Chief Minister Alfred Cannan has announced that a minimum of £10m savings and efficiencies will be made as part of a shake-up of the public service.

He unveiled the plan during his keynote speech on the first day of the Government Conference.

Mr Cannan told the audience at the Comis Hotel: ‘In advance of the budget we are tasking the chief executive officer to draw up a Government Efficiency and Reform plan to deliver as a minimum £10m of savings and efficiencies, outside of healthcare.

‘This work will be done in conjunction with the recently-established Operational Performance Board and this will be announced in conjunction with the Budget to take effect from April 2025.

‘Productivity is the key word at the heart of the reform programs and technology must play a fundamental part in this.’

Mr Cannan said he would also ask the chief executive officer Andy Ralphs to include in his longer-term plans the options of reforming government departments and organisational structures.

In his address to the conference, Mr Ralphs said the government was still forecasting an overspend and measures were being taken to balance the books.

‘We are in an improving picture [compared] to last year,’ he said.

Delivering a balanced budget is ‘non-negotiable’, added Mr Ralphs.

He said talks had already started in the chief officers’ group to look at plans to make savings and efficiencies of £10m.

‘This will really be achieved by having a stronger corporate centre, more digitisation and smarter procurement and importantly, how we deliver services to our communities.’

Pledging fundamental reform of the public sector, he acknowledged: ‘It takes time to modernise a big organisation of over 9,000 people.’

He said one issue that the government had to get to grips with is public sector pay, pointing out that above-inflation pay awards are ‘not sustainable for the future’.

The public sector makes up between 22% and 25% of the island’s workforce and Mr Ralphs said it will continue to be the largest employer.

Replying to a question from the audience, he said: ‘One thing I can assure you we don’t have the fat in the system for the amount of work that we are doing for the services we provide. I don’t have anybody in the public sector that isn’t fully occupied.’

Jersey’s government has announced a nine-month recruitment freeze for civil service posts earning £66,000 and above.

Mr Cannan told Media Isle of Man: ‘We continue to consider whether recruitment controls needs to be strengthened.’

He said government will be introducing new quarterly reporting detailing the numbers employed by each department and clearly explaining any increase in staffing.