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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Chairman of the Legislative Council (LegCo) Subcommittee on Members' Remuneration and Operating Expenses Reimbursement (the Subcommittee), Ms Emily Lau, wrote to all LegCo Members today (February 10) that as there was no consensus among all Members on how the monthly remuneration of Members should be determined, she would recommend the Subcommittee not to submit at the moment any recommendations about Members' remuneration to the Independent Commission on Remuneration for Members of the Executive Council and the Legislature, and Officials under the Political Appointment System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the Independent Commission). However, she called on the Independent Commission to expediently put forward to the Government its proposal on the review of the operating expenses reimbursement.
Ms Lau stated that the Subcommittee has earlier consulted LegCo Members on its preliminary proposal to establish a mechanism to determine Members' remuneration. The Subcommittee has also instructed the LegCo Secretariat to brief Members and the media on the findings of a research on the practices of overseas parliaments in determining and adjusting their Members' remuneration and the results of a survey conducted among all LegCo Members on the time spent by Members on LegCo work and their views on their present monthly remuneration and the way it is determined and adjusted. The public has reacted strongly to Members' proposal on their remuneration.
She said the Subcommittee has conducted a second round of consultation among Members and found that the majority of Members were in support of pegging Members' monthly remuneration to the salary of a Director of Bureau. As there was no consensus among all Members on how the monthly remuneration of Members should be determined, she would recommend the Subcommittee not to submit at the moment any recommendations about Members' remuneration to the Independent Commission.
A copy of Ms Lau's letter to all LegCo Members (Chinese only) is appended.
Ends/Friday, February 10, 2012
Issued at HKT 19:40
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