A 14/15-20
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 25 March 2015 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Merchant Shipping (Prevention and Control of Pollution) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2015 | 53/2015 |
| 2. | Merchant Shipping (Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships) Regulation | 54/2015 |
| 3. | Places of Public Entertainment (Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2015 | 55/2015 |
| 4. | Adoption (Amendment) Rules 2015 | 56/2015 |
| 5. | Convention Adoption (Amendment) Rules 2015 | 57/2015 |
Other Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
On the 11th of last month, I raised a question on the grant of the sites in the Industrial Estates ("IEs") under the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation ("HKSTPC") for the development of data centres. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the authorities replied that "HKSTPC has previously conducted investigations into some suspected cases of letting or subletting the premises to a third party. Individual grantees which were substantiated to be in breach of the terms and conditions of the lease (‘lease-breaching') have rectified the breach upon follow-up by HKSTPC. HKSTPC will continue to monitor the operation of data centres in the IEs and take follow-up actions according to the lease agreement as appropriate", whether the Government knows the details of the lease-breaching cases in the past three years and the mechanism for imposing penalties on the lease-breaching grantees, including the penalties for a first breach and for repeated breaches, as well as the circumstances under which the sites will be recovered; whether the various lease agreements entered with the grantees contain such penalty clauses; if so, of the details; if not, whether HKSTPC will consider including such clauses; if HKSTPC will not, of the reasons for that; (2) given that on the one hand, HKSTPC needs to attract investors to IEs for income generation and, on the other, is responsible for monitoring the companies to which IE sites are granted to see if there is any breach of the lease, how the authorities avoid HKSTPC's performance of such dual functions giving rise to conflicts of roles and interests; and (3) whether "the provision of a fair business environment" is a consideration and a principle adopted when the authorities formulated the strategies for promoting the development of data centres; if so, given that HKSTPC has granted IE sites for premiums that are below market value and thus attracted quite a number of multinational enterprises to set up data centres in its IEs, whether the authorities have assessed if such practice has put operators who set up data centres outside IEs on an unlevel playing field; if there is such an unfair situation, whether the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review of the strategies concerned with a view to creating a fair and transparent business environment?
2. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)
In reply to my question on 10 July 2013, the Government indicated that the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") had initiated investigations into suspected irregularities of the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange Limited ("HKMEx") and referred certain issues to the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Police for follow-up. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the law enforcement agencies, including the Police and SFC, have completed the investigations concerned; if so, of the investigation results, and why such results have not been published; if they have not yet completed the investigations, the reasons for that; (2) as it has been reported that the magistrate remarked, on 22 October 2013 when passing a sentence on a defendant convicted of the offence of possessing a false instrument relating to HKMEx, that the former Chairman of HKMEx was a suspect in the case concerned and recommended an investigation by the Police, whether the Police have followed up such recommendation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as it has been reported that in releasing its 2015 Index of Economic Freedom report in January this year, the Heritage Foundation from the United States commented that Hong Kong's ranking in freedom from corruption had declined for the second consecutive year and dropped to the 15th place, which was a record low in the past 16 years, whether the authorities have plans to enhance the transparency of the investigations conducted and the follow-up actions taken on the case involving HKMEx and other cases of public concern, so as to restore the confidence of members of the public and the international community in Hong Kong's corruption-free status?
3. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
Early this month, I visited Germany with the Legislative Council delegation and learnt that the German parliament passed a bill early this month requiring that starting from next year, women must account for at least 30% of the members on the supervisory boards of listed companies. In this connection, will the executive authorities inform this Council:
(1) whether they have compiled statistics on the proportion of female members on the boards of directors of listed companies in Hong Kong; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether they will consult the public on the enactment of legislation to specify the proportion of female members on the boards of directors of listed companies; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that in the 2015 Policy Address, the Chief Executive requires all bureaux and government departments to raise the appointment rate of women to government advisory and statutory bodies from 30% to 35% starting from 2015-2016, whether the authorities have any plans to set a target proportion of female members on the boards of directors of listed companies; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that recently, a bitcoin trading portal suddenly ceased operation, and its office was also found not in operation. It is estimated that about 3 000 investors have suffered losses, involving a total amount as high as HK$3 billion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of the investors concerned who have reported to the Police so far and the total amount of money involved; how the Police handle such cases and what progress they have made; whether the Police have completed the handling of some of such cases; if so, of the outcome; and (2) given that the Government has repeatedly reminded the public of the risks involved in trading bitcoins and reiterated that bitcoins are no more than a kind of "commodities" created in the virtual world, whether the authorities have grasped the situations in respect of the trading of bitcoins, as well as their being used for making purchases in Hong Kong; whether the authorities will proactively investigate the operation of bitcoin exchange platforms, and whether they will consider enacting legislation to regulate or ban the relevant activities; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
As revealed by the "Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong - Waste Statistics for 2013" published in February this year, the per capita municipal solid waste disposal rate per day ("the disposal rate") rose from 1.27 kilograms ("kg") in 2011 to 1.33 kg in 2013, and the recovery rate dropped from 48% in 2011 to 37% in 2013. In 2013, more than 90% of recyclable materials were exported but the export values have dropped year-on-year since 2011. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has studied why the disposal rate has continued to rise after the implementation of a number of waste reduction measures in recent years; whether it has assessed if the disposal rate will increase in the next few years; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the new measures the authorities have in place to achieve the targets set out in the "Hong Kong Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources 2013-2022" ("the Blueprint"), i.e. to reduce the disposal rate to 1 kg and 0.8 kg or below by 2017 and 2022 respectively; if the authorities have no new measures, whether they will consider revising such targets; (2) given that the aforesaid report pointed out that the recovery rate decreased mainly because of substantial fluctuations in export statistics of waste plastics, whether the authorities have assessed if such situation was due to the implementation of the "Operation Green Fence" by the mainland authorities; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the remedial measures; what measures the authorities have in place to increase the recovery rate in order to achieve the targeted recovery rate of 55% by 2022, as set out in the Blueprint; and (3) given that the Government set up the Steering Committee to Promote the Sustainable Development of the Recycling Industry in 2013 to study measures to support the recycling industry, of the latest progress and outcome of the work of the committee; what new measures the authorities have in place to encourage the development of the local recycling industry?
6. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
On the 5th of this month, the Premier of the State Council delivered the Report on the Work of the Government at the third session of the Twelfth National People's Congress. It was mentioned in the Report that "[t]here is still much to be improved in the work of the government, with some policies and measures not being satisfactorily implemented. A small number of government employees behave irresponsibly; shocking cases of corruption still exist; and some government officials are neglectful of their duties, holding onto their jobs while failing to fulfill their responsibilities". He also stated that "[w]e will work to improve the mechanisms for assessing performance, and commend those who perform well, admonish those who do not, and expose and hold to account those who are indolent, sloppy, or neglectful of their duties". In mentioning the streamlining of administration and delegation of powers, he emphasized that "[i]t goes without saying that powers should not be held without good reason". On the other hand, quite a number of comments and opinion polls indicate that the policy implementation by the current-term SAR Government has been difficult, the relationship between the Executive Authorities and the Legislature is poor, the popularity ratings of the Chief Executive and some principal officials have been persistently low, and people's dissatisfaction with the Government continues to rise. All of the above have reflected that the Accountability System for Principal Officials exists in name only, and a governance crisis has emerged. Regarding the assessment of the performance of the SAR Government and the principal officials according to the Premier's remarks, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government has reviewed which policies and measures have not been satisfactorily implemented at present, and whether