A 13/14-6
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 6 November 2013 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Fugitive Offenders (Czech Republic) Order | 166/2013 |
| 2. | Official Administrator's Accounts (Interest) (Amendment) Rules 2013 | 167/2013
|
| 1. | No. 20 | - | Prisoners' Education Trust Fund
Report by the Trustee for the period from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Security)
| |||
| 2. | No. 21 | - | Consumer Council
Annual Report 2012-13 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)
| |||
| 3. | No. 22 | - | Occupational Safety and Health Council
Annual Report 2012-2013 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)
| |||
| 4. | No. 23 | - | The Legislative Council Commission
Annual Report 2012-2013 |
| (to be presented by the President of the Legislative Council)
| |||
| 5. | Report No. 2/13-14 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the House Committee)
| |||
| 6. | Report of the Bills Committee on Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) (Amendment) Bill 2013 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon WONG Kwok-kin, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
| |||
II. Questions
1. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Incidents of youth suicide occurred in Hong Kong one after another in the last couple of months since the commencement of the current school year. The number of suicide cases involving young people aged 19 or below in each of the past three years ranged from 21 to 28, which has once again aroused public concern about the mental health of young people. According to the analysis made by the Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong, while the prima facie cause of most cases of youth suicide involves relationship problems, the root causes of their suicidal attempts stem from their families. As such, family members play a critical role in preventing the tragedy of youth suicide. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) regarding the promotion of family related policies, whether the authorities will formulate, from a family-friendly point of view, relevant measures in the short, medium and long terms, including measures to promote mental health among young people and educate parents on preventing suicides, etc.; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) regarding education policies, targeting on the problem of young people facing immense study pressure but not having sufficient time for rest, as well as the relatively low resilience in some young people, whether the authorities will conduct in-depth studies and analyses for formulating means to strengthen the resilience of young people; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) regarding health policies, as some members of the public have pointed out that the waiting time for adolescent psychiatric treatment service is too long, with the problem being particularly acute in the Prince of Wales Hospital, of the authorities' improvement plan in this respect; furthermore, whether the authorities will enhance counselling services on the mental health for young people so as to identify problematic cases early and provide appropriate treatment to the young people concerned; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon Martin LIAO to ask: (Translation)
The consultation document published earlier by the Long Term Housing Strategy Steering Committee has proposed a supply target of 470 000 residential units in the next decade. The Secretary for Transport and Housing subsequently told the media that the target number represented an increase of around 70 000 to 100 000 units when compared to the existing pledge of the Government, but at present there were not sufficient lands for housing construction. On the other hand, in his column "My Blog" published on the Internet in January and April this year, the Secretary for Development proposed that "brownfield sites" (i.e. deserted or damaged agricultural and industrial lands) be developed to meet the demand for residential sites. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the Government keeps the geographic data of all brownfield sites in Hong Kong at present, including data on the quantity, soil behaviour, size, type, distribution by district and the restoration works required; if not, of the reasons for that; whether it has plans to establish a comprehensive database for such data; if it has such a plan, of the implementation timetable; (b) as it has been reported that some owners of land in rural areas have used agricultural lands for unauthorized developments, such as car parks, container yards, open storages and waste recycling yards, etc., resulting in a rapid increase in the area of brownfield sites in the past decade or so, of the number of cases involving such unauthorized developments uncovered by the authorities in the past five years, as well as the number of cases in which the sites were restored to the original conditions after the persons concerned had been advised to do so; and (c) whether, in order to reduce reliance on reclamation or resumption of village lands, the Government will formulate a land supply policy under which development of brownfield sites will be accorded priority, including devising a specific policy for the management of brownfield sites, and developing land strategies that accord priority to the revitalization and restoration of land environment, etc.; if it will, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the interim review of the Scheme of Control Agreements ("SCAs") and the tariff review conducted by the Government with CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP") and The Hongkong Electric Company Limited ("HEC") in 2013, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) as it has been reported that CLP has over-estimated the fuel cost for the first half of this year and has thus overcharged its customers with respect to the fuel clause surcharge, whether the authorities know the total amount of the fuel clause surcharge overcharged by CLP in the first 10 months of this year; whether the Government will request CLP to refund to its customers the overcharged amount; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) as it has been reported that CLP has planned to suspend the construction of offshore wind farms, whether the Government has sought the reasons for the suspension and the latest construction schedule from CLP; in view of the fact that the two power companies have included certain fixed assets (including the transmission and distribution facilities for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, MTR Shatin to Central Link and Kai Tak Development Area, etc.) in their accounts and the rising price of natural gas, which may result in the rate of tariff increase for the coming year higher than the approved projected basic tariff rate by 5%, whether it has assessed if it is necessary for the Executive Council to request the two power companies to conduct another Development Plan Review for reassessing the rate of tariff increase; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the criteria to be adopted by the Executive Council for examining the outcome of the review; if the assessment result is in the negative, the reasons for that; whether there are measures in place to ensure that the two power companies will improve the efficiency and quality of their electricity supply services by 2018; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether it has assessed the feasibility of opening up the electricity market after 2018; and (c) as some green groups have pointed out that by implementing the energy saving measures under the SCAs, CLP and HEC saved merely 12GWh and 3GWh of electricity respectively in 2011, which accounted for less than 0.04% and 0.03% of the electricity sales of the two power companies in that year and helped little in reducing carbon emission and addressing climate change, whether the authorities have put in place any measure to raise the energy saving targets of the two power companies; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
