Bermuda’s lack of net debt reduction was flagged as a matter of concern by the Auditor General in her audited financial statements relating to the consolidated fund mentioned in the House of Assembly yesterday.

The annual accounts of the Bermuda Government’s consolidated fund for the year ending March 31, 2014 were given a clean audit opinion for the second consecutive year.

However, the Auditor General Heather Jacobs Matthews included paragraphs as “other matters”, including the increased level of net debt and the need for the Government to take action to address it.

Net public debt increased by $291.6 million during fiscal year 2013-14 and stood at $1.768 billion at the end of the year, representing a 19.7 per cent increase.

Other matters were “ongoing incidents of non-compliance with the Government of Bermuda’s financial instructions; and the preparation of Summary Financial Statements”.

Premier Michael Dunkley said: “The Government shares the auditor’s concerns in these areas and has already started to tackle these matters.

“For instance, Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Finance has already moved to a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which is seeking to eliminate the deficit and ultimately reduce the debt.” The total revenue raised by the consolidated fund for 2013-14 was approximately $883.9 million, representing an increase of $17.3 million, or 2 per cent, from 2012-13.

Also in the House, Tourism Development Minister Shawn Crockwell announced two new appointments to the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission — Judith Hall-Bean and Derek Ramm.

Ms Hall-Bean retired in October 2013 as Assistant Cabinet Secretary and has more than 40 years’ experience in the public service, having served as department director of both human resources and tourism.

Mr Ramm was appointed from overseas and serves as director of anti-money-laundering programmes for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. He is responsible for the oversight of anti-money-laundering compliance at 24 casinos.

They join three other commission members — chairman Alan Dunch, deputy chairman Garry Madeiros and Denis Tucker.

Mr Dunkley tabled a bill titled the Statistics Amendment Act 2015 to postpone the Census for 2015-16 because of budgetary constraints. The total cost incurred to conduct the 2010 Census was $2.9 million.

As a result, an amendment must be made to the Statistics Act 2002, which requires a census of Bermuda’s population every five years.

“It was determined that deferring the Census in 2015 would allow the Government to allocate the funds to more pressing initiatives,” Mr Dunkley said.

Culture Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin announced upcoming events taking place as part of Heritage Month.

This year’s theme is “Bermuda: An Atlantic Garden” and includes glass-bottom boat tours and a guided tour by Andrew Bermingham. Heritage Month culminates with the Bermuda Day Parade on May 25.

• For the full ministerial statements on the Consolidated Fund, Gaming Commission and Statistics Amendment Act, click on the files under “Related Media”.