Mr. Robert Watt:

We work with the Minister, Deputy Howlin, in the first instance and set out what we think is affordable. The Minister, Deputy Howlin, and the Government decide then the priorities and they set out their priorities in respect of the front-line services I have spoken about.

Within the Civil Service, numbers are down to about 35,000 or 36,000 from 41,000. We are starting to recruit more graduates at administrative officer, AO, and executive officer, EO, level. For the first time in recent months, we have recruited assistant principals, APs, and principal officers, POs, as part of an open competition, so there will be some recruitment into the Civil Service as people retire. Approximately 1,000 people retire every year so we will replace those people but in a different way. For example, we do not see the Civil Service numbers getting back up to the levels we had in 2007-08. We do not see that as desirable because we need to be more efficient. We need to digitalise and use technology to reduce numbers but we need to focus on where the need is greatest.

The public service will get bigger. We will be recruiting and the number of teachers and medical staff will increase but in a number of years' time, the shape and structure of the public service will look very different from the way it looked in 2007. The increment to each sector will be different and will vary depending on the needs but, ultimately, where we allocate will depend on-----