Ministers have been advised to cut their budgets by 10. 5 percent.

Finance Minister Paula Cox yesterday confirmed she had advised Government to look into ways of cutting costs after Housing Minister David Burch revealed his Ministries had already held meetings on ways to trim their budget by $6 million, or by 10.5 percent. The cost cutting would not extend to civil servants losing their jobs according to Minister Cox.

She said: "As a guide, each Minister has been encouraged to identify savings of 10.5 percent within their existing cash limits. This is a target and a guide.

"Some Ministries will not be able to do this given their people-oriented focus whereas other Ministries may be able to identify savings.

"Programmes that are not delivering results should be reassessed and Ministers are encouraged to look for offsetting savings within the Ministry. The focus is on improving service delivery of programmes to Bermuda's consumers."

The number of people working for Government has swollen by 1,000 people since 2001. But Ms Cox said these employees should not be fearful about losing their jobs.

Ms Cox said: "This cost-efficient model is not focused on shrinking Government in terms of existing personnel requirements — that is, no reduction in employment levels is being requested by the Ministry of Finance."

Government currently employs 5,617 people according to the 2008/2009 Budget.

The news came on the heels of Housing Minister David Burch's announcement that his Ministries had already met to discuss the proposed 10.5 percent cut.

"Everybody has been told to have a close look by the Finance Minister at what is being planned in the coming year.

"We are already well advanced in that process. We plan to pool our resources within the (Public Safety and Housing) ministries where possible. We have had meetings on how to reduce costs and how we can get there collectively."