A 12/13-18
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 30 January at 11:00 am,
Thursday 31 January and Friday 1 February 2013 at 9:00 am on each day
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Import and Export (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2013 | 3/2013 |
| 2. | Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) Order 2013 | 4/2013 |
| 3. | Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 (Commencement) Notice | 5/2013 |
Other Paper
| No. 67 | - | Vocational Training Council
Annual Report and Financial Report 2011/2012 | |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education) | |||
II. Questions for Written Replies
1. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that at present the number of people continuously receiving payments under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") Scheme due to unemployment in Hong Kong has been persistently high. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of (i) the number of recipients who had continuously received CSSA for the unemployed ("CSSA-U") for two years or more (broken down further by education level), (ii) the number of CSSA-U recipients, and (iii) the percentage of the former in the latter, in each year from 2007 to 2012, broken down by age group to which the recipients belonged (set out in the table below);
Year:Education level Age group Total 15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 (i) Number of recipients having continuously received CSSA-U for two years or more (A):
- Tertiary or above
- Junior and senior secondary
- Primary or below
(ii) Number of CSSA-U recipients (B)
(iii) A/B(%)
(b) of (i) the average weekly number of service hours performed under the Community Work Programme of the Support for Self-reliance Scheme by each recipient who had continuously received CSSA-U for two years or more (broken down further by education level); and (ii) the average weekly number of service hours performed by each recipient of CSSA-U under the Programme, in each year from 2007 to 2012, broken down by age group to which the recipients belonged (set out in the table below);
Year:Education level Age group Aged 15-59 15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 (i) Average weekly number of service hours performed by each recipient having continuously received CSSA-U for two years or more:
- Tertiary or above
- Junior and senior secondary
- Primary or below
- Any education level
(ii) Average weekly number of service hours performed by each recipient of CSSA-U
(c) of the number of people who had continuously received CSSA-U for two years or more, and no longer needed CSSA-U because of success in securing employment, in each year from 2007 to 2012, broken down by age group to which they belonged (calculated on the date of cessation of their receipt of CSSA-U) and by education level (set out in the table below);
Year:Education level Age group Total 15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 Tertiary or above
Junior and senior secondary
Primary or below
Total
(d) of (i) the number of recipients who had continuously received CSSA-U for five years or more (broken down further by education level), (ii) the number of CSSA-U recipients, and (iii) the percentage of the former in the latter, in each year from 2007 to 2012, broken down by age group to which the recipients belonged (set out in the table below);
Year:Education level Age group Total 15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 (i) Number of recipients having continuously received CSSA-U for five years or more (A):
- Tertiary or above
- Junior and senior secondary
- Primary or below
(ii) Number of CSSA-U recipients (B)
(iii) A/B(%)
(e) of (i) the average weekly number of service hours performed under the Community Work Programme of the Support for Self-reliance Scheme by each recipient who had continuously received CSSA-U for five years or more (broken down further by education level); and (ii) the average weekly number of service hours performed by each recipient of CSSA-U under the Programme, in each year from 2007 to 2012, broken down by age group to which the recipients belonged (set out in the table below); and
Year:Education level Age group Aged 15-59 15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 (i) Average weekly number of service hours performed by each recipient having continuously received CSSA-U for five years or more:
- Tertiary or above
- Junior and senior secondary
- Primary or below
- Any education level
(ii) Average weekly number of service hours performed by each recipient of CSSA-U
(f) of the number of people who had continuously received CSSA-U for five years or more, and no longer needed CSSA-U because of success in securing employment, in each year from 2007 to 2012, broken down by age group to which they belonged (calculated on the date of cessation of their receipt of CSSA-U) and by education level (set out in the table below)?
