Tony Ryall
17 March, 2010
Government cap holds as resources shift to frontline
State Services Minister Tony Ryall has released the second six-monthly update on the government's cap of core government administration.
He says the Government is committed to seeking further on-going savings in administration in order to free up resources to improve frontline services.
Latest figures from the State Services Commission show the number of full-time equivalent staff positions in the core government administration has fallen 1,480 or 3.8% over the 2009 year (from 38,859 to 37,379).
At the same time there's been a net increase of 540 full-time equivalent positions - in key frontline agencies outside the cap - such as Child, Youth and Family, Work and Income, and Community Probation and Psychological Services.
"National campaigned to cap the size of the core bureaucracy and we've done that. This allows us to free up resources for improving frontline services," says Mr Ryall.
"We have halted the rampant growth in the total public service over the last nine years of the previous government -averaging 5% or around 1,800 full-time people per year."
"Under Labour's trend there would be 2,700 more public servant positions than there are now. At an estimated average cost of $63,000 for a Public Service salary, that's around $170 million in staff costs saved and available for reinvestment in frontline services.
"The Government's continued focus is on capping the growth in the core government administration, and moving scarce resources from the back office to the frontline.
"As many government departments adjust to no or little extra funding over the next few years, we would expect to see further reductions in these staffing numbers. However this is part of an on-going focus on value for money and future proofing services."
Details available at www.ssc.govt.nz/capping-data-to-31dec09
http://www.ssc.govt.nz/capping-data-to-30june09
