TNAG-2329-FCO40-3373-Hong-Kong-contacts-with-academics-and-writers-1991 — Page 112

"There are further plans for devolution, including giving Heads of

Department the financial and administrative responsibility for the professional training of their staff.

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Much of what I hear in Hong Kong in this regard has parallels in civil service reform in the United Kingdom since 1979. Four ideas, among others, are relevant; and it may be that the relevant United Kingdom experience could be made available to Hong Kong.

5.16.

The British Prime Minister's Efficiency Unit

5.17.

This unit has been described in "The Changing Face of Whitehall, Politics Briefing No. 8, by the Constitutional Reform Group", following terms:

-

in the

"One of Mrs. Thatcher's earliest reforms was the creation of a

small 'Efficiency Unit', located originally in her own Private Office. Its brief was to undertake scrutinies of the running costs of a wide range of departmental programmes and activities. Scrutinies often took the form of highly detailed studies of small areas of departmental operations. They were carried out to tight deadlines by high fliers within the department targeted, subject to the approval of its ministerial head

Scrutinies produced large savings in ciɣjl service running costs just under £1 bn in the period 1979-86.

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Critics of the Efficiency Unit have pointed out that many of the proposals made by the various scrutinies were never implemented. It has been argued also that there was too much concern with cutting costs and relative neglect of the end product. Few would

deny the overall ̧ɣalue

allyalue of the exercise, however, and it encouraged

further reform.

I think that the "Efficiency Unit's" experience may indeed be relevant

think to Hong Kong. I imagine that the Unit will have a life under Mr. John Major.

The "Next Steps" Report

RIPALIS, the computerised RIPA Information Service has reported that:-

(a) The Efficiency Unit's report to the Prime Minister entitled 'The

Next Steps' proposed the gradual division of the civil service into a small, central division concerned exclusively with departmental policy advice, while the majority of departmental functions, concerned with administration and delivery of public services, would be 'hived off' to semi-autonomous agencies ("executive agencies").