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2018.12.03
15 Deputy G.P. Southern of the Chief Minister regarding targets for reducing staff
costs across the public sector: [OQ.234/2018]
[Aside] Question 15, will the Chief Minister provide the overall target for reducing staff costs across the public sector and the associated reduction in employee numbers and outline what measures he has under consideration to protect the range and quality of front line services in the sectors of health and education?
Senator J.A.N. Le Fondré (The Chief Minister):
I was getting slightly worried there. I have committed to £30 million of efficiency savings in 2019 and this is based on the due diligence work undertaken and will be achieved through responsible headcount management and savings in other areas, for example through better contract management, more commercial use of our assets, possibly revisiting the issues around the supplementation grant. That will deliver better value for money, enabling us to target investment where it is needed the most and that includes our front line services. So to answer the question, yes, and the details will - as previously stated - be available in spring next year; I think my Assistant Minister referred to March next year.
[16:30]
- Deputy G.P. Southern :
Does the Minister accept ... and an interesting use of the word "admitted": "I admitted that we were going to make so many posts vacant."
Senator J.A.N. Le Fondré: Committed.
Deputy G.P. Southern :
Will the Chief Minister accept, does he accept, that according to the figures given in Written Question 13, this target of £30 million equates to around 800 posts to be reduced from the workforce? Is that not the case?
Senator J.A.N. Le Fondré:
No, I do not accept that we are talking 800 posts. I think we are mixing apples and bananas. The point is what we have said we will do is we have to achieve around £30 million of savings and that is based on the projected forecasts, which are obviously in the budget for 2020. Elements of those savings will be through what I have called vacancy management and responsible headcount management. There are other areas we can do as well to achieve those savings. So I am not simply taking something and scaling-up and saying that means we are going to lose 800 jobs. That is definitely not the case. As we have said, the detail will come out in the spring of next year.
- Deputy G.P. Southern :
If he does not accept the figure of 800, what is the balance between other measures and reduction of posts? What figure does he have for any reduction in posts to save £30 million?
Senator J.A.N. Le Fondré:
I think the difficulty is that it is a bit too simplistic at this stage because we expect headcount management. Also when I say vacancy management there may be some reductions but I suspect that in some other areas of priority we will see increases. So until that all comes together I cannot give some direct figures at this stage because I want to have the full picture. That full picture will come together in March of next year.