Provisional Legislative Council
Panel on Public Service
Work and Resources of the Central Policy Unit
Introduction
This paper aims to brief members on the work of the Central Policy Unit, in particular its new direction after 1997, as well the proposed creation of posts within the Unit.
Role and Structure of the CPU
2. The Central Policy Unit (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.
3. The Unit undertakes examinations 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.
4. CPU's organisation is designed to allow maximum flexibility and speed in responding to requests for analysis and recommendations. The membership of the Unit has 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 analysis, the number of full-time members has subsequently been increased to 5, and the number of supporting staff to 16, while the number of researchers remained unchanged. The five full-time member posts are composed of 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 is attached at Enclosure 1.
5. After its establishment, the Unit also took up the additional role of assisting in the preparation of the annual Policy Address. From 1994, two Policy Address related documents, the Policy Commitments and Legislative Programme, were also included in the annual exercise. Starting from 1995, a Progress Report was also issued to reflect the progress of 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 been shifted to the Policy Address exercise and related matters while the other two non-civil service Researchers concentrate on research work.
Recent Developments and Consequential Proposals for Creation of Posts
Appointment of a Director of Bureau as Head, Central Policy Unit
6. When the Unit was established in 1989, the post for Head, CPU was a non-civil service post; his remuneration package (and that of other non-civil service full-time members of the Unit) was on negotiated terms to enable the recruitment of the right calibre of people. Since 4 August 1997, we have appointed a Director of Bureau as Head, CPU. It is therefore necessary to create a Director of Bureau post in the Offices of the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Financial Secretary, Government Secretariat to reflect the present position. Funds for remuneration of the Head of the Unit is 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 redeploy the relevant provision from Subhead 108 to Subhead 001 Salaries under the same head, and the salary of the Director of Bureau will be charged to that subhead. The job description of Head, CPU is at Enclosure 2.
Enhanced research activities : additional conferences and seminars
7. With the establishment of the HKSAR, the Administration now faces 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, more public conferences and workshops (some of which involve international academia and experts) will be organised 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.
8. The increased level of activity described above cannot be absorbed by the existing structure of the Unit. 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.
9. 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 timeframe and do not have the spare capacity to take on additional duties.
10. To cater for the expansion of the Unit's research and related activities, the Unit will need an additional Research Director dedicated to this area 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 straddles 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 the ranking of the Research Director at the equivalent of an AOSGC (D2) appropriate. The detailed job description of the Research Director is at Enclosure 3.
Provision of secretariat support for the Commission on Strategic Development
11. Another recent development affecting the work of the Unit is the announcement by the Chief Executive in his 1997 Policy Address to set up a Commission on Strategic Development, which he will personally chair. 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. There will be a series of studies on the long-term planning scenarios and implications on different policy areas. The Chief Executive announced on 16 January 1998 the appointment of the Commission and that the secretariat support for the Commission and the monitoring of the related studies will be undertaken by the CPU.
12. To take on this extra task, it is proposed that two supernumerary directorate posts be created : one AOSGB (D3) post and one Government Town Planner (D2) post. The other non-directorate posts to be created to support the Secretariat of the Commission are detailed in the list at Enclosure 4.
AOSGB (D3) Post
13. 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 issues, 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. A detailed job description for the post is at Enclosure 5.
Government Town Planner (D2) Post
14. We anticipate that the studies to be conducted by the Commission will involve complicated, planning-related issues. To facilitate and monitor the progress of the various consultancy studies envisaged to be initiated by the Commission, in particular, subjects on long term plans for landuse, infrastructural development and housing, a professional town planner will be required to closely monitor 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 matters to be involved, we require an experienced officer to take up the post; we therefore consider it appropriate for the post to be pitched at Government Town Planner (D2) level. The job description of the Government Town Planner is at Enclosure 6.
Staffing Implications
15. A proposed organisation chart of the CPU to take into account of all proposed posts is at Enclosure 7. The proposal above would result in the creation of an additional 10 posts within the CPU, including the following directorate posts :
1 Director of Bureau (D8)
1 Administrative Officer Staff Grade B (D3)
1 Administrative Officer Staff Grade C (D2)
1 Government Town Planner (D2)
As regards the creation of non-directorate posts, they are detailed in paragraph 12 above.
16. The Director of Bureau post will be a supernumerary post for an initial period of three years. This is to provide flexibility for the Government to review the situation at a later stage as to whether the Unit should continue to be headed by a civil servant. As regards the supernumerary posts of AOSGB, AOSGC and GTP, they will also be needed 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 .
Financial Implications
17. Additional funding is not necessary for the creation of the Director of Bureau posts for reasons mentioned in paragraph 6. The notional annual mid-point salary cost and full annual average staff cost (including salaries and staff on-costs) for the creation of other 9 posts are $6,182,940 and $11,324,976 respectively, including a notional annual mid-point salary cost of $4,024,800 and a full annual average staff cost (including salaries and staff on-costs) of $7,590,696 for the additional directorate posts.
The Way Forward
18. Subject to the views of the Public Service Panel, we will submit the proposals for strengthening the directorate structure of the Central Policy Unit to the Establishment Subcommittee for recommendation to the Finance Committee for approval.
Central Policy Unit
January 1998
Enclosure 2
Job Description for Head, Central Policy Unit
(Ranked at Director of Bureau)
The Head, CPU is responsible for :
- Overseeing the work of the Central Policy Unit, undertaking in-depth examinations of complex policy issues, analysing options and recommending solutions for the Chief Executive, the Chief Secretary for Administration or the Financial Secretary;
- Co-ordinating the annual Policy Address exercise; and
- Working on jobs assigned by the Financial Secretary in relation to the annual Budget Exercise.
Enclosure 3
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:
- reviewing the background to a policy problem and any action previously taken to resolve it;
- defining the framework within which the problem is to be tackled;
- developing alternative options for resolving the problem;
- recommending a solution to the problem; and
- 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 4
Non-directorate posts to be created to support the Secretariat of the Commission on Strategic Development
|
Posts
|
Salary Points
|
Strength |
|
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 5
Proposed Job Description for Secretary, Commission on Strategic Development, Central Policy Unit
(Administrative Officer Staff Grade B)
Main duties and responsibilities:
- Oversee the administration of the Secretariat of the Commission on Strategic Development;
- Provide support service to the Commission on Strategic Development;
- Prepare briefs and papers on strategic development for discussion by the Commission;
- Monitor the progress of consultancy projects initiated by the Commission;
- Liaise with policy bureaux and departments in co-ordinating relevant issues for discussion by the Commission; and
- Undertaking any specific tasks as directed by the Commission.
Enclosure 6
Proposed Job Description for Government Town Planner Commission on Strategic Development
Central Policy Unit
Main Duties and Responsibilites
- 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;
- Assist the Secretary to the Commission in monitoring the progress of consultancy projects and provide steer to consultants, in particular, on planning related issues;
- Assist the Secretary to the Commission in preparing briefs and papers to facilitate discussion at committees set up under the Commission;
- Liaise with policy bureaux and departments in providing input from major strategic planning, transport and infrastructure studies to studies initiated by the Commission;
- Assist in public consultation, where necessary, in respect of the studies initiated by the Commission; and
- Undertaking any specific tasks as directed by the Commission