there are incompetent principal officials who have failed to fulfill their responsibilities, thereby resulting in their persistently low popularity ratings and the continuous rise in people's dissatisfaction with the Government; if it has conducted such a review, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as there are comments that since the Government is supervised by the people, the low popularity ratings of officials reflect that people do not approve of their capabilities and performance, whether the Government has admonished and held to account principal officials with low popularity ratings who did not perform well, so that the Accountability System will not exist in name only; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that subsequent to the authorities' withdrawal of the financial proposal relating to the establishment of the Innovation and Technology Bureau in the middle of last month due to filibustering by some members of the Finance Committee of this Council, the Chief Executive appointed a former Vice President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University as his Innovation & Technology Adviser and as a non-official Member of the Executive Council, and quite a number of political parties have criticized such practice as rule-breaking, whether the Government has assessed if such practice is tantamount to using powers in a wilful manner; whether the Chief Executive has consulted Members of the Executive Council before deciding to make such appointments; if he has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*7. Hon Gary FAN to ask: (Translation)
Some participants in social movements have relayed to me that since the occurrence of the occupation movement on 28 September last year, the Police have spared no efforts in suppressing social movements, including making indiscriminate arrests and prosecutions of the persons concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the numbers of people demanded to produce their identity cards, and had the relevant information of them recorded, by police officers because of their participation in various kinds of social movements (including the occupation movement, "shopping tour" protests and "anti-parallel goods smugglers" protests) since 28 September last year (set out separately in the table below), the purposes of the Police recording such information and the uses of such information; Social movement Number of people Occupation movement "Shopping tour" protest "Anti-parallel goods smugglers" protest Others (list separately) (2) of the numbers of people arrested since 28 September last year because of their participation in various kinds of social movements (set out separately in the table below); and Social movement Number of people Occupation movement "Shopping tour" protest "Anti-parallel goods smugglers" protest Others (list separately) (3) of the respective numbers of people arrested for alleged commission of offences while participating in social movements from January 2013 to August last year and since 28 September last year and, among them, the numbers of people under (ii) to (v) in the table below (set out in tables of the same format as the table below)? Number of people Offence involved Assaulting police officer Unlawful assembly Contempt of court for violating injunction order Other offences
(list separately)(i) Arrested (ii) Charge dropped (iii) Released on bail pending investigation (iv) On remand pending investigation (v) Prosecuted Among the people under (v):
- Pending judgment- Convicted - Acquitted
*8. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the tourism industry have pointed out that as shown by the experience of Taiwan, Japan and the United Kingdom, home-stay lodgings offer an alternative travel experience which is highly attractive to both local and overseas travellers. On the premise of preserving humanistic features and not damaging the natural environment, home-stay lodgings may not only make economic contributions to the remote areas, but also further enrich tourism resources. In Hong Kong, on the contrary, premises used as home-stay lodgings are required to comply with building and fire safety requirements as stringent as those applicable to licensed guesthouses and hotels, which has hindered the development of home-stay lodgings. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(1) it has made reference to the successful experience of other places and studied the feasibility of developing home-stay tourism in Hong Kong, so as to enrich the tourism resources in Hong Kong; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) it will consider enacting a dedicated legislation to provide for a simpler and less stringent licensing system for home-stay lodgings, so that village houses can be used for operating home-stay lodgings after minor alteration works only; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) it will regard home-stay tourism as an emerging industry and formulate policies to encourage young people to join the industry; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that an incident recently occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in which prison officers were held hostage by some prisoners, and such prisoners eventually committed suicide by shooting themselves in the head. These prisoners had made a number of demands and accused the authorities of applying inconsistent criteria for vetting and approval of prisoners' applications for medical parole. Regarding medical parole for prisoners in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of prisoners in Hong Kong who suffered from serious illnesses and, among them, the number of those who died as a result, in each of the past 10 years; (2) of the number of prisoners in each of the past 10 years who submitted applications for remission of sentence or parole on grounds of serious illness, together with a breakdown by application outcome; and (3) whether it knows the countries or places in which there are legislative provisions on prisoners' application for medical parole; whether the laws of Hong Kong allow prisoners to apply for medical parole on grounds of serious illness; if they do not, whether the authorities will amend the relevant legislation by making reference to the practices adopted in those countries or places?
