CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
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labouring staff, and nearly 34,770 of the total establishment of the Public Service are labourers, semi-skilled labourers or artisans of one kind or another. The Public Service of the Hong Kong Govern- ment is somewhat unusual in that it includes the staff for certain activities which in other territories and administrations are carried out by people who do not belong to the Civil Service. For example, in other territories staff for hospitals, public works and utilities, urban cleansing and public health, and the police, are not always servants of the central Government. In Hong Kong, the establish- ments of the Medical and Health Department (10,150 posts), the Public Works Department (9,966 posts), the Urban Services Depart- ment (13,534 posts) and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force (14,264 posts) account for a total of 47,914 posts or about 60 per cent of the total establishment of the Service.
The growth in the size of the Service from just over 17,500 in 1949 to about 45,000 in 1959 and now to its present total strength of over 79,900 reflects not only the continuing expansion of existing services, in line with the continuing expansion of the population, but also the development of new and more diverse services to meet the changing needs of the population. However, in recent years, there has been some slowing down of the rate of expansion and it now stands at about three per cent per annum.
The cost of the Public Service is reflected in the expenditure on personal emoluments. For the financial year 1970-1 the estimated expenditure on personal emoluments, excluding pensions, is about $891 million. This represents approximately 48 per cent of the estimated recurrent expenditure, or approximately 37 per cent of the estimated total expenditure included in the Budget.
The establishment of each post in the Public Service requires the approval of the Finance Committee of Legislative Council, assisted by the advice of its Establishment Sub-Committee, which examines all requests received from departments for additional posts, both for new projects and to meet increasing work-loads, to ensure that staff is properly utilised and that new posts are provided only when they are essential.
Recruitment and promotions to the Public Service are, with cer- tain exceptions, subject to the advice and overall scrutiny of the