A 03/04-33

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 23 June 2004 at 2:30 pm

(a)	of the number of cases, in the past three years, in which children were provided with the residential child care service through the central referral system and, among them, the number of those involving child abuse, the whereabouts of the children after they ceased to receive the service as well as the number of cases in which children who became victims of child abuse again after ceasing to receive the service;
(b)	whether social workers are deployed to follow up the situation of the children after they have ceased to receive the service; if so, of the ratio between the social workers and the children and how long the social workers will continue to follow up their cases, as well as the average time the social workers spend every month on meeting the children and their parents respectively; and
(c)	of the services or mechanisms currently in place to protect the children who have ceased to receive the service from being abused; regarding the child abuse cases involving children who have ceased to receive the service and have subsequently been placed under the care of their families, whether the Social Welfare Department will convene case conferences to review the problems identified in the course of handling the cases, so as to improve the relevant child protection services or mechanisms; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	whether KCRC has adjusted the estimated ridership since the commencement of the planning for the line; if so, of the number of adjustments made and the estimated riderships concerned, as well as the current estimated daily ridership;
(b)	of the number of test runs conducted on the trains which will serve this rail line; whether any of these trains has had failures; if so, of the number and the causes of the failures; and
(c)	whether it will reduce the franchised bus routes according to the above proposal in the plan, particularly those between Ma On Shan and Hong Kong Island?

(a)	whether they have assessed the reasons for the downward trend in the indicators of people's trust in the Central Government and the SAR Government; if so, of the assessment results, as well as the remedial measures in place; and
(b)	whether they will convey to the Central Government the aspirations of some people for the election of the CE and LegCo Members by universal suffrage and for freedom?

(a)	of the respective numbers of cases reported to the Police each month in the past year alleging that Hong Kong professional drivers and other Hong Kong residents were detained, extorted or kidnapped by criminals on the Mainland;
(b)	of the assistance rendered to the alleged victims by the Hong Kong authorities upon becoming aware of such incidents, and the latest developments of these incidents; and
(c)	as the majority of the cases concerning alleged detention of Hong Kong residents on the Mainland involved personal and business disputes, whether the Hong Kong authorities are unable to offer assistance for the relevant alleged cases of kidnap and detention, and how effective their joint efforts with the Mainland counterparts are in preventing and combating such crimes?

(a)	whether a work schedule has been worked out for various professional services to establish business platforms in the Mainland; if so, of the details, including the priority of engineers among the many professions;
(b)	of the measures in place to ensure that the Government will inject an average of about $29 billion per year for capital works projects for the next five years; and
(c)	of the specific measures in place to minimize obstacles for local small and medium-sized professional organizations to participate in various tenders and consultancy contracts for government works?

(a)	of the quantities of electronic waste generated in Hong Kong in each of the past three years, broken down by component material, and the respective percentages of various types of waste component materials in the total quantity of electronic waste generated, as well as the quantity of electronic waste transported to landfills for disposal each year;
(b)	whether there are channels for the recovery of electronic waste; if so, of the relevant details and the total quantity of such waste materials recovered over the past three years; and
(c)	whether it has new plans in the future to handle electronic waste?

(a)	whether it will, apart from exhibiting the proposals that have been determined as satisfying the mandatory requirements, put up for exhibition those proposals that have been determined as not satisfying such requirements, so as to enable the public to have an understanding of the contents of all proposals and facilitate their commenting on the proposals; if it will, of the details of the exhibition; if not, the reasons for that;
(b)	where the views of the public and of the Administration are not at one, whether the public view will prevail in the selection of the development proposals; if so, of the details of the selection procedure; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	whether it has estimated the amount of government subsidy required for the public facilities of the project and studied how to strike a balance between the interests of the public and those of the developers from the cultural and commercial perspectives; if it has, of the amount of subsidy and the study findings; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	whether it has assessed the feasibility of the proposal to invite, at the time the photos/fingerprints of applicants for new/replacement identify ("ID") cards are taken by the staff of the Immigration, these applicants to voluntarily indicate their consent to donate their organs; if it has, of the assessment results;
(b)	whether the details of the existing smart ID card holders' participation in the scheme can be incorporated into their ID cards;
(c)	whether there will be technical or administrative problems in implementing the above proposal and incorporating such details into smart ID cards; if so, of the details of the problems; and
(d)	of other methods to promote organ donation?