*10. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
Section 68 of the District Councils Ordinance (Cap. 547) provides that "[a] District Council may make standing orders for regulating its procedure and that of its committees". It is learnt that individual District Councils ("DCs") have, on the basis of the model District Council Standing Orders ("model DCSO") prepared by the Home Affairs Department, made their own standing orders which invariably have incorporated the following provision of the model DCSO on declaration of interests: the DC Chairman shall decide whether a DC member (other than the DC Chairman) who has disclosed an interest in a matter may speak or vote on that matter, may remain in the meeting as an observer, or should withdraw from the meeting (or if the DC Chairman has disclosed an interest in a matter, the DC Vice Chairman shall make such a decision). Regarding the system of declaration of interests for DCs, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities know if there is any DC Chairman who, when making a decision in accordance with the aforesaid provision, currently adopts the following practice: requiring DC members who are unremunerated (i.e. without any honorarium, allowances or other material benefits) directors of public or private companies/ organizations (including non-profit-making welfare organizations) (i) to disclose such connections and/or withdraw from the meeting when a funding proposal relating to such companies/organizations is being discussed by the DC or its committees, and (ii) to refrain from voting when a vote is taken on such a funding proposal; if there is, of the details; and (2) whether the authorities will review the provisions of the model DCSO on declaration of interests and incorporate the practice mentioned in (1) into the model DCSO, as well as recommend various DCs to consider adopting such practice; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Secretary for Labour and Welfare has recently indicated that there is a shortfall of 10 000 to 15 000 technical workers in the construction industry in Hong Kong each year at present. Regarding the shortage of technical personnel engaged in the electrical and mechanical works under the construction industry in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the criteria based on which the authorities have arrived at the aforesaid figures; (2) of the respective shortfalls in (i) professional/technologist, (ii) technician, (iii) tradesman/craftsman, and (iv) semi-skilled worker/general worker engaged in the various trades of the electrical and mechanical works under the construction industry in each of the past five years (set out in the table below); if the authorities cannot provide such figures, of the reasons for that, and whether they will consider conducting expeditiously a survey on such shortfalls; Technical Trade (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Plumbing Air-conditioning and refrigeration Vehicle Fire services Gas Electronic equipment Lift and escalator Electrical equipment Mechanical equipment Water supply Gas supply Electricity supply Transport Railway Others (3) whether it knows the institutions which organized training courses for personnel in the trades listed in (2) in each of the past five years, as well as the titles, durations of study and numbers of graduates of such courses; and (4) whether it will formulate new measures to boost the supply of local technical personnel in the electrical and mechanical works of the construction industry and enhance their levels of skills; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*12. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the employees hired by employment agencies and outsourced service contractors (collectively referred to as "outsourced service providers") for providing services to government departments or public organizations ("outsourced service staff"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the total number of outsourced service staff members in various government departments and public organizations (including the Hospital Authority and the Vocational Training Council) in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by department/organization; whether it has studied if the remuneration packages for outsourced service staff are inferior to those of civil servants and employees of other private enterprises who have comparable responsibilities, and if the durations of their employment contracts are shorter than those of the employees of other private enterprises; if it has studied, of the details; (2) of the specific criteria adopted by various government departments and public organizations for selecting outsourced service providers; of the details of outsourcing of services by them in the past three years, including the nature of such services and the duration of the contracts, as well as the total amount of savings achieved each year by outsourcing such services; (3) of the number of complaints received, in each of the past three years, by various government departments from outsourced service staff members about alleged defaults on payment of wages or deduction of wages by outsourced service providers, or about poor working environment; the details of the follow-up actions taken by the authorities in respect of such complaints and, among them, the number and details of those cases in which the outsourced service providers concerned were penalized because the complaints against them had been found substantiated; (4) of the date and details of the Government's last review of its mechanism for monitoring the remuneration packages offered by its outsourced service providers to the outsourced service staff; and (5) of the respective numbers of posts deleted by outsourcing of services in each of the past three years, and those to be deleted in each of the next three years, by various government departments and public organizations; whether they have plans to employ staff directly to provide such services in place of outsourcing of services; if they do, of the details?
