The Chief Minister has given a commitment in Tynwald to getting a ‘grip’ of government headcount.

In a statement to Tynwald members, Alfred Cannan said he was tasking chief officers to carry out an ‘efficiency review’ into headcount and delivery across central government departments.

The team will report back in November.

Following the UK’s raid on the island’s VAT share, steps were taken to reduce government headcount, which fell by about 850.

But since then, numbers have shown an upward trend. In the last seven years, the total public service headcount has risen by more than 700.

Ministers insists that much of the increase involves frontline, and particularly health, workers.

Mr Cannan said there was confusion over the public reporting of headcount in the public sector.

He said he was asking that Manx Care personnel figures are now reported separately and that headcount reporting is more specific and detailed.

‘It is entirely appropriate for Tynwald and the island to differentiate and understand clearly where expansion and indeed reductions have occurred and for the government explain such changes accordingly,’ he said.

Mr Cannan said chief officers will also work to improve headcount reporting and management across their departments.

‘Part of this “grip” of headcount will require a full audit and cleanse of PiP, our personnel information system, so that you can be confident of data,’ he told Tynwald.

The Chief Minister said this work will feed into a ‘renewed and refreshed people strategy so that we have a fit for purpose organisation for the future’.

He said the chief executive officer will be asking each department and board to present a paper detailing how their department can achieve efficiencies and cost reductions.

Mr Cannan said: ‘The resulting proposals will be analysed carefully and impacts assessed with a view to understanding what reprioritisation of services may be available.’

This would also provide a platform to consider the scope for reforming elements of public services, he added.

He said much of this work should be considered as short and medium-term efficiencies but it also provided an opportunity to consider longer-term reform.

Mr Cannan accepted these would not be delivered in the course of this administration.

In his statement on government efficiency and progress, Mr Cannan accepted there was ‘much more’ that needs to be done - and government needed now to seriously start to tackle the growing pressures on its revenue budgets.

He warned the current funding model for health and social care does not align with forecasted growth in income and taxation receipts, without change.

He told Tynwald that transport costs to and from the island remain a public concern and confirmed that CoMin will work with the Steam Packet to examine options to ‘bring greater transparency to pricing’.