Has the Chief Minister kept his promises to "re-size" the Cabinet Office?

Tuesday 06 August 2024

Since stepping up as Chief Minister earlier this year, Deputy Lyndon Farnham has repeatedly talked about “curbing” spending in the public sector and “re-sizing” the Cabinet Office – but has he kept to those commitments?

A backbencher’s proposition, which overwhelming passed the States Assembly, even obligated the Chief Minister to “review the revenue expenditure of the Cabinet Office and ensure that savings are identified and included in next year's budget”.

But the 2025 Budget, released last Friday and broken down by Express, showed that the Cabinet Office's budget for next year was estimated at £26,270,000 – actually more than the £26,052,000 approved for last year.

And that number will stay markedly the same in 2026, 2027, and 2028.

Pictured: The Cabinet Office budget for 2025 to 2028 – compared to just over £26m approved for 2024.

Following queries from Express, Deputy Farnham has confirmed that the budget for this department – which includes the Office of the Chief Executive, the Chief Operating Office, and Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance – will "reduce in real terms next year" due to rates of inflation.

Savings of £1.7 million will be made from staff reductions and a recruitment freeze, he explained.

By 2028, more than £2 million will be saved from real terms reductions.

The Cabinet Office: a brief recap

Former Chief Minister Kristina Moore brought the combined department into being as part of an action plan for the first 100 days in office. The body was intended to better co-ordinate and support the delivery of the new Council of Ministers' objectives.

However, as staff headcount in the department started to grow and its budget expand, backbencher Deputy Max Andrews sought to halt that growth in its tracks.

In February, he lodged a proposition which requested the Chief Minister to "streamline" the Cabinet Office by reviewing its revenue expenditure and ensuring that savings are identified and included in the next set of spending plans.

The proposition received the full support of the States Assembly with the new Chief Minister agreeing that the department had "exceeded [its] remit and amalgamated a number of existing departments".

Deputy Farnham said it was "all being revisited" and that the Council of Ministers had started discussions with the Government's CEO on how the office "can be most effectively and efficiently delivered in the future".

In a Scrutiny hearing several months on, Deputy Farnham cited the Cabinet Office, communications department, and roles in senior and middle management were among the potential areas where "re-sizing" of staff numbers could occur.

What changes have been made in the 2025 budget?

First and foremost, the 'Cabinet Office' head of expenditure has been split in 2025 into Cabinet Office, Technology and Digital Services, and People Services – whereas these three areas were previously amalgamated as one.

We can therefore see that the £26 million approved for the Cabinet Office in 2024 has been upped to £26.2 million for next year.

While this may seem like an increase, the Chief Minister says it is anything but.

Pictured: Deputy Farnham has made his opinions on the Cabinet Office, and its growth, known.

First, Deputy Farnham explained, this Budget figure for 2025 includes an additional £400,000 to implement the recommendations of the Violence Against Women and Girls taskforce report, which is a priority of the Common Strategic Plan.

That £26.2 million figure further includes funding for the 8% pay rise for staff, which has already been agreed, and the budget is affected by inflation, which adds to costs.

The Chief Minister explained: "The increase in the Cabinet Office budget for 2025 is less than 1%, which is well below inflation. This means that the costs of the Cabinet Office will reduce in real terms next year.

"The additional costs would have resulted in a higher budget figure but will be offset by savings of £1.7 million which will come from staff reductions and a recruitment freeze.

"In 2026, 2027 and 2028 the Cabinet Office budget is reducing and is scheduled to fall by more than £2m by 2028."

A recruitment freeze for civil servants across the public sector earning £66,000 is set to last nine months.

But Deputy Farnham stressed that it would not affect recruitment to essential front-line roles, such as doctors, nurses, teachers, and the uniformed services.