OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Wednesday, 16 April … › sc › › yr13...LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─...

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 April 2014

9993

OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Wednesday, 16 April 2014

The Council met at Eleven o'clock

MEMBERS PRESENT: THE PRESIDENT THE HONOURABLE JASPER TSANG YOK-SING, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE ALBERT HO CHUN-YAN THE HONOURABLE LEE CHEUK-YAN THE HONOURABLE JAMES TO KUN-SUN THE HONOURABLE CHAN KAM-LAM, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE LEUNG YIU-CHUNG DR THE HONOURABLE LAU WONG-FAT, G.B.M., G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE EMILY LAU WAI-HING, J.P. THE HONOURABLE TAM YIU-CHUNG, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE ABRAHAM SHEK LAI-HIM, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE TOMMY CHEUNG YU-YAN, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK FUNG KIN-KEE, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE VINCENT FANG KANG, S.B.S., J.P.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 April 2014 9994

THE HONOURABLE WONG KWOK-HING, B.B.S., M.H. PROF THE HONOURABLE JOSEPH LEE KOK-LONG, S.B.S., J.P., Ph.D., R.N. THE HONOURABLE JEFFREY LAM KIN-FUNG, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE ANDREW LEUNG KWAN-YUEN, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE WONG TING-KWONG, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE RONNY TONG KA-WAH, S.C. THE HONOURABLE CYD HO SAU-LAN THE HONOURABLE STARRY LEE WAI-KING, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE LAM TAI-FAI, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE CHAN HAK-KAN, J.P. THE HONOURABLE CHAN KIN-POR, B.B.S., J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE PRISCILLA LEUNG MEI-FUN, S.B.S., J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE LEUNG KA-LAU THE HONOURABLE CHEUNG KWOK-CHE THE HONOURABLE WONG KWOK-KIN, B.B.S. THE HONOURABLE IP KWOK-HIM, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE MRS REGINA IP LAU SUK-YEE, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE PAUL TSE WAI-CHUN, J.P. THE HONOURABLE ALAN LEONG KAH-KIT, S.C.


9995

THE HONOURABLE LEUNG KWOK-HUNG THE HONOURABLE ALBERT CHAN WAI-YIP THE HONOURABLE WONG YUK-MAN THE HONOURABLE CLAUDIA MO THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL TIEN PUK-SUN, B.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE JAMES TIEN PEI-CHUN, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE NG LEUNG-SING, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE STEVEN HO CHUN-YIN THE HONOURABLE FRANKIE YICK CHI-MING THE HONOURABLE WU CHI-WAI, M.H. THE HONOURABLE YIU SI-WING THE HONOURABLE GARY FAN KWOK-WAI THE HONOURABLE MA FUNG-KWOK, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE CHARLES PETER MOK THE HONOURABLE CHAN CHI-CHUEN THE HONOURABLE CHAN HAN-PAN DR THE HONOURABLE KENNETH CHAN KA-LOK THE HONOURABLE CHAN YUEN-HAN, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE LEUNG CHE-CHEUNG, B.B.S., M.H., J.P.


THE HONOURABLE KENNETH LEUNG THE HONOURABLE ALICE MAK MEI-KUEN, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE KWOK KA-KI THE HONOURABLE KWOK WAI-KEUNG THE HONOURABLE DENNIS KWOK THE HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER CHEUNG WAH-FUNG, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE FERNANDO CHEUNG CHIU-HUNG THE HONOURABLE SIN CHUNG-KAI, S.B.S., J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE HELENA WONG PIK-WAN THE HONOURABLE IP KIN-YUEN DR THE HONOURABLE ELIZABETH QUAT, J.P. THE HONOURABLE MARTIN LIAO CHEUNG-KONG, J.P. THE HONOURABLE POON SIU-PING, B.B.S., M.H. THE HONOURABLE TANG KA-PIU DR THE HONOURABLE CHIANG LAI-WAN, J.P. IR DR THE HONOURABLE LO WAI-KWOK, B.B.S., M.H., J.P. THE HONOURABLE CHUNG KWOK-PAN THE HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER CHUNG SHU-KUN, B.B.S., M.H., J.P. THE HONOURABLE TONY TSE WAI-CHUEN


