FINANCIAL PROCEDURE (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

4.55 p.m.

The Minister for Finance (Mr Hon Sui Sen): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

In the last Budget address, I mentioned that officers in my Ministry were exploring the possibility of restructuring subheads in the Annual Estimates with the aim of streamlining and rationalising their presentation. Since then, proposals for a new format for the Annual Estimates have been developed by my officials and these proposals have been accepted by the Estimates Committee of Parliament. It is necessary now to amend section 17 of the Financial Procedure Act to enable a new format to be adopted for the Estimates of Expenditure for the next financial year.

In the new format all subheads in the Main Estimates will be codified to enable data on expenditure to be processed with the use of computers. The traditional sub-divisions of Personal Emoluments (PE), Other Charges, Annually Recurrent (OCAR) and Other Charges, Special Expenditure (OCSE) will be discarded. Instead, there will be two new categories, namely Expenditure on Manpower (EOM) and Other Operating Expenditure (OOE). This arrangement will enable direct manpower costs to be conveniently grouped. Also, the timescale posts are presented in a summarised way according to their Division of service so that the picture would not be blurred by excessive details. The details, if required, are available in a separate Establishment List. In accordance with the new subsection (3) of section 17 of the Financial Procedure Act, this list will be laid before Parliament each year.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Hon Sui Sen].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.