The Isle of Man Government is targeting long-term savings of more than £4 million a year through the creation of further shared service centres.
Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK this week signalled his intention to consolidate a number of back office and support functions as a way of making Government more cost-efficient.
The move was announced during the debate on proposals to Modernise Ministerial Government, which were unanimously approved by Tynwald Members on Tuesday.
Staff and budgets will be brought together to create shared services in the following areas:
- Catering, within the new Department of Health and Social Care
- Cleaning, within the Department of Infrastructure (with the exception of hospital cleaners)
- Fleet management, within the Department of Infrastructure
- Information technology, occupational health and safety, learning and development, andpublic and media relations, within the new Cabinet Office
Government will also consolidate areas of finance, human resources and estates that were not included in the original round of shared services in 2010-11.
The intention is that savings will be achieved through streamlining processes and management structures, and sharing accommodation where appropriate.
The Chief Minister said:
‘One of the recurring themes that emerged from the Scope of Government Review concerned the duplication of certain back office and support functions across different Departments. We know from previous experience that bringing together similar services can deliver tangible cost savings, as well as creating centres of excellence in terms of knowledge and skills.’
He added:
‘The Council of Ministers feels it is essential to ensure that Government runs itself as efficiently as possible. That is why we are introducing further shared services, with target savings of £4.6 million per annum within three years.’
The new shared services will be operational from 1 April, in line with the changes agreed as part of the modernisation programme.
Those measures include:
- Combining key central functions in a new Cabinet Office, taking in the Chief Secretary’s Office, Office of Human Resources, Information Systems Division, and Economic Affairs
- Creating a new Minister for Policy and Reform to lead on the implementation of policy and reform across Government
- Dissolving the Department of Community, Culture and Leisure, with the transfer of its component parts to other Departments
- Reuniting Health and Social Care
- Merging the Manx Electricity Authority and Water and Sewerage Authority to form a Manx Utilities Authority
