CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
whose secretaries report directly to the Financial Secretary are: Economic Services, Monetary Affairs, Trade and Industry, and Works. The Finance Branch, a resource branch, is also responsible to the Financial Secretary.
With certain exceptions, the heads of government departments are responsible to the branch secretaries for the direction of their departments and the efficient implementation of approved government policy. The exceptions are the Audit Department and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, whose independence is safeguarded by their heads reporting directly to the Governor, the Judiciary, which is the responsibility of the Chief Justice, and the Legal Department, which is the responsibility of the Attorney General. There are currently 68 departments and agencies in this structure.
To assist in the co-ordination of government policy, there are, under the umbrella of the Chief Secretary's Committee, seven policy groups which bring together branch secretaries in related programme areas. The six, which are chaired by the Chief Secretary, are: Com- munity Affairs; Constitutional Affairs; Lands, Works, Transport, Housing and Environ- mental Protection; Public Service; Social Services; Legal and Security. The Legal Affairs Policy group is chaired by the Attorney General.
Office of the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints
The Commissioner for Administrative Complaints (COMAC) is an independent authority established in 1989 under the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints Ordinance to provide for citizens some means whereby an independent person outside the public service can investigate and report on grievances arising from administrative decisions, acts, recommendations or omissions. COMAC has jurisdiction over all government departments and the Hospital Authority, except the Royal Hong Kong Police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption for which there are separate systems to deal with complaints from the public. A complaint lodged with the Commissioner has to be referred to him by a member of the Legislative Council other than an official member and with the complainant's agreement to such a referral.
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Between January 1 and December 31, 1992, a total of 143 complaints were received by the office. Together with 54 cases carried over from the previous year, there were in all 197 cases for investigation. During the year, 154 cases were completed. Of these, 113 were investigated, and nine (8.0 per cent) were found to be substantiated in whole and 32 (28.3 per cent) in part. In 72 cases (63.7 per cent), the complaints were found to be unsubstantiated.
In the cases received during the year, the areas which attracted substantial numbers of complaints related to error or wrong decision, followed by lack of response to complaint, negligence or omission, rudeness, delay and faulty procedures. In terms of complaints by department, the Building and Lands Department, the Housing Department and the Inland Revenue Department received most complaints, followed by the Urban Services Department, the Correctional Services Department, the City and New Territories Administration, the Government Secretariat, the Fire Services Department and the Hospital Authority. These departments have much contact with members of the public and are more vulnerable to complaints than the others.
In mid-1992, the government undertook a review of the COMAC redress system to identify areas where improvements might be made to strengthen its role as a safeguard against government maladministration. After a three-month public consultation exercise, the government proposed to make a number of major changes to the system. They include
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