10 items of subsidiary legislation/instruments and 6 other papers to be laid on the Table of the Council are set out in Appendix 1

Members to ask 22 questions (6 for oral replies and 16 for written replies)

Contents of the 22 questions, the Members to ask such questions and the public officers to reply are set out in Appendix 2

(The debate and voting arrangements for the above two proposed resolutions are set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 461/18-19 issued on 18 March 2019)

Hon CHAN Hak-kan to move the motion in Appendix 6

Hon Claudia MO to ask:

Since 1997, a total of over a million Mainland residents have come to Hong Kong for settlement on Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao (commonly known as "One-way Permits") ("OWPs"). Some members of the public have pointed out that a large number of Mainland residents settling in Hong Kong has put a heavy burden on Hong Kong's public services such as social welfare, housing, education and healthcare. Recently, the representatives of some doctor groups have claimed that the public healthcare system is on the verge of collapse. They have therefore called for the cessation of OWP issuance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon WU Chi-wai to ask:

According to Article 22 of the Basic Law and the relevant Interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 1999 ("NPCSC's Interpretation"), Mainland residents who wish to enter the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") must apply for approval in accordance with the relevant laws, and must hold valid documents issued by the Mainland authorities (e.g. Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao which are commonly known as "One-way Permits" ("OWPs")) before they may enter HKSAR. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Wilson OR to ask:

The Environmentally Friendly Linkage System for Kowloon East ("EFLS") proposed by the Government is an elevated monorail which will start and end respectively at the Kowloon Bay Station and the Kwun Tong Station of the MTR Kwun Tong Line, run through the Kai Tak Development Area and connect the Kai Tak Station of the Shatin to Central Link. The Government is currently conducting the second-stage detailed feasibility study for EFLS. As the passenger throughput of the Kwun Tong Line during peak hours has reached the maximum capacity at present, some members of the public are worried that the Kwun Tong Line can hardly cope with the additional patronage to be brought about by EFLS upon its commissioning. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon LAU Kwok-fan to ask:

Under the Individual Visit Scheme ("IVS"), Mainland residents living in cities covered by IVS may visit Hong Kong after obtaining an endorsement for individual visit (i.e. "the G endorsement") issued by the Mainland's Public Security Bureau Office, while residents in other Mainland places visiting Hong Kong are required to obtain an endorsement for group visit (i.e. "the L endorsement") and enter Hong Kong in tour groups. However, the Mainland authorities have not imposed a requirement on the minimum number of persons constituting an inbound Mainland tour group ("IMTG"), such that one person may also constitute a tour group. Besides, it has been reported that same as IVS visitors, Mainland residents with the L endorsement may now visit Hong Kong on their own and are no longer required to enter Hong Kong in tour groups (such as tour groups organized in Shenzhen on an ad hoc basis). The aforesaid arrangements have rendered the L endorsement tantamount to the G endorsement. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask:

In order to help Hong Kong grasp the opportunities brought by the "Belt and Road" Initiative, the Government set up a Belt and Road Office ("the Office") in 2016 to take forward the relevant work effectively and on a sustained basis. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask:

Some carers of the elderly and persons with disabilities ("PWDs") have relayed to me that currently, there is a lack of emergency respite and emergency home care services for the elderly and PWDs, resulting in some carers who were taken ill during late hours having to give up receiving treatment in hospitals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHAN Hoi-yan to ask:

Regarding the supply of housing, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Michael TIEN to ask:

At present, the Noise Control (Motor Vehicles) Regulation (Cap. 400 sub. leg. I) requires that every vehicle first registered must conform to the noise emission standards prescribed under the Regulation. Also, the Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374 sub. leg. A) require that every vehicle propelled by an internal combustion engine must be fitted with a silencer maintained in good and efficient working order, and must not be altered or replaced in such a way that makes the noise greater. However, quite a number of members of the public have relayed that they often find vehicles, suspected of having been modified illegally, running on the expressways near their residences and emitting annoying noise. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will amend the legislation to empower the Police, where they suspect that the noise emitted by a moving vehicle has exceeded the prescribed standards, to stop the vehicle and have the vehicle towed to a vehicle examination centre for a noise test and, upon confirmation that the noise has exceeded the prescribed standards, to institute prosecution against, and issue a vehicle repair order to, the vehicle owner concerned; if so, of the work schedule; if not, the reasons for that?

Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask:

According to the existing policy, bureaux and government departments ("B&Ds") should make arrangements for the middle-level civil servants (i.e. officers at Master Pay Scale ("MPS") Point 34 to 44 or equivalent) under the B/Ds to attend national studies programmes within six years from the time when they reach the relevant MPS Point/pay point threshold. Nevertheless, Report No. 71 of the Director of Audit ("the Report"), published in October last year, has pointed out that due to insufficient places for such programmes, it is unlikely that such training time schedule can be adhered to. Besides, the Report has recommended that the Government should enhance the tracking of the progress of civil servants' training on the Basic Law. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask:

Quite a number of members of the public have pointed out to me that as currently a large number of quite heavily used roadside bus stops do not have any shelters, passengers waiting for buses there have to put up with the scorching heat of the sun or lashing rains. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask:

