Legislators on Tuesday said government departments should study ways to reduce spending to tackle a fiscal deficit estimated to be just below HK$100 billion.

Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Bill Tang told a radio programme that the government should review the size and work of the civil service to save public money.

"For example, among more than 2,000 civil servants in the Labour Department, around 600 of them are working on employment services, which are not related to law enforcement. For employment services, shouldn't we consider outsourcing them to the third sector?" he said.

Tang said the Labour Department spends around HK$600 to HK$800 million annually on employment services, but some work could be delegated to non-profit organisations instead.

Speaking on the same programme, Liberal Party chairman Peter Shiu said the administration should look for ways to cut spending on education and healthcare.

"Our birth rate is very low. We now have around half as many children as we did a decade ago. But we don't see primary education fees being reduced by half. Instead, it keeps going up every year. We need to look into this," he said.

On whether HK$2 subsidised transport fares for the over 60s should be adjusted, Tang said he thinks distance-based fares should be implemented instead.

Meanwhile, Shiu said officials could consider setting usage limits or excluding some people still in work from getting the subsidised fares, depending on which sector they are employed in.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan will deliver his budget speech on February 26.