The main piece of the existing legislation on the prevention of cruelty to animals is the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance ("the Ordinance"), under which the maximum penalty for the relevant offences is a fine of HK$200,000 and imprisonment for three years. Officers from various government departments, including police officers, senior veterinary officers, health officers, health inspectors and certain officers from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD"), have been authorized to enforce the Ordinance. In addition, the Police, in collaboration with AFCD, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Hong Kong), veterinary associations and animal concern groups, introduced the Animal Watch Scheme ("the Scheme") in 2011 to fight against cruelty to animals through a four-pronged approach of education, publicity, intelligence gathering and investigation, and encourage the public to participate in the Scheme. Although, with the introduction of the Scheme, the Police received a total of 63 cases of cruelty to animals last year, or three cases fewer than the year before, while the detection rate increased from the 17% to 30% in the same period, incidents of negligence of care or abandonment of pets, or ill-treatment of animals with intention or even brutally torturing them to death, etc. are still reported in the media from time to time and the situation seems to be worsening. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of cases in which animals were not well taken care of or abused due to the closedown of animal breeding grounds or pet shops and the number of animals involved in each case in the past three years; if such data are not available, of the reasons for that; (b) the specific work that the authorities have carried out in respect of the four aspects of education, publicity, intelligence gathering and investigation since the introduction of the Scheme, as well as the effectiveness of the work; and (c) the number of prosecutions instituted under the Ordinance, the penalties generally imposed by the court on the convicted persons and the number of animals involved in the cases concerned in the past three years; whether the authorities will consider increasing the maximum penalties for animal cruelty offences to enhance the deterrent effect?
5. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
The Government withdrew the funding proposal for extending the Southeast New Territories Landfill on 26 June this year, and the Finance Committee of this Council passed motions at its meeting held on 12 July this year to adjourn the discussions of the funding proposals for extending the other two landfills. The Chief Secretary for Administration ("CS") had subsequently undertaken to visit the districts affected by the landfills to communicate with the residents, so as to understand their concerns, and she indicated that the Government would strive to re-submit the relevant funding proposals in the first quarter of next year. On the other hand, it has been reported that in August this year, the authorities carried out soil excavation works in the proposed extension area of the West New Territories Landfill, but the Environmental Protection Department clarified that the authorities had not carried out any works relating to the extension of the landfill ahead of approval. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of meetings held respectively by CS and the Secretary for the Environment with the residents affected by the landfills since 12 July this year, as well as the dates and details of these meetings; whether they will, from now on, meet the affected residents again before the authorities re-submit the relevant funding proposals; if they will, of the expected number of meetings and the details; (b) when the authorities granted approval for carrying out the aforesaid soil excavation works at the West New Territories Landfill; whether they had consulted the public before granting the approval; if they had, of the details; of the commencement and projected completion dates of the soil excavation works, and whether the authorities will construct the infrastructure required for landfill extension in the Borrow Area; of the planned land use of the land in the Borrow Area; whether public consultation on such land use has been conducted; if so, of the details; and (c) of the details and expenditure of the specific measures implemented by the authorities to achieve waste reduction at source in the past five years; apart from the public consultation on the charging for solid waste which is currently underway, whether the authorities will, in the next three years, conduct another public consultation on the treatment of municipal solid waste and strengthening waste reduction at source; if they will, of the estimated expenditure involved and the details; whether the authorities will undertake not to submit funding proposals for landfill extension plans before the community has reached a consensus on waste reduction at source?
6. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the Government has recently proposed to review the uses of "Green Belt" sites to identify greenery land for conversion to residential use, and it is also reviewing the development density of existing residential sites so as to increase flat supply. Some community groups consider that the Government does not have a comprehensive plan when identifying sites for residential development, and that it should conduct environmental and ecological impact assessments before planning. Some organizations have also suggested that the Government should first consider using idle government, rural and industrial sites to satisfy the demand for residential sites. In connection with the aforesaid concerns about the sustainable development of Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the detailed information, usage and development timeframe of the 400 hectares of idle residential sites currently owned by the Government; if it cannot provide such information, of the reasons for that; (b) as the authorities have proposed to increase the development intensity of the sites in Kai Tak Development Area, of the estimated number of additional flats to be provided upon the implementation of the proposal; when the Government will assess the impact of such proposal on the environment and society (including the additional burden on the infrastructure such as traffic and community facilities in the district, as well as the ventilation problem caused by wall effect, etc.), recommend corresponding measures and conduct public consultation, and of the relevant details; and (c) as I have learnt that the residents affected by the Urban Renewal Authority's redevelopment project in Kowloon City district strongly requested for in-situ rehousing, whether the authorities concerned have any concrete proposal in response to such request (including whether they will change the land use planning for Kai Tak Development Area); if they have, of the details; if not, how the authorities concerned will provide in-situ rehousing for the residents, and what compensation proposals they will offer to the residents?
