EC(97-98)66
For discussion
on 6 February 1998


ITEM FOR ESTABLISHMENT SUBCOMMITTEE OF
FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 142 - GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT: OFFICES OF THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION AND THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY
Subhead 001 Salaries

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the creation of the following supernumerary directorate posts for a period of three years with effect from 1 March 1998 to
28 February 2001 -

1 Director of Bureau
(D8) ($181,050)

1 Administrative Officer Staff Grade B
(D3) ($127,900 - $135,550)

1 Administrative Officer Staff Grade C
(D2) ($110,000 - $116,800)

1 Government Town Planner
(D2) ($110,000 - $116,800)


PROBLEM

We need to -

  1. bring the organisation of the Central Policy Unit (CPU) in line with the existing situation;

  2. enhance support for the increased level of research activities; and

  3. provide secretariat support for the Commission on Strategic Development.

PROPOSAL

2. We propose to create the following four supernumerary posts for a period of three years with effect from 1 March 1998 -

  1. one post of Director of Bureau (D8) to bring the organisation of the Unit in line with the existing situation;

  2. one additional Administrative Officer Staff Grade C (AOSGC) (D2) post to enhance support for the increased level of research activities; and

  3. one post of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B (AOSGB) (D3) and one post of Government Town Planner (GTP) (D2) to provide secretariat support for the Commission on Strategic Development.

JUSTIFICATION

Role and structure of the CPU

3. The CPU was established in April 1989. The objective of the CPU is to provide an alternative source of advice to meet the special requirements of the Unit's three clients : the Chief Executive, the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Financial Secretary.

4. The Unit undertakes examination of complex policy issues, particularly those that straddle several policy bureaux, analyses options and recommends practical solutions. Before coming up with advice, the Unit consults widely with business and professional circles, political organisations, special interest groups, the academic community, and in particular, its network of part-time members.

5. CPU's organisation is designed to allow maximum flexibility and speed in responding to requests for analysis and recommendations. The membership of the Unit includes both full-time and part-time members, within and outside the Government. At the time of its establishment, the Unit had four full-time members, four researchers and 15 supporting staff. With increasing workload of the Unit arising from the increase in ad hoc assignments and the rising need for speedy analyses, the number of full-time members and supporting staff has increased to five and 16 respectively, while the number of researchers remained unchanged. The five full-time member posts comprise four non-civil service posts, of which one was the Head of the Unit, and one member from the civil service designated as the Deputy Head. The four Researchers comprise two Senior Administrative Officers (SAOs) and two other recruited from outside the civil service. The remaining 16 posts consist of statistical, executive, clerical and secretarial grade officers. The existing organisation chart of CPU is at Enclosure 1.

6. After its establishment, the Unit took up the additional role of assisting in the preparation of the annual Policy Address. From 1994, we have included two Policy Address related documents, namely the Policy Commitments and Legislative Programme, in the annual exercise. Starting from 1995, we have also issued annually a Progress Report to reflect the progress on the Government's pledges. The Unit has been co-ordinating the compilation and production of these three documents. With the additional work generated from this annual exercise, which increased in volume and complexity in the last few years, the two SAOs' main area of work has shifted to the Policy Address exercise and related matters while the other two non-civil service Researchers concentrated on research work.

7. A recent development affecting the work of the Unit is that the Chief Executive announced in his 1997 Policy Address the setting up of a Commission on Strategic Development. The Commission is tasked to review a wide range of issues to ensure that the limited resources of Hong Kong are well used, that Hong Kong keeps up with world trends in competitive terms and that the vitality of Hong Kong's economic development is maintained. The Chief Executive further announced on 16 January 1998 the appointment of the Commission and that the CPU will be responsible for the secretariat support for the Commission and the monitoring of the related studies.

8. With recent change in the staffing of the Unit as well as new and enhanced activities, the CPU requires additional staff at directorate level to discharge its duties effectively.

