3
Secretary and the Financial Secretary operate out of, and through, a central organisation known as the Government Secretariat, whilst the Attorney General's Chambers form part of the Legal Department.
6.
(c) Central government organisation
The Government Secretariat is organised into twelve branches each headed by an official of Secretary rank. Of these twelve branches, ten are so-called policy branches. That is to say, they are concerned with policy in specified programme areas, namely, Home Affairs (including Information and Environmental Affairs); City and New Territories Administration; Security; Economic Services; Monetary Affairs; Lands and Works; Transport; Education; Housing; and Social Services.
are resources branches dealing with personnel (Civil Service Branch) and the public finances (Finance Branch) and they have very important executive functions as well as some policy responsibilities (as, indeed, does the Monetary Affairs Branch).
7.
The remaining two branches
Quite apart from these ten policy and two resource branches there is a Councils and Administration Branch which
is primarily concerned with servicing the Executive and
Legislative Councils. It also manages the Government
Secretariat as a department, as well as certain in-house facilities. Incidentally, it is this branch which is available to provide the Chief Secretary's Office with administrative support.
The Financial Secretary is more closely integrated with the Economic Services, Monetary Affairs and Finance Branches than the Chief Secretary can be with the Government Secretariat as a whole and, whilst the Chief Secretary is head of the Government Secretariat and, in theory, can call upon all branches for assistance, in practice it would be awkward and inconvenient to do so for all purposes.
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