9997

PUBLIC OFFICERS ATTENDING: THE HONOURABLE MRS CARRIE LAM CHENG YUET-NGOR, G.B.S., J.P. THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION THE HONOURABLE JOHN TSANG CHUN-WAH, G.B.M., J.P. THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY THE HONOURABLE RIMSKY YUEN KWOK-KEUNG, S.C., J.P. THE SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE PROF THE HONOURABLE ANTHONY CHEUNG BING-LEUNG, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING THE HONOURABLE TSANG TAK-SING, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS THE HONOURABLE MATTHEW CHEUNG KIN-CHUNG, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE PROF THE HONOURABLE K C CHAN, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY THE HONOURABLE RAYMOND TAM CHI-YUEN, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS MR JOHN LEE KA-CHIU, P.D.S.M., J.P. SECRETARY FOR SECURITY THE HONOURABLE EDDIE NG HAK-KIM, S.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION THE HONOURABLE PAUL TANG KWOK-WAI, J.P. SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE DR THE HONOURABLE KO WING-MAN, B.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH


THE HONOURABLE WONG KAM-SING, J.P. SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT MR GODFREY LEUNG KING-KWOK, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CLERK IN ATTENDANCE: MR KENNETH CHEN WEI-ON, S.B.S., SECRETARY GENERAL


9999

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members to the Chamber. (After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members entered the Chamber) TABLING OF PAPERS The following papers were laid on the table under Rule 21(2) of the Rules of Procedure: Subsidiary Legislation/Instruments L.N. No.

Road Traffic (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulation 2014 ........................................................................

48/2014

Road Traffic Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 5) Order

2014 ........................................................................

49/2014 Road Traffic Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 9) Order

2014 ........................................................................

50/2014

Other Papers

No. 94 ─ Financial Reporting Council Annual Report 2013

No. 95 ─ Report No. 62 of the Director of Audit

on the results of value for money audits - April 2014 Report No. 16/13-14 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments


WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS Supplementary Labour Scheme 1. MR JEFFREY LAM (in Chinese): President, quite a number of employers have relayed to me that industries such as the construction, retail and catering, care services, and so on, have all along been plagued with the problem of insufficient labour supply, resulting in an increase in their operating costs. They have also pointed out that the application procedures of the Supplementary Labour Scheme (the Scheme) under which employers may apply for labour importation are not only complicated but also very time-consuming. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the total number of cases of employers approved for importation of labour since the Scheme was implemented in 1996; the current number of workers employed to work in Hong Kong under the Scheme, and their median monthly wage;

(2) of the industry from which the highest number of applications under

the Scheme was received in the past three years, together with the relevant number of such applications and, among them, the number of approved cases;

(3) of the time normally taken to complete the vetting-and-approval

process of an application; whether the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) has capped the number of workers allowed to be imported by an individual enterprise; if it has, of the reasons for that; and

(4) in addition to the endorsement by LAB in last month of the

Government's proposal to expedite the process of importing workers for public works projects, whether the Government has considered simplifying the vetting-and-approval process of the Scheme and lowering the application conditions; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?


10001

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Chinese): President, my reply to the question raised by Mr Jeffrey LAM is as follows:

(1) The Labour Department (LD) has not kept records on the total number of approved cases since implementation of the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS) in 1996. From 2011 to 2013, there were respectively 980, 1 942 and 1 847 imported workers approved under SLS.

According to information from the Immigration Department, there

were altogether 2 976 imported workers under SLS in Hong Kong as at end 2013. The number of imported workers approved last year with breakdown by job title and median monthly wage is at Annex.

(2) From 2011 to 2013, most applications received annually by the LD

under SLS came from the elderly care sector. In the above three years, employers of the sector applied to import 771, 1 233 and 1 069 care workers (elderly service) respectively. The corresponding numbers of imported workers approved were 431, 864 and 651.

(3) Processing for the majority of SLS applications can be completed

within around four months. However, the actual time required to process each application is affected by various factors (for instance, whether the applicant employer has provided sufficient information or requested to change the application details during processing, and whether special trade tests need to be administered for local job seekers during the open recruitment period, and so on). If the vacancies involve novel job titles or specific skills, the LD needs more time to consult relevant Policy Bureaux or government departments, training bodies, accreditation authorities, and so on, for their expert advice on setting the reasonable wages, entry requirements, work scopes, and so on, in respect of the job titles concerned.

