Opening remarks by SCS at LegCo Finance Committee special meeting
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Chairman,
Among the matters related to the civil service in the 2025-26 Draft Estimates of Expenditure, I would like to focus my introduction on the following items.
The first item is the civil service establishment. We have implemented the zero-growth policy in the civil service establishment since 2021-22 with the overall establishment controlled at a level not exceeding that as at end-March 2021, i.e. about 196 000 posts. With the concerted efforts of bureaux and departments, the civil service establishment has been reducing every year. It is anticipated that by March 31, 2026, the overall civil service establishment will have reduced to about 193 000 posts, i.e. a reduction by approximately 3 000 posts on a cumulative basis.
To better utilise manpower resources, we will trim the civil service establishment further, reducing it by 2 per cent each in 2026-27 and 2027-28 basing on the establishment of the preceding financial year. By April 1, 2027, about 10 000 posts are expected to be deleted from the civil service establishment within this term of Government. The resources saved will be included in the 2 per cent savings of the recurrent expenditure of the departments concerned under the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau's Productivity Enhancement Programme.
In addition, the Government has put forward in the Budget that for 2025-26, the executive authorities, the legislature, the judiciary and members of the District Councils take a pay freeze. This applies to members of the civil service. The effective date of the civil service pay freeze is April 1, 2025.
I understand recent concerns over the civil service establishment. Some people think that since the current vacancy rate stands at about 10 per cent, cutting the vacancies directly will achieve greater savings in expenditure. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the matter. The reduction in the civil service establishment proposed in the Budget aims to optimise manpower arrangements through reorganisation and reprioritisation of work while maintaining the efficiency of public services. To this end, all posts, both filled and vacant, will be reviewed to ascertain the necessity to retain them. It does not mean that we can achieve the objective simply by deleting all vacant posts. For posts that are essential to the provision of public services, such as Air Traffic Control Officers and Station Officers, we have to retain them, and recruitment will continue. For posts currently occupied, they are not immune from deletion but may be deleted after the transfer of the incumbents and redistribution of work.
As a matter of fact, with the increasing workload of the Government, it requires much effort in planning for departments to cut expenditure and reduce their establishment at the same time. However, it also presents a good opportunity for them to think outside the box and adopt innovative thinking to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. The Government will continue to promote the adoption of management measures and digitalisation among departments with a view to optimising the use of civil service manpower resources and enhancing efficiency by reprioritising their work, redeploying internal resources, streamlining procedures and leveraging technology. In so doing, the leaner civil service can continue to deliver high-quality public services.
The second item is about civil service training. The Civil Service College will continue to take forward various initiatives to strengthen the governance capabilities of the civil service. The relevant estimated expenditure is about $255 million in 2025-26. The College will launch the Governance Talents Development Programme as proposed in the Policy Address to nurture governance talent with a macro perspective and professional leadership ability. It will also continuously enhance the content on technology application in civil service leadership training, enabling departmental leaders to better grasp the impact of technological development on public policy formulation and implementation. This will equip them to take on leadership responsibilities, guiding their departments to leverage technology, including optimising departmental information technology systems, better utilising big data and artificial intelligence to transform public services, and arranging appropriate training for departmental staff.
Regarding the medical and dental benefits for civil servants, the Government will continue to honour its contractual obligation as the employer and provide medical benefits for serving civil servants, pensioners and other eligible persons. The medical services provided by the Hospital Authority as part of the medical benefits have been included in the overall provision allocated to it. Regarding Families Clinic services and dental services provided by the Department of Health (including the pilot scheme on provision of dental scaling services via private dental organisations and the pilot scheme on receiving designated dental services at a medical institution in Shenzhen), a provision of around $1,158 million has been reserved. Also, we have reserved about $1,766 million to cover the expenditure on reimbursement of medical expenses that cannot be fully anticipated.
The Civil Service Bureau will continue to implement various policies and initiatives, such as strengthening civil service training, continuing to organise the Civil Service Staff Exchange and Collaboration Programme jointly with Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and beyond, further enhancing the civil service disciplinary mechanism, implementing the two pilot schemes on dental services for civil servants, providing childcare leave for government employees, etc.
Chairman, this is the end of my introduction. I would welcome questions from Members.
Ends/Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:03
Issued at HKT 16:03
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