Creation of a supernumerary Director of Bureau (D8) post

9. When the Unit was established in 1989, the Head of the Unit was a non-civil service appointee. His remuneration package (salary adjusted by reference to the annual percentage increase approved for a D8 officer in the civil service) was on negotiated terms to enable the recruitment of persons of the right calibre. Since 4 August 1997, we have appointed a Director of Bureau to lead the Unit after the former Head, CPU completed his agreement. We therefore propose to freeze the existing provision for the employment of a non-civil servant Head and create an additional Director of Bureau (D8) post within the administrative service to reflect the present staffing arrangement in CPU.

10. We will create the Director of Bureau post on a supernumerary basis for an initial period of three years. This is to provide flexibility for Government to review the situation at a later stage as to whether the Unit should continue to be headed by a civil servant. The Government should be in a position to appoint a non-civil servant to head the Unit should it be so decided. The job description of the Head, CPU is at Enclosure 2.

Creation of one additional supernumerary Administrative Officer Staff Grade C (D2) post

11. With the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Administration has to face new challenges. It is important for the Government's policies to continue to meet the aspirations of the community, taking into account constraints and opportunities both within and outside Hong Kong. We need to bring together experts, political groups and concerned parties in the community to discuss issues in an open and constructive manner so as to provide the best advice for CPU's clients. For that purpose, we have to organise more public conferences and workshops (some of which involve international academia and experts) to encourage discussion on topics of community concern and promote experience and knowledge sharing. Public reaction to the conferences organised so far has been very positive, and the Unit plans to increase the number of such conferences from three in 1997-98 to eight to ten in 1998-99. The Unit also needs to step up liaison with both local and overseas think tanks, policy research institutes and academics to exchange ideas.

12. The existing staff of the Unit cannot absorb the increased level of activities described above. At present, the Deputy Head of the Unit is responsible for leading the research team, liaison with business and professional circles, political organisations, special interest groups and the academic community, as well as overseeing the smooth running of the Unit. In addition, the Deputy Head co-ordinates the arrangements and discussion papers for the regular meetings with the 35 part-time members of the Unit. Furthermore, the Deputy Head is heavily involved in co-ordinating the activities related to the annual Policy Address exercise. The job description of the Deputy Head is at Enclosure 3.

13. As regards the non-civil service full-time members, their tasks are to lead specific, ad hoc projects assigned to them according to their expertise. They are required to review the background to a policy problem, develop alternative options for resolving the problem, recommend a solution to the problem and liaise as necessary with parties inside and/or outside the Administration. They need to work under very tight time frame and do not have the spare capacity to take on additional duties. The job description of the non-civil service full-time members is at Enclosure 4.

14. To cater for the expansion of the Unit's research and related activities, the Unit will need an additional Research Director dedicated to these areas of work. The Research Director will be responsible for co-ordinating research work in economic, social, and political issues to provide better support to CPU's clients, stepping up liaison with both local and overseas think tanks, policy research institutes and academics to exchange ideas, and the organisation of public conferences and workshops. Given that the research subjects are highly complex and straddle the policy areas of a number of Policy Bureaux, and that the public conferences and workshops will involve contacts with world-class experts and academia, we consider it appropriate to create an additional AOSGC (D2) post as the Research Director. The detailed job description of the Research Director is at Enclosure 5.

Creation of supernumerary directorate posts to provide secretariat support for the Commission on Strategic Development

15. The Chief Executive announced in his 1997 Policy Address the setting up of a Commission on Strategic Development, which he will chair personally. The Commission would conduct studies on Hong Kong's resources and potential for further development. There will be a series of studies on the long-term planning scenarios and implications on different policy areas.

16. The Chief Executive further announced on 16 January 1998 the appointment of the Commission and that the CPU will undertake the secretarial support and monitoring of related studies. To take on this extra task, we propose to create supernumerary directorate posts of one AOSGB (D3) and one GTP (D2). We will also create six other non-directorate posts to support the Secretariat of the Commission. We set out the detail of the non-directorate posts at Enclosure 6.

