A 07/08-10

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 5 December 2007 at 11:00 am

(a)	whether it has prescribed the intervals of the day in which T plates may be used; if so, of the details;
(b)	whether the authorities have uncovered any cases of misuse of T plates (e.g. using such plates for evading the vehicle first registration tax or vehicle licence fees, or for driving vehicles which have not been tested by the authorities on their safety and whether they comply with environmental protection specifications); and
(c)	whether it has examined if it is against the law for car dealers to lease their T plates to customers for them to display on their vehicles for prolonged use; if it is, whether the authorities have instituted prosecutions in this regard; if it is not, whether the authorities will amend the relevant legislation to plug loopholes such as tax evasion and avoidance of the requirements for fittings of vehicles to comply with safety and environmental protection specifications?

(a)	when the investigation conducted by TELA into the aforesaid incident will be completed and whether the investigation report will be made public;
(b)	given that it has been reported that TELA has been using 3G video phones to monitor the work of its field staff since 2005, and supervisors at various levels also regularly conduct surprise checks and verify the work report of its staff, of the number of cases uncovered last year by TELA involving the breach of rules by inspection staff and, among such cases, the number of those which were substantiated, and the penalties imposed on the staff concerned; and
(c)	given that TELA has previously submitted for classification three newspapers on which an identical set of nude photographs of an overseas female celebrity was published, but it failed to discover during its inspection that such photographs were also published in the NOW magazine, whether it will investigate if there was any dereliction of duties on the part of TELA staff; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	reconsider allowing school buses which are permitted to operate in Frontier Closed Area to pick up cross-boundary students during the two specified periods before and after class at the Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay Control Points; if so, of the timetable concerned; if not, the reasons for that;
(b)	consider lowering the relevant licence fees of non-franchised buses providing direct coach service for cross-boundary students to reduce the operating costs of such buses, so that the fees charged for carrying cross-boundary students can be lowered, and hence more cross-boundary students can use the most direct and safest mode of transport travelling to and from schools; if so, of the details; and
(c)	reconsider issuing Closed Area Permits to all cross-boundary students who attend schools in Hong Kong which are located in districts other than the North District, so that they may take school buses at the Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay Control Points, so as to safeguard their safety?

(a)	of the specific terms of reference and work schedule of the Family Council, its organizational structure and membership list, and how it will interface with the existing consultative framework and government departments concerned;
(b)	given the circumstances and needs of families of different compositions are not entirely the same, whether the Family Council will give priority in the provision of support to high-risk families that are in dire need of help, for instance, by allocating additional resources for remote areas and expediting the legislative work on a statutory minimum wage, so as to assist low-income families; and
(c)	given that there is currently no independent commission responsible for matters concerning children, whether it will concurrently set up a commission on children to be responsible for the formulation of policies on the protection of children's rights, or it will simply include the work in this regard directly in the terms of reference of the Family Council?

(a)	as the Government has indicated that one of the main advantages of forming hospital clusters is the provision of comprehensive medical care in a single cluster, whether any hospital services currently provided by other clusters are unavailable in KE Cluster; if there are, whether it knows if HA has any plans to introduce such services in KE Cluster based on the demographic structure of KE and the medical needs of residents in the district;
(b)	whether it knows if HA plans to revise the criteria for allocation of funds to various clusters to ensure that medical services for residents covered by KE Cluster are comparable to those for residents of other districts; if there are revision plans, of the details and implementation date; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	whether the Government will take other measures to alleviate the pressure on the cluster (such as allocating land within the district for the construction of private hospitals); if it will, of the details of and implementation schedule for the measures; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	of the number of cases of illegal felling of trees in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown of the number of trees felled by the species to which they belonged;
(b)	among the cases referred to in (a), of the respective numbers of those resulting in the conviction of the offenders, those which took place in country parks, and those involving the species of trees listed on the Register of Old and Valuable Trees;
(c)	whether it has reviewed the relevant legislation to see if there is a need to increase the penalty for illegal felling of trees; if so, of the results; and
(d)	whether, in the light of the above situation, it will reconsider enacting legislation on tree conservation to enhance the protection of trees; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	whether there were incidents of major breakdown or slowdown of the above information system last year; if so, of the details (including the date of occurrence, duration of service disruption and the reasons thereto, the time taken to repair the system and the number of complaints received); and
(b)	whether the above teething problems have been resolved completely and what measures the authorities will take to ensure smooth operation of the system and achieve the target of "zero breakdown", even when the system is being upgraded or the demand for online services of the above information system surges considerably?