(a)	users of motor cycles were prosecuted for wearing protective hamlets not conforming to such specifications and standards in the past three years; if so, of the number of prosecutions instituted each year;
(b)	the hamlets for users of motor cycles in the Hong Kong Police Force and the Auxiliary Medical Service, as well as those provided by the Hong Kong School of Motoring for trainees of motor cycles conform to the specifications and standards detailed in the Regulations; if not, of the specifications and standards they comply with; and
(c)	consideration will be given to updating the specifications and standards in the Regulations?

(a)	of the number of coach operating licence applications received by the authorities in each month of the past year, and the respective percentages of increase compared to the figure in the preceding month; among these applications, the respective numbers of the successful and unsuccessful ones, and the reasons for rejecting the applications concerned; and
(b)	whether it has considered streamlining the procedures and shortening the vetting time for coach operating licence applications in order to enhance efficiency and meet the needs of travel agents; if it has, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	of a breakdown by the type of work injuries of the number of work-related accidents reported in respect of each of the above sectors in each of the past three years;
(b)	given the year-on-year increase in the numbers of reported cases of work-related accidents in the financing sector over the past three years, and the longer average processing time taken by the relevant authorities in handling cases from the financing sector in comparison to those from the insurance and real estate sectors, whether the relevant authorities have assessed the reasons for these; if they have, of the assessment results; if not, why not;
(c)	how the work-related accident rate of the financing sector compares to that of the insurance and real estate sectors over the past three years; if the financing sector has a higher rate, whether the Government has assessed the reasons for that; and
(d)	of the measures to reduce work-related accidents in the financing sector?

(a)	the initial outline of the plan, including the number of health care workers required, and how HA will deploy the manpower to implement the plan; and
(b)	the amount of income that HA forecasts this plan will generate each year?

(a)	the number of reports received by the authorities about the failure of hikers to make calls for assistance with mobile telephones in hiking trails and country parks due to the network coverage problem, in each month of the past two years;
(b)	the specific measures in place to tackle the problem of incomprehensive coverage of mobile telephone service networks in hiking trails and country parks; and
(c)	the distribution of Emergency Helplines and public payphones installed in various country parks?

(a)	of the total number of detected cases of illegal felling of trees in the past year, the species and number of trees involved and the number of such cases which took place in country parks;
(b)	whether the trees felled belong to the rare species of trees in the territory; and
(c)	in order to combat such crime effectively, whether the authorities will, in addition to stepping up enforcement actions, enhance the exchange of information with their Mainland counterparts in this regard; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	of the number of complaints received by the authorities about noise in the past three years, broken down by nature of the noise and year, and the number of successful prosecutions in this respect;
(b)	whether noise complaint hotlines are operating on public holidays or outside office hours; if not, whether it will consider setting up such hotlines so that the authorities can promptly dispatch staff to measure the noise levels on site; and
(c)	whether prosecutions for emitting excessive noise have been instituted over the past three years against organizers of large concerts, carnivals or rallies held at venues adjacent to residential areas, and whether the authorities will dispatch their staff to monitor the noise levels on site when it comes to their knowledge that such activities are being held at these venues, in order to prevent excessive noise emission?

