it comes to our finances and much better ability to plan into the future.’

The Isle of Man’s version of the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer said with a wry smile: ’This is my fourth Budget of five - I’m still here!’

He certainly seems to have done better than Sajid Javid who quit his job in Boris Johnson’s government just one month before the next and his first UK Budget.

Mr Cannan has billed this year’s Budget as ’a Budget of Focus to build for the future.’

He said a ’primary driver’ of delivering the financial plan was to ensure that when the public sector pensions reserve ran out, what was a £40 million deficit would effectively be absorbed smoothly into public spending and there would be no adverse shocks for the public in terms of the services being delivered.

The public sector pensions reserve was now expected to run out in 2023-24, a year later than originally planned.

He said that was good evidence that the increased contributions coming in from employers, the government, and employees, were helping now to slow down the cost of public sector pensions.

’Essentially we set out a five-year financial plan and we are on track to deliver.’

Mr Cannan said they had set out some ’core rules’ around how the pensions contributions should be calculated so employers, ie the government, was paying 15% towards the employees pension scheme.

’Employees are paying on average around 10% towards their pension scheme and the rest is effectively what we are calling the deficit.

’That is coming from reserves and we always planned for it to come from the pensions reserve and we would create enough space for when that reserve ran out to absorb it into day-to-day spending. And that is what we are going to do.

’And then the Cabinet Office is going to carry on with reforming that pension scheme to make for long-term sustainability of the scheme.’

Talking generally Mr Cannan said he hoped people, particularly families and low to middle income earners would ’be feeling the benefit of the policies we have applied to the Budget and to this nation.’

Mr Cannan said they had set out to do ’what is right’ and ’call it what you will, but I think there has certainly been a strong element of improving the social infrastructure of the island and trying to address (the) clear wealth gap that existed, certainly in 2016.

’We have made progress to help those in the lower to middle income bracket.

’And bear in mind the way we are delivering on capital programmes, the money put into the Department for Enterprise for creating jobs and more diversity in the economy. I think we are providing a strong platform for people in our society to improve their lives.’

The Manx Independent asked Mr Cannan if he thought the island was now in more competition with the UK since it left the EU last month. He said: ’It’s wrong to say that we are not aware of some of the challenges that come our way with what is happening in the UK and other nations.

’But it’s true to say that what the island is offering at the moment provides a lot of advantages for business.

’We are in a very good position when it comes to Brexit.

’As the UK moves away from its European focus and turns to international matters I think the broad ranging experience and expertise in business on this island will help us tailor our products and services to help and work with the UK in developing new markets and new opportunities.’

Finally the Manx Independent referred to Mr Cannan’s tagline of ’a Budget of Focus’. We asked: ’Do you feel the island is indeed in focus?

He replied: ’Yes I do. The island is in focus and we are focusing in on our policies, and focusing on what we have achieved in terms of what we have delivered over the last four years and also focusing on the future.’