(a)	of the current respective numbers of government and subsidized primary and secondary schools which have outsourced the cleansing and security services and those which employ their own staff to provide such services directly, as well as the respective wage rates of the cleansing workers and security guards employed by the schools concerned and the relevant contractors, broken down by the 18 District Council districts;
(b)	whether it had received in the past three years any cases in which such workers complained about wrongful deduction of wages and hence breach of the labour legislation by their employers (the schools or the outsourced service contractors); and
(c)	how it will monitor the above outsourced service contracts which are awarded by government and subsidized schools to ensure that the wages of the employees of the contractors concerned will not be lower than the relevant average market rates published in the Census and Statistics Department's Quarterly Report of Wages and Payroll Statistics?

(a)	the existing number of non-emergency ambulances in each of the hospital clusters under HA, and the respective numbers of such ambulances which have been in use for over 10 years and those with platforms having a single handrail only; whether HA has any plans to increase the number of non-emergency ambulances and replace those which have been used for over 10 years;
(b)	last year's average utilization rate of the above ambulances in each of the hospital clusters under HA; and whether there is a waiting list for the service; if there is, the current number of people waiting for the service and the estimated average waiting time in each of the clusters; if not, how HA assesses the demand for such service; and
(c)	given that a patient has complained to me that it took him six hours to wait for a non-emergency ambulance to take him home after a follow-up consultation at The Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital at Sandy Bay, and another four hours to travel from the hospital to his home in Tuen Mun even without any traffic congestion, because the ambulance had to transfer patients from hospitals in Kowloon and other areas during the journey, whether HA has drawn up any performance indicators (e.g. the maximum waiting time and travelling time) for the non-emergency ambulance transfer service; if it has, of the relevant details; if not, how HA monitors and enhances the quality of such service; and the daily schedule of a non-emergency ambulance?

(a)	of the details of the above pilot scheme (including the membership of the dedicated team, and the measures to be adopted by the relevant District Lands Office to expedite the processing of lease modification and land exchange applications);
(b)	whether the Government will consult the relevant sectors on the measures to be adopted in the pilot scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	whether the Government will eventually implement the pilot scheme on a territory-wide scale; if so, of the timetable for setting up the above dedicated teams in other District Lands Offices?

(a)	whether it will re-examine the situation concerning vessel emissions in Hong Kong and the relevant regulatory standards;
(b)	whether it plans to conduct a detailed study on the impact of pollutant emissions from vessels on public health, having regard to such factors as the high population density in Hong Kong; and
(c)	apart from encouraging ferry operators to switch to environmentally-friendly fuels, what other more positive new measures the Government will take to improve the situation more expeditiously?

(a)	of the number of traffic accidents last year involving PLB drivers who were negligent, and the number of relevant cases of conviction in the past three years (together with a breakdown by the charge and penalty imposed); and
(b)	whether the authorities will explore new counter-measures targeting at the accidents referred to in (a) to enhance PLB drivers' awareness of safe driving, with a view to preventing the recurrence of similar accidents; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	regular checks have been carried out to see if the operation of MACs complies with the Model Rules for MACs; if so, of the results, and whether the operation of any MAC is found to have deviated from the guidelines in the Model Rules;
(b)	any MAC is found not to have held any meeting for a prolonged period of time and the Liaison Officers and District Officers concerned of the Home Affairs Department have not rectified the situation, despite their knowledge of it; if so, how the authorities will rectify such situation; and
(c)	it has considered reviewing the operation of MACs in order to strengthen community participation and enable the Home Affairs Department to promptly be aware of the operational problems and difficulties encountered by MACs and take follow-up actions?

(a)	whether it knows the number of complaints received in each of the past three years by the relevant authorities about nuisance caused by telemarketing calls, together with a list of the names of the organizations under complaint; and
(b)	as person-to-person telemarketing calls are not covered by the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance (Cap. 593), of the circumstances under which it will reconsider regulating such calls?

(a)	whether it will draw up eligibility criteria for participation in the project by private doctors and patients;
(b)	of the respective projected numbers of doctors and patients participating in the project and expenditure required each year, and whether it will provide HA with additional funding for the project;
(c)	of the measures for encouraging doctors and patients to participate in the project; and
(d)	of the projected time for implementing and reviewing the project, as well as the Government's considerations in deciding whether or not to extend the project to other districts (e.g. Tin Shui Wai South and New Territories East)?

