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On the recommendation of 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), the Chief Executive in Council has decided that the monthly remuneration and the annual Office Operation Expenses Reimbursement (OOER) for members of the fifth term Legislative Council (LegCo) should be enhanced.
A Government spokesman said today (March 16) that the Independent Commission had proposed to increase LegCo Members' monthly remuneration by 10 per cent, from $73,150 to $80,465, in addition to the annual price adjustment in accordance with the Consumer Price Index (C)(CPI(C)). To enable LegCo Members to have more resources to better serve the community, the Independent Commission also recommended a lump sum increase of the OOER by 20 per cent, from the current $1,719,290 to $2,063,148 per annum, in addition to the annual price adjustment in accordance with the CPI(C).
In addition, the Independent Commission proposed that more flexibility should also be allowed for Members in utilising their allowances.
"In conducting the review for the fifth term LegCo, the Independent Commission had adopted a holistic approach and had taken into account a basket of factors before deriving its recommended remuneration package for members of the fifth term LegCo," he said.
Factors that the Independent Commission had considered include:
(a) the constitutional role and functions of LegCo Members;
(b) the increase in workload and the public expectation on LegCo Members in recent years;
(c) the objective to enable a wide spectrum of quality individuals from different sectors of the community to serve as LegCo Members for the long term constitutional development of Hong Kong;
(d) the concern that the monthly remuneration should be set at a level which can enable those who regard LegCo membership as their main occupation to have a reasonable standard of living;
(e) the economic situation of Hong Kong, and to cater for expectation of future economic growth;
(f) utilisation rates of the allowances currently available to LegCo Members;
(g) salary and rental expenses in the private sector; and
(h) the proposal of the LegCo Subcommittee on Members' Remuneration and Operating Expenses Reimbursement submitted in March last year for enhancement of various components of the Operating Expenses Reimbursement, with effect from October 1 last year.
At the same time, the Independent Commission recommended that the surplus of a Members' OOER entitlement each year should be allowed to roll over to the following year until the end of a LegCo term.
"This would facilitate LegCo Members to retain part of the OOER funding for salary increments and/or payment of gratuity at the end of the four-year term, if they choose to, with a view to retaining experienced staff," the spokesman said.
Currently, a newly-elected LegCo Member is entitled to Setting Up Expenses Reimbursement (SUER) of up to $150,000 per term to cover expenses for fitting out, purchase of furniture, equipment, software, etc. A re-elected Member may claim up to $75,000 if he/she has claimed any SUER in the previous term.
Separately, a LegCo Member may also claim Information Technology and Communication Equipment Expenses Reimbursement (ITER) of up to $100,000 per term to cover expenses for the purchase or upgrading of information technology and communication equipment.
The Independent Commission recommended that in order to provide greater flexibility to LegCo Members in using these two allowances, SUER and ITER should be merged into one provision, but with no enhancement to the combined amount.
The Independent Commission further recommended that all the aforementioned enhancements and measures should take effect from the fifth term LegCo, due to begin in October 2012.
"This recommendation is in line with the established practice that any substantial changes in the remuneration package should be implemented only in the following LegCo term, the main objective of which is to preserve the integrity of the remuneration regime and to avoid any real or perceived conflict of interest," the spokesman said.
The Independent Commission also reviewed other components of the remuneration package, including the 15 per cent end-of-service gratuity, medical allowance, Entertainment and Travelling Expenses Reimbursement (ETER), and the President's entertainment and Winding Up Expenses Reimbursement. The Independent Commission considered the current levels of these provisions to be adequate. It therefore recommended that the present levels of these provisions, together with the current annual price adjustment mechanism applicable to monthly remuneration, medical allowance, OOER, ETER and President's entertainment should continue to apply for the fifth term LegCo.
"The additional funding required to implement all the recommendations for the fifth term LegCo, save for any annual price adjustments to be made, will be about $126.6 million per term," the spokesman said.
The Independent Commission is chaired by Mr Vincent Cheng and comprises Mr Nicky Lo, Mr Chow Chung-kong, Mrs Betty Yuen, Professor Chan Yuk-shee and Ms Kelly Chan as members. It advises the Chief Executive, among others, on the remuneration package for LegCo Members. As it is an established practice of the Independent Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the package about a year before the start of a new LegCo term, the Independent Commission started the review in May 2011.
A copy of the Independent Commission's report is attached for reference.
Ends/Friday, March 16, 2012
Issued at HKT 16:00
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