cannot at present transfer these unused places from one class to
another. But since the Order does not set out quotas for
individual groups within the classes there is nothing to prevent
them in the second tranche from transferring unused places from a group to that and other groups in the same class They would
like to be able to do this.
•
4. They would also like to see provision made for transfer of
places between classes just in case there is under-subscription
in one class and over-subscription in another. There is concern
primarily that the number of qualified candidates in the SSC and
EC will be smaller than the quota. It is envisaged that any such
transfer would take place in a one-off exercise on a date to be
specified by the Governor. This date would be before completion
of the processing of applications in the relevant group or class
but after the Government had established the size of the unused
quota.
5. The new quotas for the individual groups would take into
account not only their emigration rate (as in the first tranche)
but also their application rate in the first tranche. This would
enable more places to be made available to groups where
competition was keen in the first phase and fewer places where groups had shown less interest. Half of the quota would be
distributed by reference to emigration rates and half by
reference to previous response rates. The practical effect would be that "managers and administrators" would lose places and
"accountants and auditors", amongst others, would gain. In the
DSC the Army and Immigration Service would benefit most from the
places diverted from the police.
6. Another problem they wish to remedy relates to the sub-quota
for "managers and administrators" in the civil service. This
sub-quota was created to protect such civil servants from undue
competition with their counterparts in the private sector,
especially business proprietors. The Scheme takes income as a
better measure of success and value to Hong Kong than length of experience and it was envisaged that civil servants would not be able to compete. They were therefore kept apart and given their