The cost to split the role of Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service will be revealed when the process is complete, David Burt said yesterday.

The Premier fielded questions on the decision to create two posts in the wake of an announcement on Monday that the roles, held by Derrick Binns, would be divided in line with recommendations from the Sage Commission, which was set up in a bid to improve government efficiency.

Dr Binns will continue in the role of Head of the Civil Service.

Mr Burt said that the final form of the changes had yet to be decided.

He added: “As we are currently looking for a new Cabinet secretary, we will inform the public exactly what the expense to the taxpayer will be.”

Mr Burt criticised Michael Dunkley, the former One Bermuda Alliance premier, who claimed the split would mean a greater burden on the taxpayer.

A Commission of Inquiry report in 2016 called for an independent review of top civil servants for failure to follow strict rules on government contracts.

Mr Burt declined to comment on whether the review was continuing, or if it would influence the shuffle of Civil Service roles.

He said: “Under no circumstances are we going to discuss people’s internal human resource issues.

“Those are confidential matters for human resources. It’s public standard that you don’t discuss internal human resource matters.”

Dr Binns hit out last night at “disparaging comments made recently about senior executives of the public service”.

He said: “The rules under which public officers are required to work prohibit them from speaking publicly, and as a result, they are voiceless in the face of public, often unsubstantiated and unwarranted, attacks.”

He added: “This does not give anyone the right to malign the personal or professional reputation of any public officer.”