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I am pleased to know that Members generally approve of our policy of managing the public finances in a prudent manner. I am fully aware that some Members are concerned that Hong Kong needs to maintain its economic competitiveness and that the Government should not allow changes that would cause inefficiency and stifle economic growth. I am also aware that other Members expect us to do more to take care of our working population and the less fortunate members of our society, in particular our elderly population. Some people may think that these two objectives cannot be reconciled. I do not agree. I believe we can strike a balance between maintaining our competitive edge and devoting more of our resources to helping those in need. The Financial Secretary's Budget does that admirably.
This afternoon, the Financial Secretary and my other colleagues will be replying to a number of points raised by Members during the debate, but I would now like to respond to Members' comments on the following subjects - Deregulation, the Efficiency of the Public Sector, the Civil Service, Equal opportunities, Funding for the Arts and the Judiciary.
Deregulation
The question of deregulation was raised by the Hon Martin Barrow and the Hon Vincent Cheng. Hong Kong, as a general rule, is not over-regulated. The Government firmly believes in intervening only when this will bring net economic and social benefits for the community. But there are inevitably areas where; over time, regulatory requirements or the way in which these requirements are applied may need to be reviewed. I have therefore asked the Efficiency Unit to consider how such a review might be carried out in a pragmatic way, drawing on the useful suggestions made by the Hon Martin Barrow.
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Efficiency of the Public Sector
I briefed this Council in February on our comprehensive "Serving the Community" programme and described this as the basis on which the Government would develop a culture that was based on performance and on meeting the needs of our customers - by which we mean those whom we serve directly, either as individuals or as businesses. Much of this work, which is being co-ordinated by the Efficiency Unit, focuses on our developing management and service practices that are customer- friendly to enable people to conduct their business with the Government in an expedient and efficient manner.
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