be welcomed.

She has said such a review should be conducted every five years, but it has not been done in more than a decade, a very long time for any institution.

The fact that current account expenditure -- spending which the Civil Service has the responsibility for executing -- has increased 164 percent from $307.4 million in 1990-1991 to $497,529,000 in the coming year means that reviews to ensure that the public's money is being well spent are essential.

At the same time, Government employs 4,769 people, making it the single largest employer in Bermuda. Interestingly, Government employed 4,721 people in 1990-1991, meaning that staffing levels have not increased materially. That is to be commended, but it may be that manpower can be better distributed in different areas. There are certainly departments of Government which complain of understaffing and there are probably areas where staff do not have enough to do.

It is somewhat surprising that Government, with its commitment to Bermudianisation and the use of Bermudian expertise, has opted to bring in officials from the United Kingdom's Civil Service College to conduct this review.

No-one will doubt that there are people within and without the Civil Service who could make suggestions for the improvement of services and conditions and it may be that those people working on the front lines of the Civil Service would be able to make a major contribution to identifying problems and finding better ways of delivering services.

But Bermuda can also be a small and insular place and there is no harm and a great deal of benefit in bringing in independent expertise to take a long and hard look at the public service and how it is run.

This does not mean that the Bermuda Civil Service will or should be a carbon copy of its UK counterpart; but it is valuable to share notes and take advice from other groups with experience in restructuring and reform.

It is to be hoped that this group will focus on two areas: The delivery of services by the Government and the efficient collection of revenue.

The story in yesterday's newspaper about the previous Government's failure to collect licence fees for cellular phones is a glaring example of where understaffing cost the Government money it was entitled to collect.

At the same time, services can be difficult to secure due to the extraordinary bureaucracy involved and the "nine to five, it can wait until tomorrow'' attitude which permeates some parts, though not all, of the Government. Anyone who has spent hours at the Transport Control Department -- where things do seem to have improved lately, at least when the staff are not working to rule -- trying to renew a licence can attest to that.

If the UK group keeps a tight focus and ensures that it gathers as much information from members of the Civil Service and the public as possible, then this review should be very valuable indeed.

Once the review is complete, the Government could do the Island a great favour and not follow the example of their predecessors by leaving it on the shelf and ignoring its recommendations.