SLS has not prescribed a quota ceiling of imported workers for the

labour market as a whole or for individual sectors.


(4) The Government has all along reviewed and streamlined the vetting criteria and procedures under SLS having regard to practical circumstances. We will continue to closely monitor the local manpower demand and supply, and conduct reviews as appropriate in consultation with LAB.

Annex

Number of imported workers approved under SLS in 2013: with breakdown by job title and median monthly wage

Job title Number of

imported workers approved

Median monthly wage by year end ($)

1. Care Worker (Elderly Service) 651 9,750 2. Livestock/Poultry/Fish/Crop

Farm Worker 336 9,630

3. Gardening Worker 68 9,870 4. Tunnel Miner 60 27,000 5. Care Worker (Disabled Service) 33 9,750 6. Cook 32 14,200 7. Indoor Wooden Cycling Track

Specialist Builder 30 24,470

8. Tunnelling Worker 30 18,000 9. Quality Controller/Inspector/ Control Supervisor

28 20,220

10. Others 579 Not applicable# Total 1 847 Not applicable# Note: # Not applicable as many job titles were involved.


10003

Management of Public Records 2. MS EMILY LAU (in Chinese): President, a direct investigation report released by the Office of The Ombudsman (The Ombudsman) on the 20th of last month has pointed out that last year, the executive authorities approved the destruction of a total quantity of 1 398 linear metres (standard measurement units of the quantity of records on the basis of shelf space occupied or the length of drawers in vertical files or the thickness of horizontally filed materials). The Education Bureau was the Policy Bureau/government department (B/D) which destroyed the largest quantity of records (766 linear metres), followed by the Labour and Welfare Bureau (133 linear metres). The Ombudsman also urged the executive authorities to introduce legislation to regulate the management of public records. In this connection, will the executive authorities inform this Council:

(1) of the types of records destroyed by the Education Bureau and the Labour and Welfare Bureau last year, and the reasons for approving the destruction of such records; whether the two Policy Bureaux have reviewed if there have been records destroyed by mistake; if they have reviewed, of the findings;

(2) last year, of the respective B/Ds which complied and did not comply

with the Government's current record management requirements on transferral of records to the Government Records Service (GRS), and the reasons for non-compliance by the B/Ds concerned; whether the various B/Ds have recorded the types of records destroyed; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) given that the Law Reform Commission (LRC) is studying the issue

of introducing an archives law, whether it knows when the LRC will conduct public consultation in this regard, and when the LRC will complete the study and submit its report?

CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Chinese): President,

(1) The types of records destroyed by the Education Bureau and the Labour and Welfare Bureau in 2013 are as follows:


Policy Bureau Types/Contents of Records

Education Bureau

Time-expired administrative records, including general administration, accommodation and facilities, procurement and supplies, finance and accounting, human resources, management of information, information services and information technology; and time-expired programme records covering a wide range of categories, including school administration and operation (for example, school timetable, school activities, and so on), matters relating to the career development and promotion of principals and teachers, substitute teachers, curriculum development, student guidance, Community Youth Club, various kinds of grants, and so on.

Labour and Welfare Bureau

Time-expired administrative records of the former Economic Development and Labour BureauNote, including general administration, procurement and supplies, finance and accounting, human resources, management of information, information services and information technology; and time-expired programme records belonging to the former Education and Manpower BureauNote, most of which are statistics and study reports of the Education and Manpower Bureau's statistics unit.

Note: Reorganization of Policy Bureaux of the Government Secretariat took place on 1 July 2007. Upon reorganization, the policy responsibilities of the Economic Development and Labour Bureau were transferred to other Policy Bureaux, and the Economic Development and Labour Bureau was disbanded on 1 July 2007, whereas the former Education and Manpower Bureau was reorganized as the Education Bureau. The Labour and Welfare Bureau was established on the same day, taking over the policy portfolios of labour and manpower as well as related administrative and programme records from the former Economic Development and Labour Bureau and the former Education and Manpower Bureau respectively.

