A statutory advisory body in Hong Kong will be given new powers as early as June to investigate government department heads over “serious, widespread or systemic” problems, as part of a broader push to institutionalise official accountability.

The subsidiary legislation drafted by the Civil Service Bureau, which was submitted to the Legislative Council on Tuesday, sought to grant the Public Service Commission, an independent, statutory body that advises the government on civil service appointments and promotions, new investigative powers.

Under the proposal, the chief executive, department secretaries or bureau directors can initiate investigations if they deem problems occurring in a department to be “widespread, repetitive, systemic”, or if there are indications that department heads are personally implicated.

The Public Service Commission will lead a team to point out shortcomings of involved officials, and identify root causes of the problems. The commission will be empowered to demand access to relevant information, inspect government premises, and enlist independent experts to assist with investigations.

“This commission is an independent body familiar with civil service work. Empowering it to conduct probes will dismiss potential allegations that ‘civil servants are investigating their own’,” a government source explained.

The source said there are about 60 department heads in the civil service, while most of the permanent secretaries of bureaus would not be subject to the new investigation framework.