CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
Some of these bodies deal with the interests of a particular industry, such as the Telecommunications Standards Advisory Committee. Others advise on a particular area of government policy or public interest, such as the Transport Advisory Committee. Some of these bodies also carry executive functions, such as the Hospital Authority. Other advisory bodies, such as the District Fire Safety Committees and Area Committees, deal essentially with district affairs.
Government officials and members of the public are represented on these bodies. About 5 000 members of the public have been appointed to serve on some 360 bodies, and some serve on more than one. These members are appointed in view of their specialist knowledge or expertise, their record or interest in contributing to community service, and the specific needs of the concerned bodies.
The government regularly keeps in view the composition and operation of the advisory bodies to ensure that they meet the needs of the community. A reasonable turnover of membership is maintained to ensure the inflow of new ideas. At the same time, these bodies adopt a number of transparency measures, including issuing press releases, holding press briefings and opening up meetings, so as to promote the public's understanding of their work. Membership lists of all the advisory bodies are also uploaded onto the Internet to facilitate public inspection of the relevant information.
The Administration
Role of the Chief Secretary for Administration
The Chief Secretary for Administration is responsible to the Chief Executive for the formulation of government policies and their implementation. As the head of the Public Service, the Chief Secretary for Administration is one of the Chief Executive's principal advisers, along with the Financial Secretary and the Secretary for Justice.
The Chief Secretary for Administration exercises direction primarily as head of the Government Secretariat, the central organisation comprising the secretaries of the policy bureaux and resource bureaux and their staff. She deputises for the Chief Executive when he is not able to discharge his duties for a short period, and is the Senior Official Member of the Executive Council.
Role of Financial Secretary
The Financial Secretary, who reports directly to the Chief Executive, is responsible for the government's fiscal and economic policies and regularly attends meetings of the Executive and Legislative Councils. As the government official with primary responsibility for Hong Kong's fiscal, monetary and economic policies, the Financial Secretary oversees the operations of the Finance, Financial Services, Trade and Industry, Economic Services, and Works Bureaux of the Government Secretariat, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. He also chairs the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee.
The Financial Secretary is responsible under the Public Finance Ordinance for laying before the legislature each year the government's estimates of revenue and expenditure. He delivers the annual budget speech, outlining the government's budgetary proposals and moving the adoption of the Appropriation Bill, which gives legal effect to the annual expenditure proposals contained in the budget.
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