Disposal of time-expired records, including destruction of records

and transfer of records having archival value to the GRS for


10005

permanent retention, is an indispensable part of the life cycle of records and also an essential component in the records management of Policy Bureaux/departments (B/Ds). Regular disposal of records facilitates easy retrieval of records in active use, and minimizes costs for maintaining and storing records.

All the records mentioned above were time-expired (that is, records

which have been retained for the period specified in the General Administrative Records Disposal Schedules (GARDS) for administrative records, or the approved disposal schedules for programme records) and had been appraised as having no archival value where permanent retention was not required, and prior approval had been obtained from the GRS Director before destruction.

To minimize the risk of inadvertent unauthorized destruction of

records during the disposal process, the General Circular No. 2/2009 "Mandatory Records Management Requirements" (General Circular No. 2/2009) provides that B/Ds should designate an officer not below the rank of Executive Officer II or equivalent to ensure that the disposal process is properly supervised and the records disposal procedures are complied with. Such procedures include preparing an accurate list of files to be disposed of, ensuring the completeness of files having archival value, and segregating and checking records approved for destruction and documenting for accountability. The Education Bureau and Labour and Welfare Bureau had already followed the procedures on records disposal as required to ensure that no records were destroyed by mistake.

(2) In 2013, the GRS handled records (including appraisal, permanent

retention and granting approval for destruction) from the following B/Ds:

B/Ds

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Architectural Services Department Audit Commission Auxiliary Medical Service Buildings Department


B/Ds Census and Statistics Department Chief Executive's Office (including Executive Council Secretariat) Chief Secretary for Administration's Office (including the Efficiency Unit) Civil Aid Service Civil Aviation Department Civil Engineering and Development Department Civil Service Bureau Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (including the Innovation and Technology Commission and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer) Companies Registry Correctional Services Department Customs and Excise Department Department of Health Department of Justice Development Bureau Drainage Services Department Education Bureau Electrical and Mechanical Services Department Environmental Protection Department Financial Secretary's Office (including the Economic Analysis and Business Facilitation Unit) Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau Fire Services Department Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Food and Health Bureau Government Flying Service Government Logistics Department Highways Department Home Affairs Bureau Home Affairs Department Hong Kong Police Force Immigration Department Independent Commission Against Corruption Information Services Department Inland Revenue Department Joint Secretariat for the Advisory Bodies on Civil Service and Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service


10007

B/Ds Judiciary Labour and Welfare Bureau Labour Department Land Registry Lands Department Legal Aid Department Leisure and Cultural Services Department Marine Department Office of the Communications Authority Official Receiver's Office Planning Department Post Office Radio Television Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department Registration and Electoral Office Secretariat, Commissioner on Interception of Communications and Surveillance Security Bureau Social Welfare Department Student Financial Assistance Agency Trade and Industry Department Transport and Housing Bureau (Housing)/Housing Department Transport and Housing Bureau (Transport) Transport Department Treasury University Grants Committee Secretariat Water Supplies Department

General Circular No. 2/2009 provides that B/Ds should dispose of

their time-expired records at least once every two years. As regards those B/Ds which are not included above (that is, the Central Policy Unit, Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, Environment Bureau, Government Laboratory, Government Property Agency, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong Observatory, Intellectual Property Department, Invest Hong Kong and Public Service Commission Secretariat), although they did not dispose of time-expired records in 2013, they had carried out work related to disposal (including submission of disposal request or transferral of


records for appraisal) in 2012, or have commenced the relevant work since end 2013/early 2014. So far we have not found any irregularities by B/Ds against this mandatory requirement on disposal of time-expired records.

According to GARDS, B/Ds are required to retain permanently the

records of disposal requests and the relevant disposal process, and a list of records disposed of (including destroyed records).

(3) The Secretariat of the LRC advised that the LRC had established a

sub-committee in May 2013 to look into the issue of the Archives Law with a view to making appropriate recommendations on possible options for reform where necessary. The sub-committee has since been meeting basically on a monthly basis, having so far reviewed the current regime and embarked on a comparative study of the situation in other jurisdictions. The Secretariat of the LRC advised that as the problems involved were rather complicated, the sub-committee had not set an expected completion date for the task, but would finish the necessary study (including referring to the results of The Ombudsman's investigation) and put forward recommendations for consultation as soon as possible. The sub-committee will only finalize the reform proposal after considering the views collected during the consultation period. The LRC will publish the final report after considering the draft report submitted by the sub-committee.

