The Executive Council has endorsed a 10% rise in lawmakers' annual operation-expenses reimbursement, to $1,498,070 each. It will require about $8.2 million a year in extra funding.

The increase will be given effect to as soon as possible, subject to the Finance Committee's approval, tentatively set for November 3.

The operation-expenses reimbursement is an accountable, reimbursable expenditure item for lawmakers to cover costs of running their offices, staff expenses and other support services.

The Independent Commission on Remuneration for Members of the Executive Council & the Legislature has accepted the Legislative Council's earlier appeal that scope existed for the reimbursement item to be raised to enable legislators to better serve their constituents.

Taking into account past spending patterns, and the increasing complexity of issues the council handles, the independent commission is content that a 10% rise -  relative to LegCo's request for an increase of up to 20% -  will be appropriate.

If the Finance Committee approves it, the increase will be on top of the 1.9% annual inflation adjustment already applicable to lawmakers' operation-expenses reimbursement from October 1.

Staff-sharing restriction relaxed 

The independent commission has also recommended that the restriction against legislators' shared employment of staff should be relaxed to enable more efficient use of resources.

To preserve accountability for and transparency in the use of public funds, lawmakers will clarify in future exactly how the staff-related expenses will be shared.

The independent commission has set aside the council's other requests to link legislators' monthly remuneration to a certain percentage of the salary range of the directorate officers in the civil service, and to introduce medical and retirement benefits.

The commission maintains that substantial changes to the lawmakers' remuneration package, even if agreed, should be implemented for the next legislative term rather than the current one. This long-held principle is needed to preserve the credibility of the remuneration system as well as that of the legislature.

Overall review

These outstanding requests will be examined in the context of an overall review of the remuneration package for the fourth-term LegCo, from 2008-12. It will be completed next October.

The independent commission met twice with the LegCo Subcommittee on Members' Remuneration & Operating Expenses Reimbursement before finalising its report, which is available here.