*13. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the number of finance companies in Hong Kong has surged from around 300 in 2009 to about 1 200 this year, and such finance companies are heavily engaged in the mortgage loan business. There are comments that under the existing system, the banks providing the first mortgage loans may not be aware that the property owners concerned have taken out second, third and fourth mortgage loans from finance companies on the same properties. As finance companies charge high mortgage interest rates (reportedly as high as 30% to over 40%), there is a high risk of such borrowers not being able to repay the mortgage loans. Besides, it has been reported that many banks and financial companies have partnered with mortgage intermediaries to compete for mortgage business. Yet, mortgage intermediaries are not subject to the monitoring by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") and the Estate Agents Authority, and they often resort to problematic practices to induce people to borrow money. According to the press report concerned, a certain mortgage intermediary under an estate agency claimed that it had the support of 18 banks and could, gearing to borrowers' needs, make arrangements for the borrowers to apply, in the name of private companies, to banks for loans to small and medium-sized enterprises and that the overall loan-to-value ratio could be as high as 100% of the property value. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the number and the total amount of mortgage loans provided by finance companies and, among them, the respective numbers and total amounts of second, third and fourth mortgage loans; (2) of the authorities' measures to regulate (i) the aforesaid situation of banks and finance companies providing multiple mortgage loans on the same property, and (ii) the levels of mortgage interest rates charged by finance companies; (3) as it has been reported that some finance companies have obtained loans not relating to mortgage from banks and then used such funds for their mortgage loan business charging high interest rates, of the authorities' measures to regulate such practice; (4) of the authorities' measures to ensure that the mortgage loan business of finance companies will not affect the stability and robustness of Hong Kong's banking system; (5) whether it has studied if the aforesaid practice of mortgage intermediaries helping borrowers to take out mortgage loans of a loan-to-value ratio of as high as 100% will undermine the effectiveness of the measures taken by HKMA for preventing the financial system from being exposed to excessive risk in the mortgage business; if it has studied, of the findings; if not, whether it will conduct such a study expeditiously; (6) whether it has studied if the aforesaid practices of mortgage intermediaries in promoting and operating their business have breached the law; if it has studied, of the findings; (7) whether it has assessed if mortgage intermediaries' marketing practices and finance companies' offering multiple mortgage loans at high interest rates will add fuel to the over-heated property market; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the authorities' counter measures; and (8) of the authorities' new measures to protect members of the public from being misled by finance companies and financial intermediaries into taking out mortgage loans beyond their repayment capability?
*14. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Regarding manpower planning for various professions, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that in its report "Developing Hong Kong's Human Capital in Financial Services" released in January this year, the Financial Services Development Council put forward certain recommendations to address the manpower demand of the financial services industry in the next three to five years, whether the Government has accepted and followed up these recommendations; if it has, of such recommendations; if not, the reasons for that; (2) apart from the recommendations to be followed up as mentioned in (1), of the Government's specific plans in place to resolve the existing manpower resource imbalance problem in the financial services industry and to upgrade the overall professional standard of the practitioners in the industry; and (3) whether it has plans to conduct comprehensive manpower studies for other professions (including the accounting profession) so as to formulate, after grasping the objective and specific situation of the manpower markets in the relevant professional sectors, timely and targeted medium and long term human resource policies (including examining the need for importing overseas talents) to cater for and promote the long-term and healthy development of various professions; if it has such plans, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
Recently, quite a number of major infrastructure projects, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge related local projects and Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point and associated works, have experienced delays and cost overruns. The authorities have pointed out that some of the main causes for cost overruns are surges in the wage levels of construction workers as well as the prices of construction materials and machinery, etc. Some members of the construction industry have pointed out that the cause for the soaring wages of the workers is related to the concurrent implementation of a number of infrastructure projects, resulting in competition for construction workers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the respective current total shortfalls of technical workers and unskilled workers for the various major infrastructure projects; (2) whether it has any new plan to attract young people and employees from other industries to join the construction industry; if it does, of the details; (3) whether it knows the number of graduated trainees of the training courses provided by the Construction Industry Council ("training courses") in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by course type; (4) whether it has compiled statistics on the employment rate of the trainees of the training courses upon graduation and the percentage of the graduated trainees who did not join the construction industry in the total number of graduated trainees, in the past three years; (5) whether it has conducted surveys to find out, among the trainees who graduated in the past three years from the training courses and joined the construction industry, the percentage of those taking up jobs in other industries within two years from graduation; and (6) whether the authorities will, when drawing up plans for major infrastructure projects in future, plan for the implementation of such projects by phases on the premise of not importing foreign labour, so as to avoid labour shortages and project delays arising from competition among projects for construction workers?
