LCQ16: Civil service establishment
17.5.2023

Following is a question by Dr the Hon Tik Chi-yuen and a written reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (May 17): Question: Regarding the civil service establishment, will the Government inform this Council: (1) of the current respective numbers of civil service permanent and supernumerary posts on the Directorate Pay Scale ("DPS") (or equivalent), with a breakdown by pay point; (2) of the respective expenditures on salaries and benefits for civil service permanent and supernumerary posts on DPS (or equivalent) over the past year, with a breakdown by pay point; (3) of the respective numbers of additional civil service permanent and supernumerary posts on DPS (or equivalent) in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by pay point; (4) of the changes in the number of civil servants (including permanent and supernumerary posts) and the relevant expenditures in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by type of post (i.e. permanent and supernumerary posts); and (5) of the current number of civil service supernumerary posts and the distribution of the dates on which such posts will lapse? Reply: President, The reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Tik Chi-yuen is as follows: (1), (2) and (5) As at May 2, 2023, the civil service establishment stood at 1 482 for permanent directorate posts and 81 for supernumerary directorate posts respectively, with corresponding breakdowns by pay point at Annex 1. The above posts have been included in the civil service establishment figures set out in Part (4) of the reply below. For permanent directorate posts, the notional annual salary cost at mid-point and full annual staff cost at mid-point (including salaries and staff fringe benefits) amount to about $3.4 billion and $4.8 billion respectively. As for supernumerary directorate posts, the notional annual salary cost at mid-point and full annual staff cost at mid-point (including salaries and staff fringe benefits) amount to about $180 million and $250 million respectively. The above posts do not include judges, judicial officers and Independent Commission Against Corruption officers. For the 81 supernumerary directorate posts on the civil service establishment, the following sets out the financial years in which these posts are due to expire: Number of supernumerary directorate posts on the establishment Financial year in which the supernumerary directorate posts are due to expire 6 2023-24 26 2024-25 19 2025-26 21 2026-27 8 2027-28 1 2028-29 Total: 81 As for civil service non-directorate posts, bureaux/departments (B/Ds) may, after reviewing their existing manpower and operational needs, create time-limited non-directorate posts in accordance with the established mechanism, provided that the respective establishment and provision ceilings in the Approved Estimates are not exceeded. These posts have also been included in the civil service establishment figures set out in Part (4) of the reply below. The posts concerned will lapse upon expiry of the duration for which the posts are created. The Civil Service Bureau does not keep any information regarding the number and duration of time-limited non-directorate posts created by individual B/Ds. (3) A breakdown by pay point of the respective numbers of additional civil service permanent and supernumerary directorate posts created in the past five financial years (Note 1) is at Annex 2. (4) The civil service establishment figures (Note 2) and the corresponding expenditure on personal emoluments in the past five years are tabulated as follows: Financial Year Establishment Figures* Expenditure on Personal Emoluments ($ million) 2018-19 188 335 79,264 2019-20 191 763 87,490 2020-21 197 744 87,617 2021-22 197 562 88,041 2022-23 197 324 91,668* *Revised estimates Note 1: Excluding retained/re-created supernumerary posts; and re-grading/upgrading proposals for existing permanent directorate posts. Note 2: Including civil servants, judges and judicial officers, Independent Commission Against Corruption officers and locally engaged staff working in Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices outside Hong Kong.