*7. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that some housing estates and villages in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long have recently been swarmed by a large quantity of flies, causing serious nuisance to the residents and business operators in the two districts. Some residents have suspected that the flies came from the West New Territories Landfill in Nim Wan, Tuen Mun, but the authorities have indicated for several times that the source of the flies is yet to be confirmed. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities have now confirmed the sources of the flies in the aforesaid cases; why the authorities have indicated for several times that it cannot confirm whether the West New Territories Landfill is the source of the flies; of the method currently adopted by the authorities for tracking down the sources of the flies, as well as the details and effectiveness of the measures to control flies; (b) of the respective dates, durations, affected areas and sources of flies each time Tuen Mun and Yuen Long were plagued with the problem of flies in the past five years; (c) of the number of complaints about problems of flies received by the authorities in the past five years, together with the names of the housing estates or villages concerned and the dates of the complaints; and (d) whether the authorities have conducted laboratory tests on the flies captured to find out if the flies appearing in different districts belong to the same species or come from the same source?
*8. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Suicide Prevention Services ("SPS"), which provides dedicated services specifically for suicide prevention, received in 2012-2013 more than 34 000 calls for assistance, a record high in recent three years. Meanwhile, the media have recently reported suicide cases from time to time, in which some of the victims were students still at school. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has compared the suicide rate of Hong Kong with those of international cities such as New York, London and Tokyo; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) if it has compiled statistics on whether the victims in the suicide cases (including both fatal and attempted cases) in the past three years had requested for assistance from SPS or other social welfare agencies before committing suicide, and made use of such data as the basis for assessing the effectiveness of suicide prevention efforts or the need to introduce improvement to such efforts; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) given that some research results have indicated that study pressure and relationship problems are two main causes of youth suicide, whether the authorities have any new appropriate measures to prevent youths from committing suicide for such causes; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) given that the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") commissioned the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of the University of Hong Kong in July 2011 to implement a three-year pilot project on community-based intervention to suicide targeted mainly at youths aged 15 to 24, whether SWD has conducted an interim review of the effectiveness of the project; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Article 28 of the Basic Law prohibits arbitrary or unlawful body searches of the residents of Hong Kong, and Article 3 in Part II (Hong Kong Bill of Rights) of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap. 383) also provides that no one shall be subjected to torture or degrading treatment. Regarding the conduct of body searches on members of public by government departments ("departments"), will the Government inform this Council:
(a) which departments are empowered to conduct body searches, and of the legal basis of such authorization (with a breakdown of the details by department); (b) of the number of body searches conducted by each of the departments concerned from 2008 to 2012, with a breakdown by type of search (i.e. (i) non-removal of clothing, (ii) partial removal of clothing, (iii) complete removal of clothing and (iv) body cavity); (c) whether the departments concerned have formulated procedures and law enforcement guidelines to pay due regard to the dignity of the persons being searched and prevent body searches from becoming a tool to humiliate such persons; if they have, of a breakdown of the relevant details by department; and (d) whether the departments concerned have set up a mechanism to handle complaints lodged by persons being body-searched who feel that their dignity has been hurt; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the number of such complaints received by the departments concerned in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by department and outcome of handling the complaints?
*10. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that upon receipt of a fire hazard complaint from members of the public earlier on, the Fire Services Department ("FSD") sent officers to the building where a media organization is situated to conduct inspection and check its automatic sprinkler system inside the server room. Although FSD subsequently found that the system was in order, the inspection had caused nuisance to the media organization. Quite a number of members of the community have relayed their concern to me that officers of certain government departments may abuse their office and cause nuisance to the media organizations which had made negative reports on the departments concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of fire hazard complaint cases found to be unsubstantiated after inspection by FSD in each of the past three years; among them, of the number of cases involving premises of media organizations; (b) whether FSD conducts inspections only after prima facie evidence regarding complaints from members of the public has been established; if so, of the procedures for establishing prima facie evidence; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) whether the authorities have measures in place to prevent officers of government departments from abusing their office and causing nuisance to the media organizations concerned out of personal grudges or negative media reports on the departments; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