(a)	of the number of cases involving substandard and counterfeit food products uncovered by the law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong in each of the past three years, the number of these cases involving food products from the Mainland, and the details of the prosecutions instituted by the authorities against the manufacturers and importers concerned;
(b)	whether they have stepped up sample laboratory tests on the food products imported from the Mainland so as to prevent the flow of substandard and counterfeit food products into Hong Kong; if so, of the relevant details;
(c)	whether they will strengthen the reciprocal notification mechanism on food safety matters set up with the relevant Mainland authorities; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(d)	whether they will step up publicity to encourage the public to report to the authorities shops selling substandard and counterfeit food products; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	of the implementation date of the said scheme;
(b)	of the criteria HA adopts for selecting the service contractor; and whether HA has assessed if there will be any conflict of interests in contracting out its service to a union which aims at safeguarding the interests of doctors; if it has, of the assessment result;
(c)	if HA has assessed whether there will be a reduction in the number of patients, who now pay $45 consultation fee only, who will attend the clinics concerned, after the implementation of the scheme; if there will be, of the estimated number and rate of the reduction as well as the measures to cater for the medical needs of those patients who are unwilling to attend those clinics which have been contracted out; and
(d)	if HA will consult those staff who might be affected, the relevant District Councils and the Legislative Council on the said scheme; if it will, when it will conduct the consultation?

(a)	of the total public expenditure on controlling unlicensed hawkers, the respective numbers of prosecutions brought against them and the average amount of public expenditure incurred in respect of each prosecution, in each of the past five years; and
(b)	whether it will consider employing enforcement actions that are more cost-effective, such as the issuance of fixed penalty notices, in place of summonses; if it will, of the relevant details; if it will not, the reasons for that?

(a)	the respective numbers of primary six students with such academic scores, the secondary schools to which they have been admitted and the additional teacher posts offered by the Bureau to the schools concerned; and
(b)	the number of secondary schools which have reduced the intake of such students, resulting in the corresponding deletion of additional teacher posts offered by the Bureau, as well as the number of teachers affected?

1. Appealing to the people to vote enthusiastically in the Legislative Council elections on 12 September
   
   Hon Martin LEE: (Translation)
   
   That, this Council calls upon the people of Hong Kong to be united and to join hands with the Central Government to truly implement the policy of "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" with "a high degree of autonomy", so as to safeguard the cornerstones underpinning Hong Kong's success; this Council also calls upon all the people of Hong Kong to vote enthusiastically in the Legislative Council elections to be held on 12 September this year.
   
   Amendments to Hon Martin LEE's motion
   

   (i)

   Hon TAM Yiu-chung: (Translation) To add "and to build a harmonious, stable and promising Hong Kong" after "Hong Kong's success"; and to add ", and to elect Legislative Council Members who support the Basic Law, uphold the unity of the country, care about the future of the Chinese nation, and truly represent the interests of the Hong Kong people" after "this year". Amendment to Hon TAM Yiu-chung's amendment Dr Hon YEUNG Sum: (Translation) To add "strive for democracy and universal suffrage, uphold the core values of Hong Kong," after "care about the future of the Chinese nation,".

   (ii)

   Hon Cyd HO: (Translation) To add ", and urges the Electoral Affairs Commission to immediately take effective measures to ensure that electors vote freely without interference and express their demands without fear" after "this year".

   Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
   
   
2. Providing appropriate support for aspiring home owners
   
   Hon Mrs Selina CHOW: (Translation)
   
   That this Council urges the Government to provide appropriate support for aspiring home owners, including expeditiously reinstating the provision of home purchase loans for people in need and formulating a long-term policy on home ownership loans, so as to help them acquire their homes.
   
   Amendment to Hon Mrs Selina CHOW's motion
   Hon Albert HO: (Translation)
   
   To delete "expeditiously reinstating the provision of home purchase loans for people in need and formulating a long-term policy on home ownership loans" after "including" and substitute with "extending the entitlement period of home loan interest deduction, expeditiously putting up for sale the remaining Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats and resuming the construction of an optimum quantity of HOS flats according to market demands".
   
   Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands