A newly launched government department in charge of shared services is expected to bring about 15 percent annual cost savings within three years of operation.

Vernon Lee found out that the department under the Finance Ministry, dubbed Vital.org, groups the services of 18 agencies under phase one of its creation.

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About 350 staff in government departments ranging from HR to finance have been transferred from the agencies to form the department which is also known as Centre for Shared Services.

The new department aims to streamline and deliver value-added services by focusing on core competencies.

The 18 participating agencies are expected to reap about 4.5 million dollars of annual cost savings in due course.

Speaking to reporters on the sideline of its launch, Minister of State for Finance and Transport, Lim Hwee Hua, said the public can expect better service delivery from the new government department.

"I suppose the point here is not so much the focus on just saving cost. think it's a question of better utilising the resources that we have and to do work better. Currently, what's happening is that it is fragmented. Each ministry is doing its own HR and finance. It just means resources are spread out. So this whole process is important more in the qualitative sense."

As to the possibility of retrenchment of the services staff from the participating agencies, Ms Lim said currently this is not an issue.

She revealed that about 92 percent of the affected staff from the 18 agencies, have opted to be transferred to the new department.

The remaining ones were redeployed within the agencies.

By April next year, another 20 agencies will participate in the scheme with 200 staff to be transferred to the department.