The Steering Committee on Population Policy has expressed support for the enhancement of child care services, and the Commission on Poverty has also suggested establishing additional standalone child care centres ("CCCs") in districts with keen demand for such services to support low-income families. However, it has recently been reported in the press that at present, places for formal child care services are in acute shortage. There are only 676 places provided by subsidized CCCs for children aged below 2, but the number of children of the same age exceeds 100 000. The numbers of children waiting for services provided by individual CCCs range from 100 to nearly 400, with the highest over-subscription rate standing at 4.5 times. A survey conducted by a social service agency has revealed that, due to the lack of suitable child care services, quite a number of women who need to take care of their young children are forced to give up their jobs, and when their children are admitted to whole-day kindergartens, it is not easy for them to return to work since they have left the work force for too long. I have also learnt that quite a number of couples have hesitation about giving birth to children due to the lack of whole-day CCC services in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) in respect of subsidized, non-profit-making and private CCCs and kindergartens cum CCCs in each of the past three financial years ("years"), of the respective (i) numbers of approved places and (ii) actual numbers of places for services provided by, (iii) the quarterly numbers of children waiting for such places, (iv) the total annual numbers of children waiting for such places, (v) the average waiting time, (vi) the numbers and percentages of children subsidized by the "Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme", and (vii) among those subsidized cases, the numbers and percentages of children whose parents are both working (set out by year in tables of the same format as Table 1);
Table 1 Year: ________CCCs Kindergartens
cum CCCsSubsidized Non-profit-making Private Subsidized Non-profit-making Private Number of approved
placesNumber of actual places Quarterly number of
children waiting for such
places
(i) First quarter
(ii) Second quarter
(iii) Third quarter
(iv) Fourth quarterTotal annual number of
children waiting for such
placesAverage waiting time Number of children
subsidized by the
Kindergarten and
Child Care Centre
Fee Remission Scheme
(and percentage)Number and percentage
of subsidized children
whose parents are both
working(b) of the respective numbers of (i) places for services provided for children by whole-day and half-day subsidized, non-profit-making and private CCCs and kindergartens cum CCCs and (ii) the places utilized in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by administrative district under the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") and age group (aged below 2 and 2 to 3) (set out by year in tables of the same format as Table 2);
Table 2 Year: ________Age Group: Adminis-trative district under SWD Subsidized Non-profit-making Private Whole-day Half-day Whole-day Half-day Whole-day Half-day Number of
placesNumber of
places utilizedNumber of
placesNumber of
places utilizedNumber of
placesNumber of
places utilizedNumber of
placesNumber of
places utilizedNumber of
placesNumber of
places utilizedNumber of
placesNumber of
places utilizedCentral/ Western/ Southern and Islands Eastern/ Wan Chai Kowloon City/
Yau Tsim MongSham Shui Po Kwun Tong Wong Tai Sin/
Sai KungSha Tin Tai Po/ North Yuen Long Tsuen Wan/
Kwai TsingTuen Mun Total (c) of the respective numbers of places and the respective average utilization rates of CCC extended hours service, occasional child care service and mutual help child care centres in each of the past three years, and set out the figures by administrative district under SWD in Table 3;
Table 3 Year: ________CCC extended
hours serviceOccasional
child care serviceMutual help
child care centresAdministrative district
under SWDNumber of
placesAverage
utilization
rateNumber of
placesAverage
utilization
rateNumber of
placesAverage
utilization
rateCentral/ Western/
Southern and IslandsEastern/
Wan ChaiKowloon City/
Yau Tsim MongSham Shui Po Kwun Tong Wong Tai Sin/
Sai KungSha Tin Tai Po/ North Yuen Long Tsuen Wan/
Kwai TsingTuen Mun Total (d) the respective numbers of beneficiaries under the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project and home-based child carers participating in the Project for the year 2012-2013, with a breakdown by District Council ("DC") district set out in Table 4;
Table 4Number of beneficiaries under
the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project for the year 2012-2013Number of home-based child carers participating in the Project Age Below 3 3 to below 6 6 or above
TotalDC district Home-based child care service Home-based child care service Centre-based care group
serviceHome-based child care service and centre-based care group service Home-based child care service Centre-based care group
serviceHome-based child care service and centre-based care group service Central and Western Wan Chai Eastern --- Total
Note: Irrespective of the number of times that a beneficiary uses the services, the same beneficiary is counted as one person in that year. (e) of the respective population of children aged between 0 to 6 in the next decade (set out by year, DC district and age group in tables of the same format as Table 5); and
Table 5 Year: ________DC district Age Below 1 1 to below 2 2 to below 3 3 to below 4 4 to below 5 5 to 6 Central and Western Wan Chai Eastern --- Total (f) whether the Government will increase the numbers of places for services provided by subsidized CCCs and kindergartens cum CCCs to the level of that in 1997; if it will, of the details; if it will not, the reasons for that?