Year:Education level Age group Total 15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 Tertiary or above
Junior and senior secondary
Primary or below
Total
2. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)
Regarding applications for allocation of public rental housing ("PRH") units, will the Government:
(a) set out in tables (of the same format as the one below) a breakdown on the number of applications on the Waiting List ("WL") for PRH (including those which are temporarily put on hold) as at the end of 2012 by (i) the year of registration on the WL, (ii) the number of family members and (iii) the choice of PRH district (urban, extended urban, the New Territories, islands and all districts); and Choice of PRH district: Number of family members Year of registration on the WL 2005 - 2006 or before 2006 - 2007 2007 - 2008 2008 - 2009 2009 - 2010 2010 - 2011 2011 - 2012 2012 - 2013 Total 1 person (Elderly applicant)
1 person (Under the Quota and Points System)
2 persons
3 persons
4 persons
5 persons
6 persons
7 persons or more
Total
(b) set out in tables (of the same format as the one below) a breakdown on the number of applications on the WL for PRH the applicants of which were rehoused in PRH units since 1 April 2012 by (i) the year of registration on the WL, (ii) the number of family members and (iii) the district of the PRH unit allocated? District of the PRH unit allocated: Number of family members Year of registration on the WL Average waiting time 2005 -2006 or before 2006 - 2007 2007 - 2008 2008 - 2009 2009 - 2010 2010 - 2011 2011 - 2012 2012 - 2013 Total 1 person (Elderly applicant)
1 person (Under the Quota and Points System)
2 persons
3 persons
4 persons
5 persons
6 persons
7 persons or more
Total
3. Hon Andrew LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported earlier in the press that some mainland agents have abetted pregnant mainland women whose spouses are not Hong Kong permanent residents, commonly known as "doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women" ("DNRP women"), to apply for permission to land in Hong Kong on the grounds of study at a local university and apply for suspension once they have obtained Hong Kong identity cards, and then stay in Hong Kong to give birth as Hong Kong residents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the number of female mainland students landing in Hong Kong in the past five years to study in tertiary institutions (with a breakdown by tertiary institution) and among these students, the number of those who had applied for suspension; the criteria adopted by various tertiary institutions for vetting and approving such applications; (b) whether it knows the number of attendances for public hospital services of mainland residents holding Hong Kong identity cards in the past five years and the medical expenditure involved; among such attendances, the number of those for obstetric services and the number of attendances of those who were granted permission to land in Hong Kong as students; (c) of the authorities' measures to deter DNRP women from landing in Hong Kong on the grounds of study and then give birth in Hong Kong; and (d) given that quite a number of countries require foreign students to take out medical insurance before entry in order to cover their medical expenses during the years of their study, whether the Government will consider introducing the relevant measures; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
4. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
According to "Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong" published by the Environmental Protection Department, about 3 million tonnes of recyclable materials were recovered in Hong Kong in 2011, achieving a recovery rate of 48%. Among the recovered materials, up to 98.5% were exported for recycling while only 1.5% were recycled locally. Some recyclers have pointed out that the authorities have not provided recyclers with sufficient ancillary facilities, and there is not enough manpower in the industry to handle the large quantities of recovered materials either. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the number of people currently engaged in the recycling industry across the territory, and a breakdown on the number of recovery facilities (including those operated by private or non-profit-making organizations) by the type of recovered materials, as well as their site areas and locations; (b) as quite a number of recyclers have pointed out that the recovery and sorting of waste are obnoxious jobs, and it is therefore difficult to recruit sufficient manpower to handle the recovered materials, whether the authorities have put in place measures to encourage more people to join the recycling industry; if they have, of the measures; if not, the reasons for that; (c) as most of the recovered materials are currently bundled up and then exported to other places, and the Chief Executive has indicated in his recently delivered Policy Address that the Government will consider identifying suitable berths so that there will be a stable provision of export facilities to promote vigorously the development of the recycling industry, of the locations and number of the berths that the authorities plan to provide and the timetable for the provision of the berths; (d) as some recyclers have pointed out that the admission policy of the EcoPark requires tenants to provide one-stop services by producing environment-friendly products from recycled materials, whether the authorities will consider revising that policy so as to enable more recyclers to move into the EcoPark; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (e) given that although recyclers who are not yet admitted into the EcoPark may bid for short-term tenancy sites, there is no guarantee for renewal upon expiry of the leases, of the criteria based on which the authorities assess the applications for lease renewal for such sites; whether they will consider including as assessment criteria factors such as the existing tenants' investment commitments to their businesses and whether there is a diversification of the types of recovered materials being processed, etc.; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (f) of the measures put in place and the ancillary facilities provided by the authorities at present, apart from the development of the EcoPark, to encourage more local recyclers to recycle recovered materials in Hong Kong in order to increase the proportion of waste being recycled locally; whether the authorities will consider providing subsidies to the industry, e.g. by granting rent concessions for land or tax concessions; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
With the advancement of innovative technology and development of green architecture, the engineering profession may now employ building information modelling ("BIM") technology to consolidate various project designs and working drawings through the three-dimensional information system, thus enhancing project coordination and resource utilization, and reducing unnecessary wastages and losses, errors and omissions, as well as the need for remedial works in the projects. BIM technology may be applied to various kinds of infrastructural projects, as well as the construction, management and repair works of buildings. However, some members of the engineering profession have pointed out that while BIM technology has been widely adopted in many advanced countries and regions, the application of such technology in Hong Kong lags behind other places because the Government has not taken an active role in promoting and applying BIM technology. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether BIM technology is applied in carrying out all the public works projects at present; if so, of the details of the guidelines provided by the authorities to government departments on how to design and apply BIM technology; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether it has included terms on the application of BIM technology in outsourced government works contracts; if so, of the number of contracts with such terms included so far, and among these contracts, the respective numbers and percentages of consultancy contracts and construction contracts; (c) whether it will make mandatory in future the application of BIM technology in carrying out all the public works projects and outsourced government works projects; if so, of the specific requirements; if not, the reasons for that; (d) whether it has conducted comprehensive assessment on the effectiveness of applying BIM technology in carrying out works projects; if it has, of the assessment result; if not, whether it will conduct such an assessment; (e) whether the authorities have provided civil servants with training in applying BIM technology in carrying out public works projects; if they have, of the target trainees, the number of staff members trained and the annual expenditure incurred; and (f) whether the authorities will step up their efforts in promoting the development and application of BIM technology, as well as launching public promotion and education campaigns to enable the community at large to understand BIM technology and the effectiveness of its application in carrying out works projects; if they will, of the details?
6. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)
In May 2004, the Government issued the "Toll Revenue Bond" ("the Bond") of a value of HK$6 billion and established the Hong Kong Link 2004 Limited ("HKL"). After purchasing the Bond, HKL issued the related Retail Bonds and Notes. The net toll revenues generated by the five tolled tunnels and one bridge (i.e. the Aberdeen Tunnel, Cross Harbour Tunnel ("CHT"), Lion Rock Tunnel, Shing Mun Tunnels, Tseung Kwan O Tunnel and Lantau Link) owned by the Government ("tolled tunnels and bridge") are to be used for repayment of the principal and payment of interests on the Bond purchased by HKL, which in turn makes principal repayments and interest payments on the Retail Bonds and Notes for the tolled tunnels and bridge. Regarding the operation of HKL and the toll fees of the aforesaid tolled tunnels and bridge, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the distribution of the major revenues, the net amounts of such revenues, the net amount of the total revenue, and the year-on-year percentage changes of such revenues of HKL, in each of the past five financial years; (b) of the year-on-year percentage changes of the toll fees of the aforesaid tolled tunnels and bridge, and the mechanisms for adjustment of such toll fees, in the past five financial years; (c) of the principal repayments and interest payments for the Bond made by the Government to HKL in each of the past five financial years; the position of Government's repayment to HKL on the Bond as at December 2012 (with details of the bond maturity dates, the total amount of principal repaid so far, as well as the total amount of interest paid); (d) as the authorities have plans to increase the toll fees of CHT and provide subsidies for the operator of the Eastern Harbour Crossing ("EHC") so as to lower the toll fees of EHC, with a view to diverting traffic and bringing about overall social and economic benefits, whether the Government has assessed the impact of such measure on the traffic volume and income of CHT; if it has, of the details; and (e) given that there have been comments that the toll fees of the Lantau Link are too high, resulting in high public transport costs, stifling the economic development of districts and affecting people's livelihood, whether the Government has assessed the impacts of the present toll fees of the aforesaid tolled tunnels and bridge on transport, economic development and people's livelihood; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will do so and consider lowering the toll fees of the Lantau Link?
7. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)
Members of the public have relayed to me time and again that the three liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") suppliers adjusted upwards the retail prices of domestic LPG (including cylinder LPG and centralized LPG supplied to housing estates) in November last year, and that the new prices represent shocking rates of increase between 29% and 36% as compared with those in the preceding three months, which far exceeded the inflation rate during the same period, aggravating the burden on people's livelihood. At present, Hong Kong's domestic LPG suppliers determine their retail prices mainly on the basis of international contract prices of LPG (i.e. the free-on-board contract prices charged at the port of loading made public by the oil companies in Saudi Arabia on the first day of each month). According to the figures provided by the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan, the average contract price in 2011 was about US$850 per tonne, and that of the first 11 months of 2012 was about US$910, representing a rate of increase of 7%. A comparison between the prices of October and November 2012 (US$995 and US$1,020 per tonne respectively) shows a mere rate of increase of 2.5%, which differs significantly from the price increase of domestic LPG in Hong Kong over the same period of time. Moreover, it has been learnt that LPG prices of Hong Kong are the highest when compared to those of the neighbouring places of similar level of economic development. According to the figures published by CPC Corporation of Taiwan on 2 December, domestic LPG prices per kilogram after taxation were NT$30.06 in Taiwan, NT$41.3 in Korea, NT$48.73 in Japan and NT$54.34 in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the current number of households in Hong Kong using the above two types of domestic LPG; (b) given that the domestic LPG pricing mechanism adopted since 1999 by one of the major local LPG suppliers has long been accused of being quick in raising and slow in reducing prices, and currently international LPG prices are announced on the first day of each month, whether the Government has considered requesting LPG suppliers to review domestic LPG prices every month for greater price flexibility; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) given that LPG prices in Hong Kong are the highest in the region, and the only yardstick for determining price is market price, whether the Government will consider putting in place price control and adjustment mechanism in the domestic LPG market, as well as adopting alternative criteria other than market price with reference to the practices adopted by the neighbouring countries, so as to minimize the impact of LPG price changes on people's livelihood; given that it has been reported that Taiwan's oil companies, in response to the Taiwan Government's policy of maintaining price stability and caring of people's livelihood, did not raise domestic LPG prices in November last year but waited to recover the shortfall until a future price drop, whether the Government will formulate similar price adjustment mechanism so as to alleviate people's hardship; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
8. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that while the present number of unemployed young people aged 15 to 34 approaches 60 000, there are over 20 000 job vacancies in the retail, hotel and catering industries, and more than 3 000 vacancies in the construction industry. There is a view that should this group of young people fill the vacancies in these four industries, the problem of unemployment among young people will be ameliorated, and the problem of manpower shortage in these industries will also be alleviated. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has studied the causes for the aforesaid phenomenon of manpower mismatch; if it has, of the findings of the studies; (b) whether it has compiled statistics on the education level and the marital status of the people aged 15 to 34 who are currently unemployed; if it has, of the statistics; (c) among the people aged 15 to 34 who are currently unemployed, of the number of those who had received payments under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme due to unemployment in the past three years; and (d) whether the authorities will formulate new initiatives to encourage young people to seek employment; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
9. Hon Ronny TONG to ask: (Translation)
This Council enacted the new Companies Ordinance in July last year, with the commencement date to be announced. The Ordinance will impose new restrictions on inspection by the public of information such as the usual residential addresses and full identification numbers of persons such as company directors or company secretaries. According to the conclusions of the first phase consultation on the draft bill concerned, which was conducted by the Government between December 2009 and March 2010, a majority of the respondents supported the imposition of such restrictions. However, some members of the public and the media have recently indicated that they did not know that the Government had conducted the aforesaid consultation exercise, and the Government did not consult the general public as well as media practitioners and organizations on this matter. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the approach and targets of the aforesaid consultation (with a detailed list of the names of individuals and organizations consulted as well as the means by which the Government had contacted them); apart from uploading the consultation paper onto the designated web site, whether the Government had announced and publicized that it was conducting public consultation on the imposition of the aforesaid restrictions on inspection of information; if it had, of the details (including the relevant dates and the types of media through which the announcements were made and publicity was launched); if not, the reasons for that; as some members of the media industry have pointed out that for a number of previous news reports involving significant public interests, they had obtained the leads through inspecting the names and identity card numbers of the directors of certain companies, and that the aforesaid restrictions will affect the work of the media, of the reasons why the Government did not consult the media practitioners and organizations; (b) of the criteria for deciding the approaches and targets when the Government conducts consultation exercises on draft bills, and how it determines which organizations should undertake the tasks of conducting the consultation exercises and analysing the outcome; the number and details of such type of consultation exercises conducted by the Government in the past five years; whether it had openly reported to the public on the outcome and analyses of such consultation exercises; if it had, of the dates of the announcements and the means for reporting the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) how the Government ensures that all relevant stakeholders will be consulted and the public are aware that the Government is conducting consultation exercises on draft bills; how the authorities will more effectively publicize the views collected and the relevant details as well as make such information available for public inspection after conducting any public consultation exercise in future; whether the Government will undertake to provide expeditiously all the information on the outcomes, analyses and related data of consultation exercises to the relevant bills committees of this Council for consideration, when it conducts public consultation exercises in future which may impact on the legislative work of the Legislative Council; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
10. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that last month in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, a paediatric phlebotomist administered intravenous drip on a 19-month-old baby girl, but the syringe needle was subsequently dislocated, causing the saline solution to go into the muscle; and as the dislocation was not detected until four hours later, the baby girl's arm had swollen and turned purple. Some healthcare personnel explained to the baby girl's parents afterwards that the failure to detect promptly the dislocation of the syringe needle was related to severe manpower shortage. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) the number of phlebotomists currently employed in each of the public hospitals; (b) the scope of the duties of phlebotomists working in public hospitals, and whether duties (such as administration of intravenous drip) apart from blood taking are included; whether the relevant guidelines have specified that phlebotomists may carry out duties apart from blood taking in paediatric wards and geriatric wards; if so, of the criteria for formulating such guidelines; if this is not specified in the guidelines, the reasons for that; (c) whether the Hospital Authority had provided any pre-service training for phlebotomists in the past three years; if so, of the number of attendances of phlebotomists in such training and the average hours of training they received; if not, whether it has any plan to provide such training; if it has, of the details; and (d) the number of medical incidents involving phlebotomists which occurred in public hospitals in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by the hospitals and departments involved?
11. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that the Highways Department has all along grouped small traffic improvement works in the New Territories ("NT") into three districts (namely NT West, NT Northeast and NT Southeast) for tender purpose. Some members of the public have relayed to me that the progress of such works is slow. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the average time taken to complete traffic improvement works after issuance of the Works Request Forms by the Transport Department in the past three years, as well as the respective shortest and longest time taken for such works, with a breakdown by the aforesaid districts; (b) of the reasons why it has taken one year or even over two years to complete some simple traffic improvement works; the general causes for delays in such works, and whether such causes are related to manpower shortage on the part of the Highways Department or the contractors; (c) of the measures to prevent delays in traffic improvement works; and (d) whether it will consider reducing the areas to be covered in the traffic improvement works contracts and shortening the contract periods so that more contractors can be engaged to expedite the progress of such works; if it will, when it will do so; if not, of the reasons for that?
12. Hon Alan LEONG to ask: (Translation)
According to the figures provided to this Council by the Development Bureau in October 2012, in the unleased or unallocated government land on the statutory plans of Hong Kong, (i) there are a total of 391.5 hectares of land zoned "Residential" or "Commercial/Residential", among which 18.9 hectares have been included in the Application List for land sale (the "Application List"), with 372.6 hectares of the land remaining; and (ii) there are 932.9 hectares of land which are zoned "Village Type Development" mainly for the development of New Territories small houses. The Chief Executive has stated in his newly delivered Policy Address that "the top priority of the current-term Government is to tackle the housing problem". Regarding the short-term measures to increase the supply of residential sites and units, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the Government has drawn up a timetable on how the aforesaid 372.6 hectares of land zoned "Residential" and "Commercial/Residential" can be put to good use; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) as the Secretary for Development has indicated that "tackling the problem of small houses is still on the work schedule of the Development Bureau", whether the Government has considered allocating immediately a portion of the aforesaid 932.9 hectares of land zoned "Village Type Development" for residential development; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) as there are currently 30 residential sites on the Application List, whether the Government will take the initiative to sell some of the sites therein, or even resume regular land sale; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) as it has been reported that the uncompleted residential properties approved by the Government for sale in the past half-year involved a total of 7 885 units, but the number of units offered for sale in the market by developers was much smaller than this, whether the Government has any measures in place to prevent developers from hoarding residential flats approved for sale, so as to increase the supply of private residential flats; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
13. Hon Gary FAN to ask: (Translation)
In the past one-odd year, the retail prices of centralized domestic liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") have fluctuated greatly ($35.58, $41.3, $32.89 and $42.22 per cubic metre in late 2011, April, July and October 2012 respectively). Many members of the public have relayed to me their dissatisfaction. They are not only furious about the exorbitant LPG prices, but also discontented with the Government condoning profiteering by LPG suppliers without any regulation. At present, there are 15 housing estates under the management of the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") installed with central LPG supply system, but there are only three central LPG suppliers and only one of them has taken the initiative to adopt a pricing mechanism to review the retail prices of LPG regularly. However, some members of the public have pointed out that the transparency of the mechanism is considerably low, and monitoring is difficult as the general public do not know how the formula for setting the prices works. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it will take the initiative to discuss with central LPG suppliers the setting up of a fair and open LPG pricing mechanism; if not, how the authorities assist members of the public in monitoring LPG prices; (b) whether it knows the reasons for the several central LPG suppliers in Hong Kong often adjusting the prices simultaneously at present; given that various LPG suppliers should have different operating costs as they are of varying scales, whether the Government will investigate if the suppliers have engaged in collusive pricing for profiteering; (c) given the continuous rise in contract prices of LPG from Saudi Arabia in recent years, leading to the corresponding rise of local retail prices of LPG, whether the Government will consider introducing concessionary measures to subsidize members of the public to shift to use other energy sources (e.g. electricity); (d) given the substantial fluctuations of LPG prices, whether the Government will consider providing fuel subsidies to LPG users when LPG import prices have exceeded a certain level; (e) given that the measuring units of auto LPG, cylinder LPG and centralized domestic LPG are litre, kilogram and cubic metre respectively, whether it knows why the suppliers use different measuring units; whether the Government has plans to standardize the units concerned to facilitate monitoring by the public; (f) given that residents of housing estates currently under the management of HA and installed with only a central piped domestic LPG system (such as Kwong Fuk Estate and Tai Yuen Estate in Tai Po and Choi Yuen Estate in Sheung Shui) usually choose to use LPG as fuel, thus having to bear the risk of LPG price fluctuations, whether the Government will provide subsidies to residents in those housing estates or even speed up the redevelopment plans of those estates, so as to alleviate the unfair situation caused by the supply of different centralized fuels to different housing estates; if not, whether the Government will assess if the current practice of residents of public rental housing bearing the risk of LPG price fluctuations is reasonable; (g) given that the Government has pointed out that, under the existing contract terms with LPG companies, the installation of Towngas distribution network may commence only after the expiry of the existing LPG supply contracts, whether the Government will repeal such terms when entering into new LPG supply contracts, so as to provide an option of supplying Towngas to the housing estates concerned in future; if it will not, of the reasons for that; and (h) whether it knows the changes in retail prices of centralized domestic LPG from January 2007 to December 2012 (set out the figures of different companies in the table below)?