(a)	whether FS has considered if the consultation mentioned above should have commenced before completing the vetting and approving of the RAE bids; if so, whether there is a need to revise and rationalize the current arrangement; and
(b)	given that the vetting and approving of the RAE bids submitted by bureaux and departments had already been completed, of the use of consulting various political parties, Members of this Council and the public on the Budget, and how the authorities will take account of their views?

(a)	of the number of courses leading to professional qualifications in information technology ("IT") which have been included in scope of the CEF since its introduction in June 2002;
(b)	as the Report on the 2006 Manpower Survey of the Information Technology Sector published by the Vocational Training Council shows that the IT industry will face additional manpower demand and manpower shortage, whether the Government will place the IT industry as one of the specified economic sectors/skill domains under the CEF upon the conclusion of Specifications of Competency Standards for the information and communications technology industry, and include the learning programmes in the scope of the CEF if they are relevant to the qualifications and already listed in the Qualifications Register, to encourage people in the IT industry to attend those courses and support training work for the industry; if it will, of the detailed plan and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	whether any measures are in place to ensure that course providers will offer different types of courses to cater for the learning abilities and needs of people from various age groups and strata; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	of the number, in the past three years, of elderly persons whose Old Age Allowance ("OAA") payments had been suspended/terminated for violating the stipulation on the annual permissible limit of 240 days' absence from Hong Kong, as well as on average, the amount of payments and the number of days of absence involved in each case;
(b)	of the number of elderly persons who joined the Portable Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme in each of the past three years, and whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the Scheme; and
(c)	given that the elderly persons taking up long-term residence in Guangdong or Fujian Province are allowed to continue to receive cash assistance under the aforesaid Scheme, of the reasons for the Government's refusal to further relax the period of absence from Hong Kong for OAA on grounds that there is the need to ensure that public funds are spent on Hong Kong residents who regard Hong Kong as a place of permanent residence?

(a)	as it is conducting a consultancy study to examine the feasibility of introducing buses and other heavy duty vehicles using natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas, of the progress of the study;
(b)	of the current number of buses in Hong Kong powered by fuels other than diesel;
(c)	whether it has discussed with franchised bus companies to encourage them to introduce buses which run on natural gas or electricity; if it has, of the details; and
(d)	whether, when replacing vehicles of the government fleet, it will consider purchasing vehicles powered by fuels such as biodiesel, hydrogen, electricity and natural gas; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

1. Promoting social enterprises
   
   Hon CHAN Yuen-han: (Translation)
   
   That, although the unemployment rate has come down to a new low, elementary workers still face the plight of low wages, long working hours and even difficulties in securing employment; to alleviate the hardship of elementary workers, the Administration should implement various policies on facilitating the employment of labour in order to improve the employment situation and narrow the gap between the rich and the poor; one of such policies is to "promote the development of social enterprises and boost employment" as proposed by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address; this Council urges the Government to formulate the following policies to effectively promote social enterprises:
   
   

   (a)	making rules and regulations on social enterprises to clarify the definition of such enterprises;
   (b)	providing various financing channels for social enterprises, including setting up a public or private seed fund and encouraging financial institutions to offer low-interest loans, etc;
   (c)	providing loan guarantee and setting up marketing, training and development funds, etc, for social enterprises, with reference to the modes of the funding schemes implemented by the Government for small and medium enterprises;
   (d)	providing a profits tax exemption period for and offering profits tax concession to newly established social enterprises;
   (e)	establishing a social enterprises operation support centre to provide free business information, consultation and support services on the setting up and operation of business as well as market news, etc;
   (f)	the Government and private organizations providing shops, properties and venues with rent exemption/concession to social enterprises; and
   (g)	reserving a certain percentage of the procurement of government goods and services for social enterprises, in order to provide room for the development of such enterprises.