*12. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority ("MPFA") engaged a consultant to study on the trustees of mandatory provident fund ("MPF") and administration costs of MPF. The relevant report was published last year, recommending a number of measures to improve the MPF system, including promotion of computerization in the relevant processing to reduce costs and streamline the workflow, assisting the industry to consolidate their MPF schemes and assisting MPF scheme members to consolidate their accounts. On the other hand, information from MPFA reveals that there were 4.52 million MPF personal accounts in August 2013 and the number of MPF scheme members holding four or more accounts exceeded 180 000, representing respectively a 84% rise and a three-fold increase from those of six years ago, while the weighted average fund expense ratio of MPF ("expense ratio") dropped from 2.1% in 2008 to 1.72% in September this year. It is estimated in the report that upon implementation of the aforesaid measures, the expense ratio may fall to 1.12% by 2018. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) how the authorities will encourage and assist MPF scheme members next year to consolidate their MPF accounts; whether the authorities will study the introduction of the policy of "one lifelong account" to stipulate that every MPF scheme member may, at any one time, open only one MPF account so as to avoid the situation of holding several accounts resulting from the change of employment; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether the authorities have conducted a review of the Employee Choice Arrangement implemented last year (including ways to encourage MPF scheme members to transfer the accrued benefits derived from their contributions to the MPF schemes operated by the trustees selected by them) and enhance the channels for dissemination of information concerning funds with lower expense ratio (such as index funds) to facilitate the public to make appropriate choices; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) given the diverse views in the community regarding the imposition of a cap on the expense ratio, whether the authorities have studied feasible and effective measures (such as promotion of computerization in the relevant processing to streamline the workflow and reduce costs) to tackle issues such as the complex workflow of MPF and duplication of resources; if they have, of the study progress; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)
According to media reports, the waiting time of new cases for specialist out-patient services on gynaecology in the New Territories East Cluster ("NTEC") of the Hospital Authority ("HA") is as long as 127 weeks (i.e. almost two and a half years), which is the longest among all hospital clusters. Besides, the waiting time of new cases for specialist out-patient services on ophthalmology of NTEC even stands at 160 weeks (i.e. about three years). Moreover, in March this year, some semi-urgent patients at the accident and emergency ("A&E") department of the Prince of Wales Hospital of NTEC in Sha Tin needed to wait for more than 12 hours before they were treated. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) the average waiting time of new cases for various specialist out-patient services provided by the public hospitals of NTEC since April 2013 (set out in the table below); Name of hospital Specialist
out-patient serviceAverage waiting time of
new cases(b) the respective waiting time for the services of various A&E departments in NTEC since April 2013 (set out in table form); whether HA has reviewed the latest situation of the waiting time for A&E services in NTEC so as to implement improvement measures; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) given that HA launched, on a pilot basis, a cross-cluster referral arrangement for specialist out-patient services in August 2012, the total number of patients that NTEC has referred to other clusters for medical treatment so far and, among them, the respective percentages of the number of patients of various specialties in the total numbers of patients of the specialties concerned in NTEC (set out by specialty and cluster in table form); the criteria adopted by HA for deciding the specialties for which such a cross-cluster referral arrangement should be implemented on a pilot basis; (d) if HA has assessed the effectiveness of the cross-cluster referral arrangement mentioned in (c), including the resultant reduction in the waiting time for various specialist services, and whether it has plans to extend such arrangement; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (e) if the authorities have assessed the impact of the trend of the rising number of cross-boundary children coming to study or live in Hong Kong on local medical services (particularly on the services of the public hospitals of NTEC), and accordingly conducted a comprehensive review of the staffing and resource allocation of the public hospitals of NTEC; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
Some people from the education sector have relayed to me that although the Chief Executive of the previous term proposed in 2009 the development of education services, the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320) ("the Ordinance") is outdated and unable to keep pace with the rapid development of post secondary education. They have pointed out that all along there are no specific guidelines and restraints regarding the composition and membership structure of the supreme governing bodies and executive bodies (i.e. boards of governors and college councils) of self-financing post secondary colleges under the Ordinance, resulting in a lack of transparency and effective monitoring of the decision-making processes of the relevant bodies, and thus affecting the quality of teaching. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the existing number and the names of the self-financing post secondary colleges registered under the Ordinance in Hong Kong; apart from the Ordinance, whether there are specific guidelines to regulate the governance structures of such post secondary colleges and their composition; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether it knows the following information regarding the boards of governors and college councils of the various post secondary colleges mentioned in (a): (i) composition; (ii) number of members; (iii) list of external members; (iv) list of internal members; (v) the respective percentages of the numbers of external and internal members in the total numbers of members in the board of governors and college council; (vi) members' tenure of office; (vii) whether members are elected; (viii) whether there are members who are representatives of students and teaching staff and those who are directly appointed by the Government; and (ix) composition of the committees formed under the board of governors and college council as well as the methods for selecting and appointing members of the committees; (c) of the definitions of "supreme governing body" and "executive body" in the Post Secondary Colleges Regulations (Cap. 320 sub. leg. A); (d) of the functions, responsibilities and authority of the different governing bodies of post secondary colleges; the division of responsibilities between such governing bodies and the management of the colleges, including which of them shall be responsible for making decisions and performing duties relating to the daily operation of the colleges; (e) of the mechanism put in place by the Government to ensure compliance with the Ordinance by members of the supreme governing bodies appointed by various self-financing post secondary colleges, and the plans or measures put in place by the Education Bureau to exercise effective monitoring in order to ensure good governance and teaching quality of these colleges; (f) how the authorities ensure that the academic autonomy of post secondary colleges will not be interfered with; and (g) given that the Government provides self-financing post secondary colleges with various kinds of loans and research funds, etc. to support their development, of the role of the Government in monitoring and supporting the various self-financing post secondary colleges; when problems relating to the governance or administration of the colleges arise, of the criteria adopted by the Government for determining whether it should intervene to conciliate and handle the relevant problems?
