22
Vednesday, April 7, 1976
"Preliminary indications are that about 15 per cent of
the commit.ees can be abolished, or can meet loss frequently, or
be reduced in size. We therefore are alert to the need to
ensure that a committee shall be effective, or be done away with."
Turning to the Hon. .S. Lo's suggestion of devising
some system of bringing order and economy into the "scattered and
uncoordinated ways" the Government subsidised institutions and
people, Sir Denys doubted whether the proposal was a practical
solution.
However, he found obvious attractions in some kind of
a Central Almoner who would have the task of assessing gross,
net and disposable incomes and establishing in a coherent way
entitlements to various kinds of subsidy and public assistance.
The difficulties of instituting a system of this
nature were daunting and yet the possible benefits by way of a
more economical use of public funds and a greater fairness in their
distribution were attractive.
"I shall therefore ask the Secretary for Administration
to institute a study of the problem and of its possible solutions.
In this it would be useful if he were able to consult Unofficial
Members among whom, no doubt, should be the Honourable Mr. Lo,"
he said.
The Colonial Secretary went on to say that the public
service increased in numbers by less than one eighth of one per
cent during 1975/75 and would probably not grow by much more than
this in the coming year.
"These figures should reassure those hembers who are
rightly concerned that the growth of the public service should be
/strictly controlled.....