Company:Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
14. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
Will the Government inform this Council of the respective numbers of residential units produced from projects undertaken by the private sector in each of the years from 2002 to 2011 on sites involving applications for (i) lease modification, (ii) land exchange and (iii) private treaty grant?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
15. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that, every day during commuting hours, many passengers wait for trains at Hung Hom MTR Station's train platforms and a large number of passengers use the escalators in the Station to shuttle among various platforms to change trains, making the platforms very congested and chaotic. Moreover, the pedestrian walkways and footbridges connecting the Station's Exits A, B and D are pathways necessary for access to the cross-harbour tunnel bus and minibus stops, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Hong Kong Coliseum, and therefore are also very crowded. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of (i) the respective pedestrian flows at the Hung Hom MTR Station, the bus stops at the Kowloon entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel, as well as the aforesaid pedestrian walkways and footbridges, (ii) the number of accidents caused by overcrowding at such locations, and (iii) the number of complaints received by the relevant authorities from members of the public about overcrowding at these locations, in each of the past five years; the respective measures taken by the relevant government departments, the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") and various franchised bus companies at such locations to maintain order and to facilitate the crowd flows; (b) of the designed hourly loading capacity of the escalators in the Station connecting the various train platforms; (i) the average hourly flow of commuters using the escalators during peak hours, (ii) the number of complaints received by the relevant authorities from members of the public about overcrowding on the escalators in the Station, and (iii) the number of accidents of passengers falling onto the rail tracks in the Station, in the past five years; whether MTRCL will install additional escalators in the Station to connect the platforms, and when platform screen doors will be retrofitted at the Station; and (c) given that the Station has been in use for more than three decades and the facilities there are insufficient, whether the authorities will review if the Station is suitable for use as the terminus for the East Rail and the West Rail Lines, and whether they have any plan to use the East Tsim Sha Tsui Station as the terminus instead?
16. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
It was reported in the press on 17 October 2012 that the Student Financial Assistance Agency ("SFAA") had repeatedly attempted to recover a student loan from a social worker with disabilities. However, the social worker, who worked in a sheltered workshop with a monthly salary of some $500 only, was incapable of repaying her loan of $100,000. Being rejected time and again by SFAA for waiver of repayment of her loan, she had to bear undue mental stress persistently. Under the prevailing policy, SFAA will consider writing off student loans only under the following circumstances: the debtor has passed away; efforts to contact the debtor and his/her indemnifier(s) have failed; or writing-off action is advised by the Department of Justice ("DoJ"). Regarding the writing off of student loans, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities will exercise discretion in handling the aforesaid case to waive the borrower from repaying her loan; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) of the respective numbers of applications submitted to SFAA for waiver of repayment of loans in each of the past five years and the justifications for such applications, as well as the numbers of loans written off by SFAA and the amounts involved, and set out such information in the table below; Reasons for writing off Number of written-off cases and the amount involved 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 The debtor had passed away
Efforts to contact the debtor and his/her indemnifier(s) had failed
Writing-off action had been advised by DoJ
Other reasons (please list the details)
(c) of the respective numbers of borrowers with permanent disabilities and those with disabilities granted waiver of repayment of their loans by SFAA in each of the past five years and the amounts involved; (d) of the details of the time limit and the procedure set by the authorities for making efforts to contact a debtor and his/her indemnifier(s) and recover loans until such efforts have failed; how the authorities handle cases in which the debtors and their indemnifiers can eventually be reached after the loans have been written off; (e) of the justifications based on which DoJ had advised writing-off actions in the past five years and the procedure involved; (f) given that the authorities advised in July 2012 that a study on the existing policy on writing off loans was being conducted to explore ways of handling some special cases, and the task was expected to complete by the end of 2012, of the content of the study and whether it covers a review of granting waiver of repayment of loans for borrowers with disabilities and provision of special assistances to them; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and the time required for conducting and completing the study as well as the details and results of the public consultation conducted on this subject; and (g) whether the authorities will make public the results of the study; if they will, when such results will be released?
17. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
The travel agent's licence of the GTG International Travel Limited (i.e. "Smart Holiday") was revoked by the Travel Agents Registry ("the Registry") on 8 January this year. There have been newspaper commentaries pointing out that the facts that (i) the total liabilities of Smart Holiday have reached a high amount of $60 million, (ii) quite a number of travellers have suffered losses, and (iii) there are even cases which are not protected under the Travel Industry Compensation Fund ("TICF") mechanism because the original receipts of outbound fares were not duly franked with the levy stamp, and therefore there is no proof that levies have been paid by the travel agent, reflect a big loophole in the regulatory work of the Government. Also, the authorities, albeit knowing well beforehand that Smart Holiday was heavily in debt, not only failed to make timely announcement, but even renewed its licence allowing it to continue to operate, making it possible for Smart Holiday to accept travellers' enrolment for tours during the Lunar New Year period and to obtain services from its suppliers. This is tantamount to giving travel agents which are on the brink of closing down a last chance to reap money and to treat TICF as an automatic teller machine. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) during the 12-month period prior to the revocation of the licence of Smart Holiday, how the Registry had monitored the financial situation and operation of the travel agent, and why the Registry had revoked the licence of Smart Holiday only when the liabilities had accumulated to a high amount of $60 million; of the reasons why the Registry had allowed Smart Holiday, which was already in serious financial difficulties, to continue to engage in pre-sale of services to travellers; (b) of the total liabilities of SIG Holiday Limited ("SIG"), another travel agent which had ceased operation earlier due to financial difficulties, before the closure of its business; (c) whether it has assessed the respective amounts of ex-gratia payments that TICF are required to pay to the travellers affected by the closure of Smart Holiday and SIG; (d) of the objective criteria (e.g. the percentage of debts in the total assets) based on which the Registry decides to revoke the licences of travel agents in financial difficulties; whether the same criteria are adopted for handling cases involving different travel agents; if not, of the reasons for that; and (e) whether it has reviewed if the revocation of the licence of Smart Holiday only after its liabilities had accumulated to $60 million reflects a loophole in the Registry's regulation of travel agents; if it has, of the outcome of the review; if it has not, the reasons for that, and whether it will conduct such a review immediately to avoid recurrence of the aforesaid situation?
18. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Some green groups have pointed out that the catch of fish in Hong Kong has been decreasing since 1990 and by 2009, it has decreased by nearly 50%. Therefore, the Government should expeditiously implement measures to promote sustainable development and step up regulation of the fisheries industry. In addition, the Government should also ban fishing in the four marine parks and the marine reserve in Hong Kong. On the other hand, some members of the fisheries industry have indicated that the techniques currently used by the aquaculture industry in Hong Kong are still very backward and lack diversified development, and the marine ecotourism industry has yet to be developed. They consider that the Government should assist the development of these fisheries-related industries, so as to help fishermen switching to related industries. Regarding the regulation of the fisheries industry and development of related industries, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) as the Fisheries Protection (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 has come into operation since 15 June 2012, how the Government will implement the management measures for sustainable development of the fisheries industry under the Ordinance, including the implementation date and details of the plan to designate certain areas in Hong Kong waters as Fisheries Protection Areas ("FPAs"); (b) given that some green group members have pointed out that the water quality at Port Shelter and Tolo Channel are relatively good, and the waters are also fish spawning and nursing grounds, whether the Government has plans to designate these two areas as FPAs, so as to ban fishing in such waters; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) whether the Government will, by making reference to the practices in overseas countries and the Mainland, introduce the measure of fishing moratorium; if it will, of the implementation time; if not, the reasons for that; (d) whether the Government has plans to step up education for fishermen on the use of fishing methods conducive to sustainable development and step up efforts to combat the use of illegal fishing methods (such as the use of toxic substances, explosive or electricity, etc.) by fishermen; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; how the Government will step up efforts to combat illegal fishing activities in Hong Kong waters carried out by mainland fishing vessels; (e) whether the Government will adopt the marine conservation policies of foreign countries, including banning the capture of marine lives which are too small in size and carrying out ocean ranching (i.e. captive breeding fry before releasing them back into the sea, and capturing them after they have grown up); if it will, of the implementation time; if not, the reasons for that; (f) as the Government has advised in a paper on environmental protection policy initiatives submitted to this Council in 2013 that "[i]n 2013, in consultation with stakeholders, we will take forward the proposal to ban commercial fishing in marine parks", of the timetable for carrying out the consultation and legislative work as well as the details thereof; (g) whether the Government will provide more technical support to the aquaculture industry so as to help fishermen engaged in this industry to maintain their livelihood; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (h) given that some members of the industry have pointed out that the water quality of areas east of Hong Kong is excellent and suitable for aquaculture of shellfish and other marine produce, whether the Government will consider assisting the aquaculture industry in farming shellfish and other marine produce in that area, so as to promote diversified development of the aquaculture industry; and (i) how the Government will enhance support for the development of the marine ecotourism industry, so as to assist fishermen in switching to other related industries?
19. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
In a paper submitted to this Council, the Home Affairs Bureau ("HAB") stated that "[t]he Government plans to support non-governmental organizations ("NGOs") with the full capital costs of building youth hostels. The concept of Youth Hostel Scheme ("the Scheme") is for meeting the aspirations of some working youths in having their own living space and giving these youths an opportunity to accumulate savings to meet their aspirations". The paper has also pointed out that the Government will start with the two more-mature projects on a pilot basis and review the results. Earlier, the Secretary for Home Affairs has indicated that the Scheme aims to supply around 3 000 hostel units and, in order to ensure rotation of use of hostel units, the total tenancy period will be set at not exceeding five years and the upper age limit of applicants at 35. However, some young people have expressed to me their concerns that given the stringent eligibility criteria and complicated formalities of the aforesaid hostels, the Scheme may not be able to relieve their pressure from housing problems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the NGOs that have indicated to the authorities their interest in building youth hostels so far; the details of the two more-mature projects mentioned above, including the names of the NGOs, the locations of the sites for building youth hostels and the respective estimated numbers of hostel units that may be provided; the expected date for accepting applications for the first batch of hostel units and the expected date for occupation; (b) whether, according to the current ideas of the authorities, young people on the Waiting List for public rental housing ("PRH") may apply for admission to youth hostels; whether the authorities will consider allowing young people who have moved into youth hostels and are on PRH Waiting List to continue to stay after expiry of the tenancy periods until they have been allocated PRH flats; if they will not, of the reasons for that; (c) for those people whose tenancy periods for youth hostels have expired or who have exceeded the age limit of 35 but cannot afford to rent or purchase private residential units, what measures the authorities will take to help them, and whether the authorities will consider providing a certain degree of flexibility on the tenancy period; (d) as the authorities have planned to allow young married couples to apply for admission to youth hostels, of the ratio of hostel units for singletons to those for married couples in their plans, and whether such ratio will be adjusted from time to time in response to the circumstances; of the measures to be taken by the authorities to deal with special circumstances of young married couples getting divorce or having children after moving into the hostels; (e) whether the authorities will adjust upward the present target of building 3 000 hostel units when the demand for youth hostels exceeds the supply; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (f) given that the membership of the Long Term Housing Strategy Steering Committee ("SC") does not include any representative from HAB, how the authorities ensure that SC will give due consideration for the housing needs of youths when discussing housing policies; whether the authorities have considered including the Scheme on the agenda of SC; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
20. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
In reply to an enquiry from a member of the public, the Transport Complaints Unit of the Transport Advisory Committee has indicated that according to the laws of Hong Kong, Class I local vessels (including ferries), when underway, must have a person in charge of the vessels who is the holder of a local certificate of competency as a coxswain ("person-in-charge"), and other persons may also operate such vessels under the supervision of the person-in-charge in the wheelhouse ("regulation on the charge of a vessel"). That member of the public has pointed out that the Government has not set specific standards on the qualifications of the operators of the ferries of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings Limited. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) under the existing legislation, of the qualifications or certificates that vessel operators must possess, and whether it is illegal for a person without relevant qualifications or certificates to operate a vessel under the supervision of the person-in-charge in the wheelhouse; if so, of the legislation contravened; if not, how the authorities ensure that crew members without relevant qualifications or certificates possess adequate professional knowledge to operate a vessel; (b) whether it knows the respective numbers of people working in the shipping industry or engaged in operating vessels, etc. in Hong Kong in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by job type; of the training which crew members are required to receive before they are formally appointed, and whether skills of operating a vessel are included; if so, of the details; (c) of the types of local vessels to which the aforesaid regulation on the charge of a vessel applies, and list the respective standards for different types of vessels; and (d) of the number of vessel collision accidents in each of the past three years; among them, the number of accidents involving vessels not directly operated by the persons-in-charge at the time of the accidents, with a breakdown by the type of vessels?
III. Members' Motion
| Motion of Thanks
Hon Andrew LEUNG to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council thanks the Chief Executive for his address. Amendments to the motion
Public Officers to attend are listed in the Appendix. |
Clerk to the Legislative Council