*15. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of frontline healthcare personnel have relayed to me that the problem of public hospital staff encountering work injury accidents or being diagnosed as suffering from work-related musculoskeletal disorders ("MSDs") has worsened in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(a) the respective numbers of cases of public hospital staff (i) encountering work injury accidents and (ii) being diagnosed as suffering from work-related MSDs in each of the past three years, and set out the relevant figures in the table below;
(i) Work injury accidentsYear 2010 - 2011 2011 – 2012 2012 - 2013 Allied health professional Supporting staff Others
(ii) Diagnosed as suffering from work-related MSDsYear 2010 - 2011 2011 – 2012 2012 - 2013 Allied health professional Supporting staff Others (b) whether the Hospital Authority ("HA") has assessed (i) if the figures in the reply to (a) have reflected a serious problem of work injury accidents, and (ii) the causes of work injury accidents; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) whether HA has taken measures to improve the work procedures and environment for its staff, with a view to reducing work injury accidents; if it has, of the details of the measures and the effectiveness indicators; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Hon Christopher CHUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that earlier on, a tenant in Lok Wah North Estate, Ngau Tau Kok, fell to death when using the pole-socket type clothes-drying racks (commonly known as the "three joss sticks" clothes-drying racks) to dry clothes, arousing anew queries about the safety of such facilities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given that the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") has implemented a scheme since 1 June 2004 to provide subsidy for households living in public housing estates to replace their pole-socket type clothes-drying racks, of the respective numbers of applications received and approved under the scheme as at October this year; and the current amount of subsidy provided for each household under the scheme; (b) given that the then Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands ("Secretary") mentioned in his reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 28 April 2004 that a total of 518 560 flats in 146 public housing estates were provided with pole-socket type clothes-drying racks in that year, of the latest figures in this regard; (c) given that while the Secretary indicated in his reply to the aforesaid question that the design [of the pole-socket type clothes-drying racks] was generally safe with proper use, incidents involving tenants falling from heights when using such facilities still occurred subsequently, whether HA will reassess the safety of such facilities; and (d) given that fatality was resulted in each of the accidents involving pole-socket type clothes-drying racks, whether HA has plans to replace free of charge the pole-socket type clothes-drying racks with clothes-drying racks which better conform with safety standards for households living in public housing estates, and make it mandatory for households to accept the arrangement; if not, what new measures HA has, apart from stepping up publicity and posting notices, to prevent recurrence of incidents of tenants falling from heights when using such facilities?
*17. Dr Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the mainland authorities have conducted investigations into the alleged use of means such as hospitality, etc. by foreign-funded pharmaceutical manufacturers to entice healthcare personnel into prescribing to patients pharmaceuticals made by the pharmaceutical manufacturers concerned. It has also been reported that some healthcare personnel on the Mainland accepted money from milk powder companies for distributing their formula products to new-born babies so that the babies will get used to taking the formula products of such brands. Some members of the public have relayed to me their concern about the aforesaid situation happening in local healthcare institutions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has monitored if the healthcare personnel of public and private healthcare institutions in Hong Kong have accepted hospitality offered by pharmaceutical manufacturers and have made decisions in favour of such pharmaceutical manufacturers in using and procuring pharmaceuticals; and (b) given the report that some local healthcare institutions provide only specific formula products to new-born babies, whether the relevant government departments have monitored if the healthcare personnel of public and private healthcare institutions provide, in accordance with the principle of fairness, formula products of different brands for parents of new-born babies to choose?
*18. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Budget of this financial year ("this year") stated that (i) the Government's aim in land supply for private housing is to maintain on average the provision of land for building about 20 000 residential units ("units") each year, (ii) 46 residential sites would be included in the Land Sale Programme ("LSP") for this year, providing about 13 600 units in total, and (iii) all the major sources of land supply for private housing together (including Government's LSP, railway property development projects, projects of the Urban Renewal Authority, and lease modifications/land exchanges or other private developments) would provide land for building some 25 800 units this year. However, according to the announced LSP, the Government's land sale in the first three quarters of this year can produce only about 8 200 units in total, reaching merely 60% of the full-year target of 13 600 units. In addition, it has been reported in the press that in the first three quarters of this year, the land put up by the Government for sale plus other sources of supply taken together can produce only about 8 900 units in total, which is well below the target of 25 800 units mentioned in the Budget. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities expect that they can put up for sale in the fourth quarter all the rest of 46 residential sites planned to be sold this year; if not, of the reasons for that; among them, of the number of sites that are in the process of applying to the Town Planning Board for rezoning, as well as the expected date of completion of the process; of the latest estimate on the number of units to be produced by the Government's land sale this year; (b) of the respective numbers of units that can be produced by other major sources of land supply for private housing this year, apart from the Government's LSP; of the respective numbers of units to be produced by the land supply so far this year and units forecast to be produced by the full-year land supply; whether there will be a gap between the current full-year forecast and the 25 800 units mentioned in the Budget; if so, of the reasons for that; and (c) whether the authorities have assessed if the number of units to be produced by land sold this year was miscalculated or exaggerated in the first place; whether the authorities have assessed if the untrue targets and estimates for housing supply will have an impact on the market and raise doubts among members of the public about the Government's ability to solve the problem?