The Government provides eligible groups with free and subsidized seasonal influenza vaccination through the "Government Vaccination Programme" and the "Vaccination Subsidy Scheme" ("VSS") respectively. In addition, the Department of Health ("DH") introduced in October last year the "School Outreach Vaccination Pilot Programme" ("Pilot Programme") as well as the "Enhanced Vaccination Subsidy Scheme Outreach Vaccination" ("Enhanced VSS") under VSS, to enhance the seasonal influenza vaccination uptake rate among schoolchildren. Regarding the provision of seasonal influenza vaccination to members of the public, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Alice MAK to ask:

The Government has earlier set up a task force to provide one-stop support for various community-led transitional housing projects. In addition, the Financial Secretary has set aside $2 billion in the Budget for the next financial year to support non-governmental organizations ("NGOs") in taking forward transitional housing projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask:

Some members of the public have relayed that quite a number of large traffic signs for giving route directions to motorists have not been repaired since they were damaged during the onslaught of super typhoon Mangkhut in Hong Kong in September last year, which causes inconvenience to motorists. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon YUNG Hoi-yan to ask:

I have received a number of complaints alleging that in Hong Kong, quite a number of footpaths have uneven surfaces and footpaths paved with paving blocks have paving blocks loosened and damaged, which make pedestrians (especially the elderly, children and persons with disabilities) prone to trip and fall. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask:

Some trade unions of the disciplined services have relayed to me that as compared with civilian staff, disciplined services staff are required to have better physical fitness, have a higher sense of discipline and work shifts more frequently, while the work of disciplined services is more dangerous than that of civilian staff. However, the current remuneration packages for disciplined services staff have not sufficiently reflected such factors. For instance, the maximum pay point for Customs Officers is lower than that for Assistant Clerical Officers, whose entry requirement on academic qualifications is similar. Moreover, the pay difference between successive pay points in the pay scale for the former is smaller than that for the latter. Given that the Government is conducting a grade structure review for the disciplined services grades, will the Government inform this Council whether the review includes examining the raising of the pay levels for disciplined services staff (particularly for the rank and file), and widening the pay difference between successive pay points in their pay scales; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Hon Kenneth LAU to ask:

Quite a number of villagers have relayed to me that the time taken for vetting and approval of their applications for construction or redevelopment of small houses, which they submitted to the Government in accordance with the New Territories Small House Policy, is rather long, taking seven to 10 years in general and in some cases even 20-odd years. As the construction costs have risen incessantly during the period when the applications are awaiting vetting and approval, the financial burden on those villagers has become increasingly heavy. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Dennis KWOK to ask:

At present, around 70% to 80% of Hong Kong's fresh water supply comes from Dongjiang while the remainder comes from local catchments. In reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 27 June last year, the Government said that the first stage of Tseung Kwan O ("TKO") desalination plant under construction was expected to be completed by 2022. The fresh water production capacity of the desalination plant will be 135 000 cubic metres per day (equivalent to around 5% of the fresh water consumption of Hong Kong) and can ultimately be increased to 270 000 cubic metres per day. However, the Government indicated that it had no plan to set a target percentage of the fresh water production capacity of desalination plants at 30% of Hong Kong's water consumption. Regarding the management of water resources, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask:

In December 2017, the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") launched a three-year Pilot Scheme on Home Care and Support for Elderly Persons with Mild Impairment ("the Pilot Scheme") to provide, on a co-payment basis, home care and support services to the elderly persons on the waiting list for the Integrated Home Care Services ("IHCS") (Ordinary Cases). The Pilot Scheme offers 4 000 service places. SWD has commissioned a consultant to formulate a standardized assessment tool for use by the IHCS teams to conduct assessments on elderly persons, with a view to identifying elderly persons eligible for taking part in the Pilot Scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to ask:

Regarding the wastage of the Administrative Officer ("AO") and Executive Officer ("EO") grades staff, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Holden CHOW to ask:

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development indicated in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 23 January this year that the Government had all along been implementing and enforcing the sanctions or restrictions imposed by the United Nations Security Council against 14 places and two organizations through the United Nations Sanctions Ordinance (Cap. 537) and the regulations made under that Ordinance by the Chief Executive. In the past five years, the Hong Kong Police Force ("HKPF") and the Customs and Excise Department ("C&ED") investigated 201 and 99 suspected cases of sanctions violations respectively. The manpower responsible for the relevant law enforcement work includes 69 staff members from the relevant investigation division of HKPF and 47 staff members from the Trade Controls Branch of C&ED. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Tony TSE to ask:

Although the legislation banning smoking in the indoor areas of restaurants has come into operation for over one decade, some members of the public currently still find, from time to time at present, patrons blatantly smoking in the indoor areas of restaurants. This, coupled with the fact that there are often patrons and staff members of restaurants smoking in the open-air areas of restaurants and in the areas outside restaurant entrances, has caused nuisances to other patrons. Regarding the enforcement of the smoking ban, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask:

The findings of some surveys indicate that children and youths generally have lower self-control over the use of mobile phones, and they are prone to developing depression and anxiety once they have become addicted to browsing the Internet. Some concern groups have pointed out that prolonged use of mobile phones and browsing social media by children and youths may affect their work and rest routines, physical and mental health as well as interpersonal relationships, and they also have a higher chance of encountering cyber frauds and bullying as well as being exposed to harmful and false information. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: