Commission was expected to come to a conclusion by mid-December 1986. The proposals included the combination vacation and casual leave, the reduction of the leave entitlement of expatriate officers on point 38 and above of the Master Pay Scale in exchange for annual leave and passages and leave passages for local officers on point 51. 6.14 The Secretary hoped that the new leave arrangement would be introduced by mid-1987.
6.15 The Secretary said that new forms for leave applications and the recording of leave earnings had been issued in mid-November 1986. The project definition study on a computerized leave recording system had been completed and would be submitted to the Computer Committee for approval in order to obtain funds. Forms to be introduced with the computerized system would be computer readable.
6.16 The Secretary hoped that rationalization of leave schemes and computerization of the recording system would largely resolve the problems of overstatement of leave entitlements. He agreed however that errors could still exist in a computer system.
6.17 The Secretary said that since November 1985 all departments had been asked to make random checks of their leave records. Initially 5% of entries for the previous three years had been checked. Similar checks would be repeated on a quarterly basis with a view to covering all records in due course. 49 departments had completed random checks and 22 had found no errors. Of the 27 departments where errors were found, full checks had been completed by 11 and were in progress in the remainder. The errors to date had been minor and not related to the calculation of leave eligibility. All had been rectified. The Civil Service Branch had also conducted quality control checks in departments.
6.18 Seminars and training courses for leave clerks had been started by the Civil Service Training Centre. Guidelines had been issued to leave clerks and departments had been advised that an independent check of leave records should be carried out by officers other than those who were responsible for the daily maintenance of the leave records. This work was being monitored by suitable supervisory officers.
6.19 The cost of the overstatement of leave eligibility had not been quantified. The aim had been to rectify errors. The percentage of errors had been low, probably less then 2%. To date only one deliberate error had been found. Disciplinary action had been taken against the officer concerned.
6.20 Conclusions and Recommendations. The Committee believe that rationalization of leave schemes and the new forms for recording leave applications and earnings will facilitate the development of the proposed computerized leave recording system. The Committee therefore hope that computerization will be implemented as soon as possible.
6.21 The Committee wish to be informed of the progress in this matter.
ECONOMIC SERVICES BRANCH
6.22 Paragraphs 113–124. The necessity to exercise budgetary control over the expenditure of the Hong Kong Tourist Association. The Secretary for Economic Services said that with the aim of simplifying the arrangements for the payment of the subvention to the Association, the fixed grant had been removed in 1980-81 and the contribution from the general revenue had been phased out in 1985-86. Although it had been Government's intention to hold the expenditure in real terms to the 1982-83 level, the dramatic increase in the number of tourists from two and a half million in 1981-82 to three and a half million in 1985-86 coupled with increases in hotel accommodation charges over the same period meant that revenue had grown in real terms in excess of the 1982-83 level. The Hotel Accommodation Tax yield had increased from $42 million in 1981-82 to $111 million in 1985–86. Consequently the subvention to the Association from 1982 to 1986 exceeded the guidelines for the containment of public expenditure in other sectors. Following the phasing out of the contribution from the general revenue the whole basis of the subvention to the Association would be reviewed in 1987 with a view to introducing new arrangements from 1988–89 onwards.
6.23 The Secretary said that the Association spent all of their income except for a reserve equivalent to one and a half months' expenditure. The Association's budget was based on anticipated income rather than on an assessment of what it needed to spend. The Association was not subject to the arrangements applied to other subvented organization for controlling expenditure because it was not required to submit its budget for the Government's approval. This was one of the matters to be discussed with the Association in 1987.
6.24 On the salaries and benefits provided by the Association to its staff, the Secretary for Economic Services said that a study comparing staff salaries and benefits with those for similar staff in the civil service had been carried out by management consultants on behalf of the Association. The report had been implemented by the Board of the Association. Consequently while the posts of the Executive Director and the Deputy Executive Director continued to be paid on Government scales, the remuneration packages of the Association were now based on comparison with the private sector. In the light of the results of the recent Government pay level survey, it was unlikely that the staff of the Association were paid more than the civil service.
6.25 Conclusions and Recommendations. The Committee are concerned that the Administration has failed to achieve its stated objective of holding the Hong Kong Tourist Association's expenditure in real terms to the 1982-83 level.
6.26 The Committee recommend that the Hong Kong Tourist Association Ordinance be amended to require the Hong Kong Tourist Association to submit for the Government's approval its proposed programme of activities and annual estimates of income and expenditure. This amendment should be introduced as soon as possible.
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