*19. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)
In his reply to my question on 23 October this year, the Secretary for Education ("the Secretary") advised that among the 2 988 cases of Group Personal Accident Insurance under the Block Insurance Policy ("BIP") reported to the insurers by schools in the past five years after an accident happened to a student, only six cases were indemnified. Quite a number of parents and educators have relayed to me that they are dissatisfied with the Secretary's response which has evaded the issue that both the coverage and the sum insured under BIP currently taken out by the Government for aided schools are inadequate, as well as the issue of school children not being provided with due protection, etc. They have also pointed out that, regarding those parents whose children suffer from accidental injury or death while participating in school activities, the Secretary did not respond to the question of how these parents, who cannot afford the legal costs involved and who are ineligible for legal aid, may strive for due legal protection for their children through legal procedure. Also, quite a number of parents have indicated that they had written to the Secretary to make enquiries or lodge complaints about the aforesaid issues but did not receive any reply. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the per capita insured amount, compensation limits, coverage and clauses of making claims for students and staff in kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools under the "Employees' Compensation Insurance", the "Public Liability Insurance" and the "Group Personal Accident Insurance" respectively in the past five years; (b) given that in the past five years, only a few cases were indemnified among the claims involving the accidental death or permanent disablement of students participating in school activities, whether the Education Bureau ("EDB") will consider taking out insurance with wider coverage so as to provide students with due protection; if so, of the time for implementation and the new coverage; if not, the reasons for that; (c) regarding claims made under the "Employees' Compensation Insurance", the "Public Liability Insurance" and the "Group Personal Accident Insurance", of the unit within EDB to which the parents concerned and/or school staff may approach to make enquiries, as well as the contact information; whether EDB will assist them in making claims; if so, of the means of assistance; if not, the reasons for that; (d) given that 2 982 cases of Group Personal Accident Insurance reported to the insurers were not indemnified in the past five years, whether the Government has provided other forms of assistance to the students and parents concerned; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (e) whether EDB referred any claim under the Group Personal Accident Insurance to the Legal Aid Department for follow-up actions in the past five years; if so, of the number of referrals; if not, the reasons for that; (f) given that the Secretary has advised that EDB has been pointing out through various channels (including school circulars and EDB web page) that the "Group Personal Accident Insurance" under BIP should not be regarded as comprehensive personal insurance coverage for students, and that parents who wish to arrange comprehensive personal insurance coverage for their children (such as life insurance, personal accident insurance, medical insurance, critical illness insurance, etc.) may acquire it separately at their own costs from any insurance company, and yet quite a number of parents have told me that schools have never issued such circulars, whether the authorities know the names of the schools which informed parents of the relevant issues through circulars in the past five years, and of the dates when such circulars were issued; if no schools have ever issued such circulars, the reasons for that; and (g) whether EDB has measures to assist those parents who cannot afford the legal costs involved and who are ineligible for legal aid to strive for due compensation through legal procedure; if it has, of the measures; if not, whether EDB will provide other means of legal support to such parents?
*20. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive announced in his 2013 Policy Address that the Government would review planning of the sites in the Kai Tak Development Area ("KTDA"), explore the possibility of increasing office and housing supply, and conduct a consultation on the outcome of the review in due course. The Town Planning Board ("TPB") is currently processing applications for relaxing the planning restrictions on several sites in KTDA, and will convene a meeting in the middle of this month to consider such applications. It has been reported that the Government will also adjust upwards the development parameters of the remaining 21 sites in KTDA. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the scope of the review on the planning of the sites in KTDA as proposed in the 2013 Policy Address; the anticipated time to complete the review and consult the public on its outcome; whether it will propose to convert the originally planned facilities, such as divisional police stations, into residential use; the factors based on which the Government will decide how the development parameters of the sites in KTDA will be adjusted; the details of the sites on which review has been completed, including the following information in respect of each of the sites involved: (i) area, (ii) location, (iii) type (residential/commercial/others, etc.), (iv) estimated additional floor area brought by the relaxation of planning restrictions on the site, and (v) anticipated date by which the application for relaxation of planning restrictions on the site would be submitted to TPB; (b) given that the Planning Department ("PlanD") has submitted to TPB applications for relaxing the planning restrictions on four sites in KTDA, whether PlanD will submit to TPB for consideration in future similar applications in respect of the remaining sites in KTDA in a bundle to avoid TPB from overlooking the cumulative impacts of applications involving other sites in KTDA when considering individual applications; (c) as the authorities indicated in reply to my question on the Estimates of Expenditure 2013-2014 in April this year that the Stage 2 public consultation on the environmentally friendly linkage system for KTDA, which was originally scheduled to be held in end of last year/early this year, would be launched in the middle of this year, of the reasons why the consultation exercise has not yet been launched to date, and whether such reasons include the need to integrate with the relevant review on land development; of the anticipated time to launch the consultation; and (d) of the progress of the advanced work for facilities in KTDA whose construction works have not yet been implemented, including the sports complex, Kowloon East Regional Police Headquarters and Operational Base, a special school, a public library and Kai Tak Avenue Park, etc.; whether any advanced work, which had already been underway, required modifications or suspension because of the review of the planning of the sites in KTDA?