*16. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that the criteria currently adopted by oil companies in setting the retail prices of domestic liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG"), including central LPG and bottled LPG, lack transparency. Also, the Government has not clearly explained the procedure for selecting central LPG providers for subsidized housing estates/courts, making it difficult for the public to monitor the prices of domestic LPG and the quality of gas supply service. In connection with the use of Towngas and central LPG in subsidized housing estates/courts, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has fully grasped and regularly monitors various oil companies' price data on domestic LPG, including changes in costs, as well as import and retail prices; if so, of the details; (2) of the Home Ownership Scheme courts, courts under the Private Sector Participation Scheme, public housing estates and estates under the Hong Kong Housing Society ("HKHS") which are currently using Towngas and central LPG respectively (set out such information in a table); (3) of the criteria adopted by the authorities for determining, during construction of subsidized housing estates/courts, whether Towngas or central LPG will be used in such estates/courts in future; given that Fu Ning Garden in Tseung Kwan O, which was available for intake in 1990, uses central LPG while On Ning Garden in Tseung Kwan O, which was available for intake in 1991, uses Towngas, why these two subsidized housing courts with years of intake and locations being so close to each other use different domestic fuels; and (4) of the method (e.g open tender) adopted by the Hong Kong Housing Authority and HKHS for selecting central LPG providers for their housing estates/courts?
*17. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
The Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education ("CPCE") implements the Community Participation Scheme ("CPS") every year to sponsor civic education projects organized by various bodies. Funded projects cover topics such as national education, promotion of the Basic Law and human rights education. The Research, Development, Community Participation and Management Subcommittee ("the Subcommittee") under CPCE is responsible for vetting and approval of funding applications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details, including the names, dates, nature, contents, target participants, numbers of participants and subsidized amounts, of the projects funded under CPS in the past three years (set out in a table); (2) of the application procedures for CPS, as well as the procedure and criteria for vetting and approval of applications; and (3) of the membership lists of the Subcommittee in the past three years, and the details of its mechanism for declaration of interests?
*18. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of users of the General Out-patient Clinics Telephone Appointment Service ("TAS") of the Hospital Authority ("HA") have relayed to me that they hope HA will enhance TAS. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) as some elderly users of TAS have said that the procedure for making telephone appointments is too complicated, whether HA will simplify such procedure; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as quite a number of elderly people have expressed that they do not know how to use TAS, whether HA will allocate additional resources for teaching the elderly people how to use TAS; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) as some users have relayed that TAS does not offer an option of answering their calls by a real person, which makes it difficult for them to enquire about the details of the out-patient services, whether HA will consider afresh adding the option to TAS; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) as some users have relayed that the existing TAS does not provide any information on the remaining consultation quotas of various clinics, whether HA will consider providing such information in TAS; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*19. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the current operation of various immigration control points ("control points"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the total operational expenses and major categories of expenses of various control points in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by control point; (2) of the staff establishments of various government departments at various control points in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by control point and department; (3) of the respective numbers of times of visitors to Hong Kong, Hong Kong residents, as well as passenger and goods vehicles crossing the boundary via various control points in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by control point; (4) whether the control points have any income (e.g. tax levied on visitors in transit and rents collected from shop operators); if they do, of the income of various control points in each of the past three years (set out the information by control point and source of income) as well as the use of such income; (5) whether expansion/facility enhancement works are being or will be carried out at various control points; if so, of the details and the estimated expenses of such works; and (6) whether it has plans to adjust the fees charged by the control points or introduce an arrival tax on visitors in order to increase the income of the control points to subsidize their operational expenses; if it has such plans, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
Since 2008, the Government has implemented measures to enhance the role and functions of District Councils ("DCs"), including making arrangements for the heads of those departments with direct interface with the public to attend DC meetings, so as to strengthen the communication between the Government and DCs. In this regard, the Government issued an internal circular instructing 22 Heads of Departments ("HoDs") to each attend at least one meeting of each DC within the current term (i.e. from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2015) of DCs. Besides, core departments are required to send representatives to attend DC meetings regularly and, at the beginning of each calendar/financial year, submit annual district plans for that year to District Management Committees ("DMCs") and DCs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as at February this year, of the HoDs who attended, and those who have yet to attend, DC meetings of the current DC term pursuant to the aforesaid circular (set out one by one by DC district); the reasons for HoDs not attending DC meetings as instructed, and whether they have made arrangements for attending meetings of the DCs concerned before the end of the current DC term; if they have not, the reasons for that; (2) as I have learnt that it is increasingly common for government departments not assigning their officers to attend the meetings of DCs or their committees, whether the authorities have assessed the reasons for that, and whether one of the reasons is that "the departments concerned have not attached sufficient importance to the communication with DCs"; if this is one of the reasons, of the authorities' improvement measures; and (3) of those core departments which have not yet submitted annual district plans to DMCs and DCs pursuant to the aforesaid circular since the commencement of the current DC term and the reasons for that, and whether such departments will expeditiously submit such documents to the DMCs and DCs concerned?
