ENG-2002 — Page 47

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

the HKSAR. Other candidates are considered when there is no fully qualified and suitable permanent resident candidate and where permissible under the Basic Law.

Subject to the above policy, appointment to the Civil Service is based on open and fair competition which aims to recruit the 'best person for the job'. Promotion is performance-based and is not a reward for long service. As the largest employer in Hong Kong, the Government takes the lead in employing people with a disability to help them integrate into the community and ensure that they are given equal opportunity in recruitment to the Civil Service.

The Government monitors closely the turnover in the Civil Service for manpower planning purposes. Overall wastage of the Civil Service in 2001-02 was 5.7 per cent. The increase in the number of people leaving the service was mainly due to the implementation of the Voluntary Retirement Scheme and the Voluntary Departure Scheme. The former was launched in July 2000 to allow eligible civil servants belonging to designated grades with identified or anticipated staff surplus to retire from the service voluntarily, with retirement benefits and compensation. The latter was implemented in March 2000 to enable civil servants in designated grades in the Housing Department to leave the service voluntarily to facilitate a phased transfer of Housing Authority estate management and maintenance services to the private sector. Given the importance of continuity at the management level, the Government has a well-established staff planning mechanism to review succession planning of senior staff and to identify and groom officers with potential for advancement to senior management, in order to develop a pool of talent for senior positions.

The Government values regular communication and consultation with staff. There are four consultative councils at the central level: Senior Civil Service Council, Model Scale 1 Staff Consultative Council, Disciplined Services Consultative Council and Police Force Council. More than 80 consultative committees operate at the departmental level. A Civil Service Newsletter is published regularly to provide an added link with serving and retired civil servants.

Staff commitment and contributions are recognised in various forms including appreciation letters, commendations and honours or awards. Long Service Travel Awards, Long and Meritorious Service Awards and retirement souvenirs are given to long-serving staff. An Outstanding Customer Service Excellence Award Scheme was launched in 2002 to recognise the efforts and achievement of departments/bureaux and their staff in providing quality customer service to the public and to further promote a customer-focused culture in the Civil Service.

Civil Service Reform

In March 1999, the Government released a Consultation Document on Civil Service Reform. The main objective was to put forward proposals to modernise the administration of the Civil Service so as to make it more flexible and prepare staff to face the changes and increasingly demanding challenges in the years ahead and meet the demands of society. As a result of feedback received during the consultation, the Government has drawn up more detailed proposals in the various policy areas for detailed discussion with the Staff Sides and department/grade management through working groups with staff representatives.

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