ENG-1983 — Page 342

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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Appropriation Bill which gives legal effect to the annual expenditure proposals contained in the Budget. He is also personally responsible under a number of ordinances for carrying out various executive duties such as setting levels of certain charges and remuneration and overseeing the accounts of certain trust funds and statutory bodies.

Role of the Director of Audit

The audit of all the government's accounts is carried out by the Director of Audit. He also audits the accounts of the Urban Council, the Housing Authority and more than 50 statutory and non-statutory funds and other public bodies, as well as reviewing the financial aspect of the operations of the multifarious government-subvented organisations working in Hong Kong. The director's appointment, tenure of office, duties and powers are prescribed in the Audit Ordinance. To ensure his complete autonomy and independence in the exercise of his functions, the Director of Audit is not a civil servant and the ordinance provides that he shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority. It also prescribes certain safeguards against his dismissal or premature retire- ment from office.

Structure of the Executive

The Executive of the Hong Kong Government is organised into branches and departments. The branches collectively form the Government Secretariat. There are currently 11 policy branches, two resource branches and a branch with specialised functions of administration. Except for the Councils and Administration Branch, which has a director, all branches are headed by secretaries.

The policy branches whose secretaries report direct to the Chief Secretary are Home Affairs, City and New Territories Administration, Security, Housing, Education and Manpower, Lands and Works, Health and Welfare, and Transport. The Civil Service Branch, a resource branch, and the Councils and Administration Branch also come under the aegis of the Chief Secretary. The policy branches whose secretaries report direct to the Financial Secretary are Economic Services, Monetary Affairs, and Trade and Industry. Finance Branch, a resource branch, is also responsible to the Financial Secretary. The head of the Finance Branch is the Deputy Financial Secretary who, despite his title, is of the same rank and status as other secretaries.

With certain exceptions - such as the Audit Department and the Independent Commis- sion Against Corruption, whose independence is safeguarded by their director and commissioner respectively reporting direct to the Governor, the Judiciary, which is the responsibility of the Chief Justice, and the Legal Department, which is the responsibility of the Attorney General - the heads of government departments are responsible to the branch secretaries for the direction of their departments and the efficient implementation of approved government policy. There are currently 59 departments and agencies in this structure. In some instances a branch secretary may have only one executive department in his area of policy responsibility, as in the case of the Secretary for Housing and the Housing Department. In other instances the span of responsibility is wider, for example, 10 departments in the case of the Secretary for Security.

Civil Service

The Civil Service provides the staff for all government departments and other units of the administration. In line with government policy to keep the growth of the service to an absolute minimum, 1983 was a time for consolidation. During the financial year 1982–3,