*21. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the lack of proper maintenance will increase the level of emissions by vehicles. Regarding the reduction of vehicle emissions in Hong Kong as well as the training for and shortage of vehicle mechanics, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Government launched the Ex-gratia Payment Scheme in March 2014 to gradually phase out more than 80 000 pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles ("DCVs") in Hong Kong, including light buses and non-franchised buses, with the aim of phasing out heavily polluting DCVs completely by 2020, whether the authorities have assessed the effectiveness of the Scheme since its implementation, including whether the targets can be achieved; if they have assessed, of the outcome; (2) given the comment that the "idling emission test" method currently adopted in the annual examination of DCVs cannot effectively check the emission levels of nitrogen oxides and respirable suspended particulates, what improvement measures the Government has in place; (3) given that the authorities have launched the Tax Incentives Scheme for Environment-friendly Commercial Vehicles to encourage vehicle owners to purchase environment-friendly commercial vehicles with low emissions, whether they have assessed the effectiveness of the Scheme; if they have assessed, of the outcome; (4) given that the skills and qualifications of vehicle mechanics are classified and standardized under the voluntary registration scheme for vehicle mechanics implemented by the Government, of the respective numbers of various classes of registered vehicle mechanics under the scheme at present; whether it knows the respective percentages of such numbers in the total number of members of the vehicle maintenance trade; (5) whether it knows the current number of training courses on vehicle maintenance offered locally; whether the Government will provide more resources to the Vocational Training Council to enhance skills training for vehicle mechanics; and (6) as I have learnt that there has been a shortage of vehicle mechanics in recent years, what measures the Government has in place to mitigate this problem?
*22. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Some Tseung Kwan O residents have relayed to me that at present they mainly take MTR, franchised buses and public light buses to travel to and from Tseung Kwan O. As both the passenger throughput of the MTR Tseung Kwan O Line and the vehicular flow of the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel have already reached their maximum capacities during the morning and evening commuting peak hours, everyday those residents have to wait for several MTR trains before they can board the train, and road traffic congestion also results in a much longer journey time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has devised plans to alleviate the traffic congestion at the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel prior to the commissioning of the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has assessed, according to the current progress, if the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel and the Cross Bay Link, Tseung Kwan O projects can be completed on schedule in 2020; if they cannot be completed on schedule, of the reasons for that; and (3) given the continuous increase in the population of LOHAS Park in recent years, whether the Government will request the MTR Corporation Limited to study the construction of a railway extension to directly link up LOHAS Park Station with the Kwun Tong Line, with a view to cancelling the "2+1" train service arrangement; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Bills
| First Reading
Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2015 Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | ||
| Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
|
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| ||
| District Cooling Services Bill | : | Secretary for the Environment
|
| Secretary for the Environment to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 18 March 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 532/14-15) | ||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage amendments to the District Cooling Services Bill (issued on 24 March 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 556/14-15(01))) | ||