CO129-599-2 Salaries Commission- 1947 Report 1-1-1947 - 31-12-1949 — Page 33

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should not be charged for fuel and light. This recommendation is intended to compensate them for the austerity of barrack accommodation and the fact that if they are married their families will require quarters, fuel and light clsewhere.

Hardlying Allowanco.

50.

Hardlying allowance is at present payable to Police officers stationed in the New Territories, to the crews of Police cruising launches and to boarding officers and assistant inspectors of junks when on duty afloat in connexion with typhoons or other emergencies. We see no justification for the payment of hardlying allowance to any Government officer permanently stationed in the Now Territories or outlying parts of the island such as Capo D'Aguilar provided that reasonable use of Government transport is permitted to enable him to make periodic visits to Hong Kong or Kowloon. Nor do we consider that hardlying allowances should be paid to the crews of Police cruising launches or to Harbour Office employees on duty afloat. We recognise, however, that such officers have their homes ashore and are in consequence put to extra expense when on duty for over 24 hours at sea and we recommend that they should receive field allowance.

Field Allowance.

51.

The present scale of field allowance set out in General Order 104 and the conditions under which it is payable appear to us to require revision. When an officer is compelled by the nature of his work to sloop away from his headquarters he may reasonably be expected to incur additional expenditure on food, particularly if the period during which he is away is a short one. In addition he may or may not be put to additional expense in rospect of sleeping accommodation. An inspector of vernacular schools inspecting an outlying part of the Now Territories might, for example, incur additional expenditure in respect of both beard and lodging, but a Police officer on a cruising launch would not be put to any exponse for his lodging while afloat. We recommend, therefore, that in future field allowance should be redesigned to cover the additional cost of food while an officer is compelled to sleep away from his headquarters and that a separate lodging allowance at appropriate rates should be granted to officers who are compelled to pay for overnight accommodation.

Boot Allowance.

52.

We recommend the abolition of boot allowance and the issue instead from Government Stores on an approved scale of boots or shoes or suitable pattern.

Entertaiment Allowance.

53.

We have received representations from several Heads of Departments who are in the course of their official duties called upon to entertain visiting officials of other Governments, that an entertainment allowance should be provided for in their departmental votes from which they or officers of their departments

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