*21. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)
On 30 June this year, the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") adjusted MTR fares upwards by 2.7%. There is a carry forward of an unspent sum of around $200 million committed from the 2012 fare concessions scheme of MTRCL. Under the new Fare Adjustment Mechanism ("FAM"), the fare concession account will also receive an additional $150 million under the Profit Sharing Mechanism as well as $13 million under the Service Performance Arrangement this year. A total amount of $363 million will be shared with passengers through extending the "10% Same Day Second Trip Discount" Scheme for nine months. Besides, MTRCL will also offer new fare promotions, e.g. the "MTR City Saver" ("City Saver") Scheme and the "Monthly Pass Extra" Scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the total amount that MTRCL has shared with passengers through the "10% Same Day Second Trip Discount" Scheme since 30 June this year, the average weekly amount shared, the total number of beneficiaries and the daily average number of beneficiaries; (b) as there are comments that the total amount that MTRCL had shared with passengers through fare concessions last year was not satisfactory, whether the Government has any mechanism to regularly review the progress of the implementation of various concession schemes by MTRCL and the effectiveness of the schemes; if it has, of the details; whether it knows the progress of MTRCL sharing the sum in the fare concession account with passengers through various concession schemes this year, and if MTRCL will offer new fare concessions again this year; (c) as there have been instances of Octopus fares being higher than the corresponding Single Journey Ticket fares after each MTR fare increase since 2010, and the authorities have explained that if the Single Journey Ticket fares are adjusted to a level higher than the Octopus fares in one go, the rate of increase may be so high that the public will find it unacceptable, and MTRCL thus plans to narrow the gap between the two types of fare gradually in the coming years, whether it knows the details of the plan and the implementation schedule; (d) whether it knows the sales figures of the various kinds of monthly passes launched by MTRCL this year; (e) as some members of the public have relayed that the various monthly pass concessions offered by MTRCL at present are so fragmented with too many combinations that members of the public need to make efforts to make comparisons, and in response to my request made in connection with the consolidation of various monthly pass concessions, MTRCL stated that new types of tickets are part of the results of the whole review of FAM, whether new types of tickets cannot be launched until the next review of FAM (i.e. five years later); (f) given that holders of City Savers are entitled to 40 MTR rides within 30 days in the urban area (i.e. the average fare per ride needs to exceed $10 for the ticket holder to enjoy a concession), whether it knows when City Saver will be introduced, and the number of fare combinations with fares currently exceeding $10 (set out the details in tabulated form); and (g) as some members of the public have pointed out that they need to pay more in fare for their MTR rides by using monthly passes than by using other tickets, whether it knows the number of fare combinations with such a situation at present (set out the details in tabulated form)?
*22. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that there are 13 restored landfills in Hong Kong at present, but only a few of them have been converted for recreational purpose or into community sitting-out facilities and are open for use by the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of restored landfills at present which have not yet been converted for recreational purpose or into community sitting-out facilities, or in fact are not yet open for use by the public although they are shown, on the web site of the Environmental Protection Department, as being used for recreational purpose or having been converted into sitting-out facilities; and the respective areas of the land concerned in those landfills; (b) of the restored landfills with only part of the area currently providing recreational or sitting-out facilities, and the respective remaining areas in those landfills; (c) of the reasons why the authorities have not yet converted all or most of the areas of the landfills into recreational or sitting-out facilities for use by the public although such landfills have been restored for years; (d) whether it has plans to expedite the conversion of restored landfills into recreational or sitting-out facilities; if it has, of the details of the plans and the anticipated dates of opening for use by the public; if not, the reasons for that; and (e) whether the Government will set up a dedicated fund to expedite the aforesaid works for the provision of recreational or sitting-out facilities; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Bill
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| ||
| Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) (Amendment) Bill 2013 | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
|
| Secretary for Transport and Housing to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 30 October 2013 under LC Paper No. CB(3)108/13-14) | ||
IV. Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
The Secretary for Justice to move the motion in Appendix I. | |
| (The motion was also issued on 31 October 2013
under LC Paper No. CB(3)116/13-14) | ||
| 2. | Proposed resolution under the District Councils Ordinance
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs to move the following motion: Resolved that the District Councils Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Order 2013, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 25 June 2013, be approved. | |
| (The Order is in Appendix II and was also issued
on 24 October 2013 under LC Paper No. CB(3)83/13-14) | ||