C.S. 166
CONFIDENTIAL # #
For discussion
on 20th September 1977
機密
XCC(77)71
Copy No. 34. of 80
Page 1 of 6
MEMORANDUM FOR EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
USE OF IDENTITY CARD NUMBER IN GOVERNMENT RECORD KEEPING
HKK 413
3.1
NO. 51
23 SEP 1977
DESK
RESISTRY
an Tare
INDEX
Introduction
چند
In order to provide an effective service to the people of Hong Kong, it is necessary for the Government to record accurate details of individuals. Currently about 40 million personal records are being held in various Government systems which have been or are about to be computerised. Additionally, there is a large number of personal records held in manual systems. A survey has recently been carried out which has established that these records unfortunately suffer from serious deficiencies, largely because of the difficulty of updating them quickly and efficiently.
Duplication of personal data and other deficiencies of the present system
2
Most Government departments hold data about people and this data is updated independently. There is no effective way by which updating or additional material received by one department can be relayed to other departments. The result is that, of the 40 million records of varying accuracy which are held (or are about to be held) in computer systems, there is probably a real need for only about 6 million because of duplicated and redundant details. And a similar situation almost certainly exists in the Government's many manual record systems. Most of the duplication is in respect of basic identification data such as name, address, date of birth, sex and marital status.
3
There are many examples of duplication of personal data which can occur either in different departments' records or in different sets of records held by one department. Among those departments whose records have been examined, there is a high degree of duplication and redundancy in the files held by the Registration of Persons and those held by other sections of the Immigration Department; there is duplication in the public housing records of the Housing Department because of the inability uniquely to identify people; details of the registration of births, marriages and deaths are held separately in the Registrar General's Department and frequently cannot be related; data on pupils and parents held in the Education Department is duplicated and similar duplication exists in the records of the Royal Hong Kong Folice Force and those of the Inland Revenue Department. It is almost certain that similar duplication of personal data exists in departmental records which have not yet been
CONFIDENTIAL
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