There has been a gradual reduction in civil service pay and staff-related expenses both in terms of actual expenditure and the percentage of Government operating expenditure, Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong says.

Mr Wong told legislators today the Government estimates civil service pay and staff-related expenses will be about $65.3 billion this financial year, down from $71.3 billion in 2001-02, representing a reduction from a share of almost 36% in 2001-02 to about 31% this financial year in Government operating expenditure.

The civil service establishment has been reduced from 198,000 in early 2000 to 166,000, while actual strength has dropped to below 160,000.

During this period, implementation of individual visits, promotion of tourism, 24-hour opening of border crossings, combating SARS and infection control measures, maintaining law and order, and closer economic partnership with the Mainland have increased the workload and job complexity of frontline civil servants.

The number of corruption reports against civil servants and the number of convictions fell 26% and 52% last year. And an opinion survey found almost 80% of respondents considered civil servants clean and efficient.