TNAG-1073-FCO40-1323-Policy-of-the-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-education-including-1981 — Page 264

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Party eventually found it necessary to widen the scope of its terms of

reference to encompass senior secondary and tertiary education, its

report becoming the basis of the 1977 Green Paper. This approach to the

production of a green paper was considered an advance on existing

procedure, reflecting the gradual development of a more sophisticated

decision-making process within the government. Somewhat more elaborate

arrangements are considered necessary when the policy field is more

complex and far-ranging. When a decision was taken on the need to

review primary education and pre-primary services, for example, two

inter-departmental working parties were set up, their membership reflecting

the different administrative responsibilities for the two areas of policy.

(Executive responsibility for all pre-primary services other than

kindergarten education lies with the Social Welfare Department.) The

two groups were co-ordinated by a steering committee chaired by the

Secretary for Social Services, who has overall policy responsibility for

these fields.

4.4

Working parties whose deliberations are likely to result in

green papers do not normally invite public representations (though they

take account of any received): they proceed rather by means of consultation

with appropriate official bodies or specialist advisers (the 1977 Working

Party, for instance, obtained specialist advice on the economics of

education from a consultant from the United Kingdom), by commissioning

studies from officials, and where necessary, by discreetly sounding out

the reaction of interested groups to proposals under consideration,

especially where sensitive issues are concerned. Such working parties

are basically groups of civil servants drawing upon one another's

knowledge and experience and with access to a wide range of government

services during the course of their deliberations. In the majority of

cases, however, working parties do not work towards the production of a

green paper and in order to ensure a fair representation of views in such

cases, membership is broadened to include non-officials serving in a