Expenditure management and efficiency review

In January 2025, ministry mandate letters were issued directing ministries to work with the Minister of Finance and review all existing government programs and initiatives for strategic alignment, relevance, economic growth and cost effectiveness.

Frequently asked questions

1. What is the expenditure management and efficiency review?

The expenditure management and efficiency review is the process whereby each ministry examines its programs, structures and tools as part of a coordinated approach to protect the key services relied on by people in B.C.

2. What is involved in the expenditure management and efficiency review?

The expenditure management and efficiency review has 4 key areas of focus:

• Programs: Improve our processes to deliver accessible programs that meet the needs of people in British Columbia.
• People: Align employees and teams with priority functions and services.
• Spending: Continue to ensure every public dollar is spent wisely to maximize value.
• Digital: Leverage technology to make it faster and easier for people to access the services they need.

Ministries are currently following a two-phased approach to this work:

Phase 1: Expenditure management review
An assessment of spending and programs led by Treasury Board staff in the Ministry of Finance to identify immediate savings opportunities, and to develop a long-term expenditure management plan. This phase provides the evidence base to inform longer-term and system-level change.

Phase 2: Efficiency review
Integration and continued implementation of savings opportunities identified in Phase 1, and a gradual transition to longer-term sector specific reviews and introduction of a discipline of evaluation. Phase 2 will also begin to establish a cultural shift from a focus on outputs to a focus on outcomes where we regularly assess programs for efficiency, effectiveness and alignment with government priorities.

3. How long will the expenditure management and efficiency review last?

The expenditure management and efficiency review (Phase 1) focuses on developing a long-term plan to manage current expenditures and grow the economy. The plan is expected to take a year or less to develop and will be implemented over several years. The integration phase (Phase 2) runs in parallel with Phase 1 and will continue long-term.

4. Have decisions been made about layoffs?

Currently, layoffs are not being considered. Every effort is being made to achieve budgetary savings through attrition and other measures.

5. Are there plans in place to redeploy or reassign employees?

To help avoid potential layoffs, ministries are strongly encouraged to mobilize talent across the organization to meet service needs and focus on critical work. This may involve the redeployment of employees through means such as lateral transfers, reassignment to new duties or positions, consolidating job duties and organizational restructuring to help yield efficiencies. Provisions regarding lateral transfers outlined in the collective agreements still apply.

6. Will the BC Public Service offer voluntary exit options or incentives?

No decisions have been made to engage in layoffs at this time, including voluntary exits. Voluntary exits have implications for critical talent and knowledge retention, and associated costs. It is possible that voluntary exits may not result in significant savings. The BC Public Service is prioritizing options that give employees paths to stay, as opposed to paths to leave, wherever possible.

7. How will the BC Public Service ensure a focus on reconciliation, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility?

Tools such as Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) and Indigenous GBA+, as well as data from the Anti-Racism Data Committee’s research on racial diversity in the public service, help ensure members of equity-deserving groups are neither adversely nor disproportionately impacted by changes throughout the expenditure management and efficiency review. To further the work of attracting and retaining talent from under-represented parts of the B.C. workforce, internship programs supporting reconciliation, equity, diversity and inclusion (Indigenous Youth Internship Program, Work-Able, Co-op and Youth Employment programs) are exempt from the current hiring pause.

8. Are there metrics or progress indicators for the current hiring pause? Will these be shared with employees?

Key metrics are being tracked to assess how the hiring pause, as well as realignment of internal resources, are working in practice. Indicators are also being monitored to understand the volume and the impact, including:

• Number of hiring requests submitted by each ministry
• Hiring requests approved to post internal and external to the BC Public Service
• Overall employee headcount, to provide context for the findings based on the overall size of the BC Public Service

9. Why does the BC Public Service continue to outsource work to external contractors instead of relying on existing internal talent?

Government is limiting the use of contractors as part of the expenditure management and efficiency review process. Ministries have been directed to carefully examine their discretionary spending, which includes the use of contractors. While government will continue to use contractors for term-limited special projects when existing internal talent is unavailable, hiring external contractors will be limited.

10. The Head of the BC Public Service mentioned leveraging technology to modernize and improve services, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI). What are some examples of how AI may be used in the BC Public Service?

New and better tools and technology, including AI, will help government improve the experience for people accessing benefits and services, and aid the BC Public Service teams delivering them. AI enhances our work; it does not replace it. It frees up time for employees to engage in more meaningful and impactful work. We are committed to using AI responsibly and in accordance with government standards and codes of conduct. Learn more about how AI is currently being used in the BC Public Service.

11. I have suggestions and ideas I would like to share. How will you ensure the privacy or anonymity of ideas submitted by employees?

Feedback form: On April 22, 2025, the Head of the BC Public Service shared a link to a submission form, where employees can anonymously submit their feedback or ideas to support this work. The form does not collect IDIRs or personally identifiable information. A valid IDIR is only required to access the form, but this data is not captured and is never viewable or accessible to those reviewing, organizing and reporting on the ideas. Ideas are not being tracked or linked in any way to personally identifiable information.