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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
Civil Service
The overall responsibility for personnel administration in the civil service lies with the Civil Service Branch of the Government Secretariat, which carries out such functions as manpower and career planning, recruitment, promotion, training, termination of service, discipline, staff housing, conditions of service, staff management and staff relations.
During the 1980-1 financial year, the number of posts in the civil service rose from 141 700 to 153 500, an increase of 8.3 per cent. Recruitment was maintained at a high level and the number of staff employed rose by 7.8 per cent from 129 200 to 139 300. This compares with a strength of 17 500 in 1949, about 47 000 in 1961 and about 81 500 in 1971. The growth of the civil service reflects both the continuing expansion of existing services in line with the increasing population of Hong Kong, and the development of new services to meet changing needs. In April, one in every 17 of the estimated adult working population, or one in 37 of the total population, was employed by the government. Of the total strength, 97.8 per cent were local officers.
Hong Kong has a centralised form of government and the civil service operates some services which in other countries would be administered by local authorities. For example, services such as hospitals, public works and utilities, urban cleaning and public health and the police force are not always provided by the central government. But in Hong Kong, the Medical and Health Department (19 000), the Public Works Department (19 400), the Urban Services Department (24 100) and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force (26 500) account for 58 per cent of the establishment of the entire civil service. The civil service also contains a large proportion of manual workers such as artisans and workmen who account for 39 900 posts or 28.6 per cent of the total establishment.
The cost of the civil service is reflected in the expenditure on personal emoluments, which in the 1981-2 financial year is estimated to be about $5,270 million (excluding pensions) or 35 per cent of the estimated total recurrent expenditure for the year.
Every effort is made by the Civil Service Branch and by government departments to ensure that the strength of the civil service is maintained as close as possible to the full establishment in order that government's social and works programmes will not be held up because of staff shortages. The strengthening of manpower and career planning is seen as an important means of achieving this aim and a new Staff Planning Division was established in the Civil Service Branch in July 1981.
Two major schemes to assist civil servants were introduced in 1981. In March, the Civil Servants' Loan Refinancing Scheme, operated through the Civil Servants' Finance Advi- sory Office, was introduced. The objective of the scheme was to provide a means for indebted civil servants to resolve their financial difficulties so that these do not have an adverse effect on their efficiency and effectiveness as civil servants. In July, the Home Purchase Scheme and the Housing Loan Scheme were announced. These aim to assist civil servants to purchase their own homes.
The Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service is an independent body set up in 1979 to advise the Governor on principles and practices. governing the structure and pay of the civil service, on pay scales for individual grades and on consultative machinery between management and staff in the service. During the year, the commission made recommendations to government on pay scales of certain grades. The commission also started a detailed review of civil service pay policy, benchmarks for entry qualifications, matriculation grades and grades with student ranks.
Since April, 1980, the authority to approve the creation, deletion or re-deployment of posts of non-directorate rank has been delegated to the heads of departments, who are