The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, wrote to civil service colleagues this afternoon (September 17) after the announcement of "The Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address". She also met with staff-side representatives from the four civil service central consultative councils and the four major service-wide staff unions to brief them on policy initiatives relating to civil service matters in the Policy Address.
 
     The Policy Address put forward initiatives for the Government to further enhance governance, including the establishment of the Heads of Department (HoD) Accountability System. By clearly setting out and strengthening the proactive leadership roles and supervisory responsibilities of HoDs, it drives HoDs to establish an effective management team and operating systems, improving workflow on an ongoing basis, thereby achieving an ongoing enhancement in the overall management standard of the departments and the governance effectiveness of the Government. When problems arise, in accordance with the severity of the problems identified, there will be investigations which will be divided into two tiers (i.e. Tier I departmental investigation and Tier II independent investigation) to look into the root cause of the problems with a view to putting in place improvements, attributing responsibilities to the appropriate parties, and taking administrative or disciplinary actions against those responsible in accordance with the civil service management regime depending on the nature and severity of the deficiencies identified. The system renders the political accountability required of Secretaries of Department and Directors of Bureau in policy formulation, and the administrative accountability required of civil servants in implementing policy initiatives better articulated with each other, with clarification of their division of work. The Policy Address also proposed that the Government will strengthen the performance appraisal system for civil servants. The Civil Service Bureau will conduct a study to develop a more rigorous appraisal system in order to reflect and differentiate the performance levels of civil servants more effectively.
 
     Mrs Yeung said, "So long as all civil servants fulfil their duties and responsibilities with professionalism and go the extra mile in whatever they do, Hong Kong will certainly gain momentum and our people will have a real taste of the fruits of effective governance."
 
     During the meeting with the representatives of the civil service, Mrs Yeung stated that accountability for performance is one of the core values in the Civil Service Code. Proactive fulfillment of duties with a strong sense of responsibility is a basic requirement for every civil servant, and it is the civil service's responsibility to implement the Government's policies in a highly efficient and professional manner. The Policy Address clarified the administrative responsibilities of HoDs and proposed to strengthen the performance appraisal system for civil servants with an aim to enhance governance capability and inject new impetus into the team to respond to the needs of the public and the new era.
 
     In addition, the HoD Accountability System set out in the Policy Address will require an expansion of the functions of the Public Service Commission (PSC) to enable it to conduct Tier II independent investigations. In this regard, Mrs Yeung also met with PSC to exchange views this afternoon. She said that the function of the PSC is to advise the Chief Executive (CE) on matters affecting the public service as an independent statutory body. The CSB will proactively implement the CE's policy initiatives and handle the work for the making of the subsidiary legislation under the Public Service Commission Ordinance.
 
     Mrs Yeung called on civil servants to better understand the various policy initiatives in the Policy Address, gain a clear understanding of the Government's governing tenets, stand united to render full support and facilitation to the administration of the CE and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and continue to be a solid supporting force for Hong Kong's advancement to further consolidate its competitiveness, develop the economy and improve people's livelihood. 

Ends/Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Issued at HKT 21:31

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