Updated at 4.48pm: Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen on Wednesday said Hong Kong?s controversial civil service would have a small increase in staff levels by early next year.
Making his fourth budget speech in the Legislative Council, the financial secretary stressed that the government was still committed to ultimately restricting the size of Hong Kong?s large bureaucracy.
In the past, Hong Kong?s large civil service and the high salaries of many of its members has taken the blame for contributing to the government?s fiscal deficit. This prompted the government to reduce civil service numbers and implement a freeze on salaries.
Mr Tang said the civil service?s manpower situation would again be reviewed.
?Since we must strictly control the size of the civil service, we will consider filling existing vacancies or creating new posts only after critically reviewing our manpower situation and exploring the feasibility of other options for service delivery,? he said.
He said the civil service would be slightly expanded to about 162,900 by the end of March next year ? an increase of less than 1 per cent.