Impacts of Railway Construction Works on Nearby Sites and Buildings 3. MR JAMES TO (in Chinese): President, the initial and tunnel boring works of the project to construct the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (the XRL Project) commenced in 2009. In connection with the impacts of such works on nearby sites and buildings, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:

(1) the number of reports or complaints about the occurrence of land subsidence, or problems of settlement, water seepage or other damages of buildings, in the vicinity of the construction sites of the


10009

XRL Project received by the authorities since 2009; among the buildings concerned, of the respective numbers of public facilities, private properties and structures of other categories (set out in table form);

(2) among the reports or complaints in part (1), of the number of those

cases in which the problems concerned have been proved to be related to the XRL Project, together with a breakdown by category of buildings (set out in table form); and

(3) for each case in part (2), of the party responsible for meeting the

costs of repair works for solving the problems (including salaries for works supervisory staff); if such costs were paid out of public coffers, of the reasons for that; if they were paid in advance by the Government pending recovery from the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) subsequently, of the amounts so recovered (set out in table form)?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, my consolidated reply to the three parts of Mr James TO's question is as follows: The Government and the MTRCL have all along attached much importance to the construction impact of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) on the structural safety of nearby facilities and buildings. During construction, the MTRCL has set up a number of monitoring points at relevant buildings and locations near the XRL alignment to monitor the environmental impact, including noise and vibration, of the XRL works. The data so collected will be submitted to the government departments concerned for scrutiny to ensure compliance with statutory requirements. According to the monitoring results, the XRL project has not caused any undesirable impact on the surroundings. The MTRCL will keep a close watch over the construction works carried out by contractors and the impact of the works on the vicinity. Appropriate mitigation measures will be implemented to minimize the impact on the neighborhood. Up to February 2014, the MTRCL has received a total of 263 damage reports, including reports of alleged damages to buildings and other losses.


None of them is related to structural integrity or structural safety of buildings. Most cases have been reviewed by an independent loss adjuster and found to be not related to the XRL project. While 16 cases have been settled with the owners concerned, the remaining ones are being reviewed and followed up by the MTRCL. Details are as follows:

Figures as at February 2014

Number of cases

referred to the loss adjuster

Number of cases

reviewed by the loss

adjuster and found to be

not related to the XRL project

Number of cases settled

Number of cases being

reviewed and followed up

Number of reports involving alleged damage to buildings by the XRL project

185 140 9 36

Number of reports involving other alleged losses incurred by the XRL project

78 47 7 24

Total 263 187 16 60 Details of the cases, which contain information of individual parties, will not be disclosed to protect the privacy of the parties concerned. Payments will be settled by the contractors and the insurance coverage under respective contracts. The Government will continue to urge the MTRCL to monitor the situation of nearby buildings, and if necessary, implement appropriate measures to ensure public safety and minimize the construction impact on residents in the vicinity. Public Participation in Work of Town Planning Board 4. MR WONG YUK-MAN (in Chinese): President, earlier on, the Town Planning Board (TPB) completed consideration of an application for rezoning


10011

the southern portion of the former campus site of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Lee Wai Lee) in Kowloon Tong to "Residential (Group B)". During consideration of the application, the TPB received over 20 000 submissions opposing the application. Moreover, the TPB is currently processing an application for converting the office floors of Hung Hom Bay Centre to a hotel. It has been reported that the application is also opposed by quite a number of residents in that district. Regarding public participation in the work of TPB, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that at present, members of the public may convey to TPB their views on the plans and amendments thereto as well as applications for planning permissions, only by means of written submissions and attending TPB's meetings, but they may not participate directly in the vetting and approval of such applications, whether the Government has reviewed the adequacy of public participation in the existing vetting and approval mechanism; if it has not, when it will review the mechanism; and

(2) given that all the unofficial members of TPB are to be appointed by

the Chief Executive under section 2(1) of the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) (TPO), of the criteria based on which the Chief Executive determines the candidates for unofficial members; whether it will consider appointing more members of the public to TPB?

SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, the TPB is an independent statutory body which performs its statutory planning functions under the TPO. When considering statutory plans or planning applications, the TPB will take into account a number of relevant factors, including planning intention, land use compatibility, traffic and infrastructural capacities, and the impacts of the proposed development on surrounding areas, and so on. The TPB will, in accordance with the TPO, invite the public to submit representations and comments on the draft statutory plans, and submit comments on the planning applications. Hearing will also be arranged by the TPB according to TPO to hear the oral submissions of representators and commenters direct so as to consider their views.


My reply to the two-part question is as follows:

(1) As mentioned above, under the current statutory planning procedure, the public can submit representations and/or comments on the draft statutory plans and planning applications, and also attend the meetings of the TPB to make oral submissions direct in relation to the draft statutory plans. Before making recommendations to the Chief Executive in Council, or deciding on the planning applications, the TPB will thoroughly consider the views of representators and commenters.

Besides, when submitting its recommendations on the draft statutory

plans to Chief Executive in Council, the TPB will, in accordance with TPO, submit together the representations and comments for Chief Executive in Council's consideration.

The Government considers that the current statutory planning

procedures under TPO have already provided for appropriate arrangements for consideration of public views.

(2) To appoint appropriate non-official members to the TPB, it has been

a standing practice for the Government to take into account the candidates' expertise and experience, as well as their fields relating to planning and development (such as architecture, environment, engineering, law, surveying, commerce and finance, academics and social services, and so on).

Among the 36 members of the new term of the TPB commenced on

1 April 2014, 30 (that is, 83%) are non-official members. Unauthorized Columbaria 5. MR LEUNG CHE-CHEUNG (in Chinese): President, it is learnt that in 1993, the Town Planning Board rejected the application by a developer for amending the planned use of a site at Sheung Tsuen in Pat Heung of Yuen Long for the construction of columbarium facilities, but the developer concerned


10013

thereafter has not demolished the three unauthorized columbaria built on the site which were near completion. Over the years, the villagers of Sheung Tsuen have been requesting the relevant government departments to take law-enforcement actions. However, the Buildings Department (BD) replied that those unauthorized building works (UBWs) were not of the type accorded high priority for clearance and therefore it would not take any action. Such UBWs have been erected for over 20 years. Recently, some villagers have found that some people are carrying out large-scale construction works on the site concerned with the intention of resuming construction of the columbarium facilities. In its reply to District Council members of the district, the Lands Department (LandsD) said that carrying out earthmoving activities and surveying works on the site concerned did not breach the land lease conditions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the existing policies and relevant measures for handling unauthorized columbaria; whether it has set a response time target from receipt of reports of such cases to conclusion of cases;

(2) why it has yet to take law-enforcement action against the aforesaid

UBWs; whether it has assessed if the law-enforcement work by the government departments concerned is ineffective;

(3) of the information on other cases of unauthorized columbarium

which are of the same situation as the aforesaid case, and the details of the law-enforcement actions taken by the Government in respect of such cases in the past three years; and

(4) given that the Government has in recent years proactively handled

the problems of UBWs on private lands in rural areas, and that if the owners concerned fail to comply with the removal orders by the deadline, the Government would appoint contractors to carry out the necessary works on behalf of the owners and then recover the costs from them, why the aforesaid case has been allowed to be held up for over 20 years without any removal action taken; regarding the differences in the Government's approaches and time needed for handling the aforesaid case and other cases of UBWs on private lands in rural areas, whether it has assessed if there have been


inconsistencies in the law-enforcement actions taken, thus giving rise to an unfair situation?

