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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
career planning, appointments, training, discipline, pay and conditions of service, staff management and staff relations.
During the 1981-2 financial year, the number of posts in the Civil Service increased by 9.7 per cent from 153 500 to 168 400. Manual workers such as artisans and work- men account for 43 400 posts or 28.1 per cent of the total establishment. Recruitment was maintained at a high level and the number of staff employed rose by 10.5 per cent from 139 300 to 154 000, of whom 97.9 per cent are local officers. It became apparent during the course of 1982 that a growth rate of this high level could not continue to be sustained for long without creating management problems for the Civil Service. Steps were therefore taken to aim at consolidation rather than allow continued unrestrained growth. The cost of the Civil Service is reflected in the expenditure on personal emoluments which in the 1982-3 financial year is estimated to be about $6,650 million (excluding pensions), or 34 per cent of the estimated total recurrent expenditure for the year. 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.
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. The Civil Service is therefore responsible for providing such services as hospitals, public works and utilities, urban cleansing and public health, and the police force. The departments in charge of these areas, namely the Medical and Health Department (20 100), the Lands and Works group of departments (22 700), the Urban Services Department (26 000) and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force (27 300), account for 57 per cent of the establishment of the entire Civil Service. Care is taken to ensure that new posts are created only in areas of real need.
Since April 1980, the authority to approve the creation, deletion or re-deployment of posts of non-directorate rank has been delegated to heads of departments, who are advised by departmental establishment committees. The creation of posts at directorate rank or of new ranks or grades continues to require the approval of the Establishment Sub-Committee of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council. Recruitment and promotions in the Civil Service in the middle and senior ranks are subject to the advice of the Public Service Commission, which is independent of government. The commission has a full-time chairman and leading citizens are appointed as members on a part-time voluntary basis.
In November 1981, the Home Purchase Scheme and the Housing Loan Scheme were introduced to assist civil servants to purchase their own homes. About 5 200 applications have been received under the Home Purchase Scheme and another 70 under the Housing Loan Scheme.
The government attaches great importance to the training of civil servants so that serving officers meet the operational requirements of departments through acquiring the necessary qualifications, knowledge and skills. The executive arm for implementing this policy is the Civil Service Training Centre (CSTC). During 1982, CSTC offered language courses, mainly in English and Cantonese, and management courses to about 7800 officers. It also provided funds for 800 officers to undertake training overseas, and for another 13 000 officers to attend various courses run by the Hong Kong Technical Institute, the Hong Kong Polytechnic and other local institutions.
The Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service is an independent body appointed to advise the Governor on the principles and practices