ENG-1973 — Page 293

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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This indicates that about one person in every 40 in Hong Kong is employed by the government. There is a large proportion of labouring staff, and nearly 37,078 of the total establishment of the public service are labourers, semi-skilled labourers or artisans of one kind of another. The public service of the Hong Kong Government is somewhat unusual in that it includes the staff for certain activities which in other territories and administrations are carried out by people who do not belong to the civil service. For example, in other territories staff for hospitals, public works and utilities, urban cleansing and public health, and the police, are not always servants of the central government. In Hong Kong, the establishments of the Medical and Health Department (13,282), the Public Works Department (15,300), the Urban Services Department (17,366) and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force (17,823) account for a total of 63,771 posts, or about 61 per cent, of the total establishment of the service.

The service has grown from a little more than 17,500 in 1949 to about 45,000 in 1959 and to its present strength of more than 90,000. This reflects not only the continuing expansion of existing services, in line with the continuing expansion of the population, but also the development of new and more diverse services to meet the changing needs of the population.

The cost of the public service is reflected in the expenditure on personal emolu- ments. For the financial year 1973-4 the estimated expenditure on personal emolu- ments, excluding pensions, is about $1,371 million. This represents approximately 31 per cent of the estimated total expenditure included in the Budget.

The establishment of each post in the public service requires the approval of the Finance Committee of Legislative Council, assisted by the advice of its establishment sub-committee, which examines all requests received from departments for additional posts, both for new projects and to meet increasing work-loads, to ensure that staff is properly utilised and that new posts are provided only when they are essential.

Recruitment and promotions to the public service are, with a few exceptions, subject to the advice of the Public Services Commission, which was set up in 1950 and is independent of the government. The commission also advises the government on discipline cases. Sir Ronald Holmes, is the full-time chairman of the commission, and leading citizens are appointed as members on a part-time voluntary basis.

Overall responsibility for recruitment, promotion, training and conditions of service in the public service is exercised by the Civil Service Branch of the Colonial Secretariat.

Conclusion

The system of public administration described in this chapter is an unusual one for a sophisticated community such as Hong Kong, but it is well suited to local conditions and the economic and social progress made since the war indicates that it works with a substantial degree of efficiency. The government, though prevented