   
   Amendments to motion
   

   (i)	Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation) To add "as the mission of social enterprises is to pursue both social and economic objectives, and social objectives may include various aspects such as environmental protection, cultural education and facilitating employment, etc; and" after "That,"; to add "gradually" after "the unemployment rate has"; to delete "to a new low" after "come down"; to delete ", the Administration should implement various policies on facilitating the employment of labour in order to improve the employment situation" after "hardship of elementary workers"; to delete "; one of such policies is to 'promote the development of social enterprises and boost employment' as proposed by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address;" after "the rich and the poor" and substitute with ","; to delete "effectively promote social enterprises" after "the following policies to" and substitute with "promote the development of social enterprises as one of the policies to facilitate and improve employment"; to add "establishing a high-level cross-bureau task force to formulate overall strategies for developing social enterprises; (b)" after "(a)"; to delete ";" after "the definition of such enterprises" and substitute with ", and at the same time encouraging social enterprises to employ a certain proportion of unemployed persons and people with disabilities in the light of their modes of operation; (c) enhancing the awareness of the business sector about social enterprises and encouraging the sector to make use of their professional knowledge to participate in the development of social enterprises, and at the same time enhancing public awareness about social enterprises in order to remove their misunderstanding that social enterprises will lead to unfair competition; (d) introducing more social enterprises in areas where the poverty problem is more serious, such as Sham Shui Po and Tin Shui Wai, etc, so as to increase employment opportunities in these districts;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(g)"; to add ", as well as offering further tax concession to social enterprises which employ a certain proportion of unemployed persons and people with disabilities" after "newly established social enterprises"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(i)"; and to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(j) lowering the tender threshold for social enterprises and".
   (ii)	Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG: (Translation) To add "according to statistics," after "That,"; to add ", with the objectives of enhancing social capabilities and establishing positive social values" after "effectively promote social enterprises"; to add "and objectives" after "to clarify the definition"; to add ", and avoiding unfair competition with small and medium enterprises" after "of such enterprises"; to delete "or" after "including setting up a public" and substitute with "seed fund and encouraging the establishment of a"; to delete "and" after "private seed fund" and substitute with ", as well as"; to delete "and private organizations" after "(f) the Government"; to delete "; and" after "rent exemption/concession to social enterprises" and substitute with ", and encouraging private enterprises to offer rent concession;"; and to add "; (h) promoting cross-sector collaboration and developing a platform for participation in different aspects, as well as facilitating the establishment of partnership, so that various sectors can expand the scope for collaboration among social enterprises in a complementary and mutually beneficial environment; (i) establishing the value and raising public awareness of social enterprises through publicity and education programmes in schools and the community; (j) eliminating administrative and policy barriers which may hinder the development of social enterprises, so as to create an environment conducive to the growth of such enterprises; and (k) breaking away from the confines of the pure social work sector by encouraging and embracing the participation of willing and capable talents from the business sector, so that social enterprises can possess such management elements as professionalism and market sensitivity" immediately before the full stop. Amendment to Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG's amendment Hon WONG Kwok-hing: (Translation) To delete "avoiding unfair competition" after "objectives of such enterprises, and" and substitute with "strengthening their abilities to compete"; and to add ", so as to gain their due market share" after "with small and medium enterprises".
   (iii)	Hon Albert HO: (Translation) To delete "public or" after "including setting up a" and substitute with "$500 million 'social enterprise seed fund' and a $1,000 million 'social enterprise development loan fund' or a"; and to add "to strengthen the support for the long-term development of social enterprises," after "private seed fund".

   
   Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs

2. Comprehensively reviewing subsidized home ownership schemes
   
   Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)
   
   That this Council urges the Government to expeditiously review afresh the various subsidized home ownership schemes, including the Home Ownership Scheme, Tenants Purchase Scheme and Home Assistance Loan Scheme, with a view to more effectively utilizing housing resources and alleviating the burden of housing on the public.
   
   Amendments to motion
   

   (i)

   Hon LEE Wing-tat: (Translation) To add ", as the private property market has become prosperous again and property prices continue to rise, which puts pressure on the burden of housing on the public," after "That"; to add "(HOS)" after "Home Ownership Scheme"; to add "and proactively consider resuming the construction of an appropriate number of HOS flats and the sale of an appropriate number of public rental housing flats, and the number may be adjusted according to the needs of the community, land available to the Housing Authority and its financial situation," after "Home Assistance Loan Scheme,"; and to add "as well as allowing the public to meet their housing needs through various channels" immediately before the full stop.

   (ii)

   Hon WONG Kwok-hing: (Translation) To delete "review afresh" after "expeditiously" and substitute with "relaunch".

   
   Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Transport and Housing