6.21 With regard to the review currently being undertaken by the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service on the principles and practices of all job-related allowances, the Secretary for the Civil Service said that the Standing Commission had completed its report and he expected to receive the recommendations early in 1986. The Secretary understood that the Standing Commission had done a very comprehensive job and that its report would be made public.
6.22 The Committee asked whether the payment of allowances could be dispensed with. The Secretary for the Civil Service commented that the practice provided a flexible method of rewarding officers for doing particular jobs or for undertaking additional duties which were not part of their terms and conditions of service. The Secretary acknowledged that the system was complex and expensive but without it, it would be necessary to write job specifications and attach a salary to each different job. This would be an impossible task. The Secretary for the Civil Service believed that the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service also felt that the allowances system had a valuable function.
6.23 Conclusions and Recommendations. The Committee are pleased to note the achievements so far by the Secretary for the Civil Service and the Director of Accounting Services.
6.24 The Committee note that the Secretary for the Civil Service has reviewed the justification for shift duty allowance in 28 departments and that 24 departments have been given a clean bill of health; and that work is now in hand in the remaining departments. The Committee note that, in regard to the extraneous duty allowances, the Secretary for the Civil Service has completed his review of 32 types and new approval memoranda have been issued for the justified ones; and that the review of the justifications for the obnoxious duty allowance should be completed within two years. The Committee wish to be informed of progress by the Secretary for the Civil Service on the outstanding items.
6.25 The Committee note that action by the Director of Accounting Services on the review of the extraneous duty allowance is now substantially complete; that the review of the hardship allowance should be completed within six months; that the review of other job-related allowances should be completed by September 1986; that some progress has been made in introducing the revised checking procedures for carrying out the six-monthly checks but that some further work needs to be done which requires detailed consideration; and that the revision of the input forms for the other allowances will be completed within nine to twelve months. The Committee wish to be informed of further progress by the Director of Accounting Services on the outstanding items.
6.26 The Committee request that they be informed of the results of the review presently being carried out by the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service of the principles and practices of all job-related allowances, including the major recommendations made.
6.27 The Committee recommend that early action be taken to finalize action on the overpayments in the Regional Services Department, the Medical and Health Department and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department. These are referred to in paragraph 68 of the Director of Audit's report for the year ended 31 March 1985.
6.28 Paragraphs 154-162. Abuses and irregularities in the scheme for private dental treatment for civil servants. Commenting on the Director of Audit's report, the Secretary for the Civil Service explained that the abuses and irregularities concerned two groups of people. The first group consisted of the civil servants and disciplinary action had been taken on and money recovered from over 300 of them. In the cases of other civil servants, it was not easy to establish blame because of the difficulty in producing evidence and the fact that it was not always known by the officers themselves what treatment had been carried out on them by the dentists. He said that the second group of people was the dentists. The vast majority of abuses had been perpetrated by two dentists who had been referred to the Dental Council. He said that one case had already been heard and that it had been decided that subject to appeal, the dentist should be struck off the list of dental practitioners for one year. Investigations against the other dentist were still being pursued in conjunction with the Legal Department. It was expected that this case would be brought before the Dental Council as well.
6.29 In view of the number of abuses by these two dentists, the Committee asked whether there might have been collusion with their patients. The Secretary for the Civil Service said that it was probable that the civil servants were not fully aware of the treatment given to them and that they were very much at the mercy of the dentists concerned; for example, there were cases where the dentist had drilled sound teeth and refilled them. When asked what action had been taken against those civil servants found to have abused the scheme, the Secretary for the Civil Service explained that they had been reprimanded which in civil service terms was a severe punishment because it affected their promotion chances. On being asked whether it was really true that the other officers concerned were unaware of the treatment given to them, the Secretary added that it was quite possible for more than one filling to be made in a single tooth and that it was difficult to take disciplinary proceedings when there was doubt about an officer's knowledge of the treatment received by him.
6.30 The Director of Audit said that the two dentists had submitted a total of 520 questionable claims amounting to $900,000. Of those less than half the number and amount had actually been paid. Having regard to the fact that the amount of $900,000 was relatively insignificant compared to the $161 million paid out under the scheme, the Secretary for the Civil Service was asked whether other dentists might have abused the scheme. The Secretary said that this was probable but very careful investigation by both the Medical and Health Department and the Legal Department had not produced enough evidence to warrant proceedings against other dentists.
6.31 The Secretary for the Civil Service was then asked why the proceedings against the dentists had taken so long. He explained that the problem of collecting evidence inevitably took time and that he would proceed as soon as possible.
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