TNAG-1362-FCO40-1808-Hong-Kong-Hansard-reports-and-minutes-of-the-meetings-of-the-1985 — Page 195

3

5.

But the Civil Service is not a vast inchoate

mass: it is a dynamic organisation comprising more than

60 departments and free standing agencies, engaged in an

immense range of activities and manned by a variety of

departmental grades and common service cadres. So I pick

up a point made

by

Mr P K Yeung: in OUT desire to

contain the size of the Civil Service, work pressures

which are sometimes, inevitably, unevenly spread and

morale, particularly at middle and lower levels, must not

be casually overlooked.

6.

Mr P K Yeung also spoke of the valuable work of

the Director of Audit in drawing attention to waste and

inefficiency wherever it Occurs. May I assure Mr Yeung

that the Director's criticisms do not fall on deaf ears.

The Public Accounts Committee makes certain of that!

Indeed, as systems and procedures are progressively

improved, there have been fewer instances of uncollected

revenue and wasted expenditure. While there is no room

for complacency, it is significant how relatively

irregularities there are having regard to the very large

volume of transactions entered into each year.

few

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