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63. Peronal Emoluments. Service-wide review of the administration of job-related allowances. In concluding their delibera s on the subject of overpayment of allowances in their Seventh Report issued in December 1984, the Public Accounts Committee stressed the need for adequate review procedures to ensure that allowances are not misapplied, or continued to be applied after eligibility has ceased. The Committee wished to be informed of the results of the special exercises on eligibility which were being carried out by the Secretary for the Civil Service in conjunction with the Director of Accounting Services, and of any recommendations made to improve controls. The Committee also wished to be informed of the results of the review of the principles and practices of all job-related allowances currently being carried out by the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service, including the major recommendations made.
64. The review by the Secretary for the Civil Service, in conjunction with the Director of Accounting Services, of the administration of job-related allowances throughout the civil service has continued steadily since December 1984. The review has concentrated on the procedures for authorizing payments and for subsequently ensuring that authorized payments remain justified. Efforts have also been directed towards reconsidering eligibility of staff currently receiving job-related allowances. Certain weaknesses in procedures have been identified in the course of the review, and action has been taken by the Secretary for the Civil Service and the Director of Accounting Services to counter these weaknesses.
65. The following action has been taken by the Secretary for the Civil Service:
-time limits ranging from one to three years have been imposed on all new approvals, and controlling officers are required to resubmit all cases to the Secretary for the Civil Service before the expiry date for fresh approval in appropriate cases so that the payment of the allowances in question may continue;
--all new approval memoranda issued by the Secretary for the Civil Service have restricted payment to given numbers of staff in specific work situations, and have laid down precise eligibility criteria which must be met before payment can be authorized by controlling officers. Memoranda in similar terms are also being issued in respect of past approvals as these are gradually reviewed and replaced, where justified, by fresh approvals with time limits attached;
-revised civil service regulations governing shift duty allowance have been issued. The civil service regulations relating to other allowances are also being reviewed, particularly in order to emphasize the duty of controlling officers to ensure that all payments are justified, are properly authorized and are kept under regular review; and
---with the aid of payroll data obtained from the Director of Accounting Services, the Secretary for the Civil Service has commenced a comprehensive programme of reviewing the justifications for the payment of all job-related allowances. Attention has so far been concentrated mainly on shift duty allowance and extraneous duty allowance. Work has also started on reviewing eligibility for obnoxious duty allowance throughout the whole service.
The Secretary for the Civil Service has stated that the review exercise is time-consuming since it involves job inspections by staff of the Civil Service Branch, but steady progress is being made. The Secretary has also stated that the work done so far has not revealed any further problems similar to those already commented upon by me and considered by the Public Accounts Committee in their Seventh Report, and that minor discrepancies, where identified, have been rectified immediately. The Secretary has further stated that broadly speaking, the allowance payments so far reviewed have been found to be properly authorized. The Secretary has commented that the review has driven home to controlling officers the need to reappraise allowance payments regularly and to justify all applications for new payments with the greatest care.
66. The following action has been taken by the Director of Accounting Services:
-revised procedures have been instituted for processing allowance payments through the Treasury payroll system. These will have the effect of requiring controlling officers to maintain more accurate records of allowances than hitherto and of strengthening and improving the system of internal control; and
-a start has been made to review job-related allowances by three stages in order to ensure that officers currently in receipt of the allowances are indeed eligible for them. The first stage covering officers in receipt of extraneous duty allowance commenced in March 1985 and the Director of Accounting Services has reported that no serious discrepancies were found. The second stage covering officers in receipt of hardship allowance commenced in August 1985. The third stage covering officers in receipt of other allowances is scheduled to commence in early 1986.
After completion of this three-stage review the Director of Accounting Services will introduce new checking procedures to controlling officers for carrying out six-monthly checks. The Director of Accounting Services has designed new forms for payment of shift duty allowance, requiring controlling officers to quote the relevant authority for payment of the allowance. Without this, claims will not be processed for payment. The Director will also review the input forms for other allowances.
67. With regard to the review of the principles and practices of all job-related allowances currently being carried out by the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service, I have recently been informed by the Secretary for the Civil Service that the Commission is expected to submit its report on the results of the review towards the end of 1985.
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