Review of services could include public-private partnerships
The Government could form public-private partnerships as part of cost-saving measures for government services, David Burt revealed in the Budget on Friday.
The Premier said ministries will work with consultants to complete the savings associated with alternative ways of delivering its services.
Mr Burt said that in 2022-23, ministries facilitated a public-value assessment of their services.
“The data was considered and specific services have been identified for alternative service delivery.
“In 2023-24 the ministries will work with internal and external consulting resources to complete reviews, establish the cost savings associated with alternative methods of delivery and, subject to consultation and the requisite approvals, implement wide-ranging service delivery changes across the Government.
“The alternatives could include mergers, public-private partnerships and, potentially, the cessation of certain services.”
Government workers with specialist roles can expect to receive a salary increase as part of a review being funded.
Mr Burt said that pay scales in the public sector had fallen behind those of the private sector and that the Government is struggling to retain its best employees.
The Premier said: “This Budget funds a review of specialist roles in the Public Service, allowing pay scales to be adjusted commensurate with expertise to ensure that the Government can attract and retain experienced talent in key areas such as legal, engineering, compliance, information technology and finance.
“This review is vital and will save money in the long term as specialised roles that cannot be filled currently require the use of external consultants, which costs the public purse more.”
Mr Burt said that, contrary to claims made by the One Bermuda Alliance, the number of civil servants has been reduced since the Progressive Labour Party came to power in 2017.
He said that in 2017 the number of people employed by the Government was 4,661 and that at the end of last December there were 4,483 — a reduction of 178 employees.
Need to
Know
2. Please respect the use of this community forum and its users.
3. Any poster that insults, threatens or verbally abuses another member, uses defamatory language, or deliberately disrupts discussions will be banned.
4. Users who violate the Terms of Service or any commenting rules will be banned.
5. Please stay on topic. "Trolling" to incite emotional responses and disrupt conversations will be deleted.
6. To understand further what is and isn't allowed and the actions we may take, please read our Terms of Service