AOSGB (D3) Post

17. The proposed AOSGB will serve as secretary to the Commission. He will head the secretariat, oversee the studies initiated by the Commission, provide steer to consultants, co-ordinate with Bureaux and Departments in conducting specific studies and produce discussion papers for the Commission. The Commission's work will involve studies in the longer term beyond the present planning horizon. Issues to be considered cover local as well as Mainland and global trends and developments. Furthermore, the issues will cover different policy areas and require cross-bureaux consideration and assessment. In view of the complexity of the studies, and that close co-ordination will be required with different Bureaux and Departments, we consider it appropriate for the Secretary of the Commission to be pitched at AOSGB (D3) level. The job description for the post is at Enclosure 7.

GTP (D2) Post

18. We anticipate that the studies to be conducted by the Commission will involve complicated, planning-related issues. For those studies on subjects on long term plans for land use, infrastructural development and housing, we will require a professional town planner to monitor closely the progress of these studies and provide a steer on a daily basis to consultants on these issues. In light of the level and complexity of the work to be involved, we consider it appropriate for the post to be pitched at GTP (D2) level. The job description of the GTP is at Enclosure 8.

19. We will need the three posts of AOSGB, AOSGC and GTP for an initial period of three years to allow a reasonable period for the new organisational structure to run-in and for the Unit to review its structure to ensure that its staffing level and organisation effectively meet the Unit's requirements. A proposed organisation chart of the CPU to take account of all proposed posts is at Enclosure 9.

20. The creation of a supernumerary Director of Bureau post will not give rise to any additional financial implications. Funds for remuneration of the Head of the Unit are currently provided under Subhead 108 Remuneration for special appointments of Head 142 Government Secretariat : Offices of the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Financial Secretary. Subject to Finance Committee's approval of the creation of the Director of Bureau post, we will freeze the existing provision for the employment of a non-civil servant Head included under Subhead 108.

21. The additional notional annual salary cost of the proposed creation of the other three posts at MID-POINT is -

$

No. of Posts

New supernumerary post

4,302,000

3

The additional full annual average staff cost of the proposal, including salaries and staff on-costs, is $7,590,696. In addition, this proposal will necessitate the creation of six non-directorate posts to support the senior officers as mentioned in paragraph 16, at an additional notional annual mid-point salary cost of $2,305,920 and an additional full annual average staff cost of $3,734,280. We have not included any provision in the 1997-98 Estimates to meet the cost of this proposal, which is estimated at $358,500 for the remainder of the year. Subject to Members' approval, we shall provide the supplementary provision required under delegated authority. We have included sufficient provision for this purpose in the 1998-99 draft Estimates.

22. Civil Service Bureau recognises the need to provide four supernumerary directorate posts under the new organisational structure of the CPU for an initial period of three years. The grading and ranking of the proposed posts are appropriate and commensurate with their administrative and professional responsibilities.

23. As the directorate posts are proposed on a supernumerary basis, their creation, if approved, will be reported to the Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Service in accordance with the agreed procedure.


Central Policy Unit
Offices of the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Financial Secretary
January 1998

Enclosure 2 to EC(97-98)66

Job Description for Head, Central Policy Unit
(Ranked at Director of Bureau)

The Head, Central Policy Unit is responsible for :

  1. Overseeing the work of the Central Policy Unit, undertaking in-depth examination of complex policy issues, analysing options and recommending solutions for the Chief Executive, the Chief Secretary for Administration or the Financial Secretary;

  2. co-ordinating the annual Policy Address exercise; and

  3. working on jobs assigned by the Financial Secretary in relation to the annual Budget Exercise.

Enclosure 3 to EC(97-98)66

Job Description for Deputy Head, Central Policy Unit

Main duties and responsibilities:

  1. Act as team leader for any specific projects assigned to him by the Head of the Unit;

  2. assist the Head, CPU in co-ordinating the annual Policy Address exercise;

  3. assist the Head, CPU in work assigned by the Financial Secretary in relation to the annual Budget Exercise;

  4. maintain liaison contact with Executive and Legislative Councillors, community and political leaders, local think tanks and research centres;

  5. oversee the operation of CPU activities and internal administration; and

  6. deputise for the Head of the Unit during his absence.

Enclosure 4 to EC(97-98)66

Job Description for Member, Central Policy Unit

Main duties and responsibilities:

A full-time member of the Unit is responsible to lead specific ad hoc projects assigned to him by the Head of the Unit according to his area of expertise. For each project, the member is required to -

  1. review the background to a policy problem and any action previously taken to resolve it;

  2. define the framework within which the problem is to be tackled;

  3. develop alternative options for resolving the problem;

  4. recommend a solution to the problem; and

  5. liaise as necessary with policy bureaux and departments concerned, other full and part-time members of the Unit and non-government experts in the particular subject area.

Enclosure 5 to EC(97-98)66

Proposed Job Description for Research Director,
Central Policy Unit
(Administrative Officer Staff Grade C)

Main duties and responsibilities:

  1. Act as team leader for specific projects assigned to him by the Head of the Unit. For each project, this may involve -

    1. reviewing the background to a policy problem and any action previously taken to resolve it;

    2. defining the framework within which the problem is to be tackled;

    3. developing alternative options for resolving the problem;

    4. recommending a solution to the problem; and

    5. liaising as necessary with policy bureaux and departments concerned, other full and part-time members of the Unit and non-government experts in the particular subject area;

  2. convene conferences and workshops with participation from overseas and local academia, professionals and members of the Unit, with a view to gathering views and recommendations on specific policy areas and gaining insight from overseas experience in the relevant field;

  3. maintain liaison contact with overseas think tanks and research centres; and

  4. oversee the work of the Statistical Section of the Unit, in providing necessary statistical information for the conduct of research in the Unit.

Enclosure 6 to EC(97-98)66

Non-directorate posts to be created to support the Secretariat of the Commission on Strategic Development

Posts

Salary Points

Number



Senior Administrative Officer

MPS 45 - 49

1



Executive Officer 1

MPS 28 - 33

1



Personal Secretary I

MPS 16 - 21

2



Personal Secretary II

MPS 4 - 15

1



Assistant Clerical Officer

MPS 3 - 15

1

Enclosure 7 to EC(97-98)66

Proposed Job Description for Secretary, Commission on Strategic Development, Central Policy Unit
(Administrative Officer Staff Grade B)

Main duties and responsibilities:

  1. Oversee the administration of the Secretariat of the Commission on Strategic Development;

  2. provide support service to the Commission;

  3. prepare briefs and papers on strategic development for discussion by the Commission;

  4. monitor the progress of consultancy projects initiated by the Commission;

  5. liaise with policy bureaux and departments in co-ordinating relevant issues for discussion by the Commission; and

  6. undertaking any specific tasks as directed by the Commission.

Enclosure 8 to EC(97-98)66

Proposed Job Description for Government Town Planner Commission on Strategic Development
Central Policy Unit

Main duties and responsibilities:

  1. Assist the Secretary to the Commission in preparing consultancy briefs and papers to facilitate the conduct of consultancy projects initiated by the Commission on Strategic Development;

  2. assist the Secretary to the Commission in monitoring the progress of consultancy projects and provide steer to consultants, in particular, on planning related issues;

  3. assist the Secretary to the Commission in preparing briefs and papers to facilitate discussion at committees set up under the Commission;

  4. liaise with policy bureaux and departments in providing input from major strategic planning, transport and infrastructure studies to studies initiated by the Commission;

  5. assist in public consultation, where necessary, in respect of the studies initiated by the Commission; and

  6. undertake any specific tasks as directed by the Commission.