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Chinese): President, the operation of all trades in Hong Kong, including the columbarium trade, must be in compliance with the statutory or other requirements of the Government. In taking actions against any unauthorized private columbaria, the relevant departments will exercise the powers conferred upon them by the land lease, the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) and the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), in accordance with the established procedures. In order to help the public make informed choices before the licensing scheme is introduced, the Development Bureau has published and updated on a quarterly basis a list containing the relevant land/lease (user restrictions) and planning information relating to those private columbaria that are made known to the LandsD and/or Planning Department (PlanD) and which the departments have reasons to believe are operating as columbaria. Moreover, consumer education has also been enhanced. Announcements in the Public Interest on television and radio were launched in the past two years, and a pamphlet has also been published on the Government's websites and distributed through various channels since mid-2011, giving consumer advice to remind the public of areas that they should watch out for when purchasing niches from private columbaria. Before patronizing private columbaria, members of the public are reminded of the importance of obtaining from the operators full and complete information in order to check whether the respective columbarium is compliant with all relevant statutory and Government requirements, including town planning requirements and land leases. They are also advised to ascertain from the operators of private columbaria how they would look after the interest of their customers, such as how to handle the interred niches properly and whether and how they would refund or compensate their customers should the respective private columbarium be prohibited from operating or cease operation. Where necessary, consumers should seek independent legal advice on their rights. Based on information provided by the Development Bureau, I set out below our reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Member.


10015

(1) Relevant departments will take enforcement actions against unauthorized aspects of private columbaria under their respective mandate and relevant legislation and administrative measures.

Town planning The Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) confers powers on the

Planning Authority to undertake enforcement actions against unauthorized developments in areas covered by the Development Permission Areas. In addition, enforcement actions against the relevant land use may be handled by virtue of land lease conditions, building plans and various licence systems, where these are applicable.

Land leases/Land Control If the columbarium use is confirmed to be in breach of the land

lease, the LandsD will take appropriate lease enforcement actions. Such actions may include issuing advisory/warning letters to the lessee, and the ultimate re-entry of the land is not precluded. Besides, if the case involves unlawful occupation of government land for columbarium use, the LandsD will post a notice under Section 6(1) of the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 28), requiring the cessation of occupation of government land before a specified date. Should the unlawful occupation persist after expiry of the specified period, the LandsD may, after seeking legal advice, take further land control action including prosecution. According to the LandsD, in taking such lease enforcement and land control actions, the LandsD will normally consider the actual circumstances of the land involved, including whether there is storage of cremains and the quantity, and so on. If storage of cremains is found, the land owners/occupiers will be given a specified period of time to make arrangements for the relocation of the cremains and other related matters.

Building safety On construction, those columbaria which are in breach of the

Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) or its subsidiary legislation would


be regarded as UBWs. The Buildings Authority would, in accordance with the existing enforcement policy against UBWs, give priority to taking enforcement actions against items constituting obvious hazard or imminent danger to life or property, newly constructed items and items that constitute a serious health or environmental nuisance. Besides, since April 2011, the Building Authority has revised its enforcement policy against UBWs by extending the coverage of actionable UBW.

(2) The enforcement actions taken by the relevant departments on the

above case are as follows: Planning Department The subject site falls within an area zoned "Agriculture" on the

approved Shek Kong Outline Zoning Plan No. S/YL-SK/9 (Plan 1). "Columbarium" use is not permitted within this zone. The Central Enforcement and Prosecution Section of the PlanD has investigated the suspected columbarium use of the site since 1991. More than 10 site inspections were conducted, which revealed that the site was vacant, with three vacant concrete structures and some stone statues. Up to the latest site inspection conducted on 11 March 2014, no columbarium use was found on the site. As there is insufficient evidence to confirm any columbarium use at the site or any other unauthorized development under the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131), no enforcement action has been taken. Nevertheless, the PlanD will keep monitoring the site.

Lands Department The Yuen Long District Lands Office (DLO) received complaint

against the storage of human ashes inside the three buildings located at Lot No. 1410 S.B RP in D.D. 114. After the investigation by DLO (with the most recent investigation conducted in end 2013), no columbarium use or resumption of construction works was found. However, as the concerned lot is an old scheduled graveyard with house entitlement, the area of the three buildings has exceeded the built-over area allowed under the land lease thus breaching the lease


10017

conditions. DLO commenced lease enforcement actions since 2009 by issuing warning letter(s) to the owner of the concerned lot requiring the land owner to rectify the breach before a specified time. As the breach was not purged upon the expiration of the specified time, DLO registered the warning letter(s) against the subject lot at the Lands Registry, in order to inform the public of the breach. Separately, the LandsD had referred the case to the BD to follow up on the UBWs.

DLO is seeking legal advice with respect to the three buildings to

consider whether it is appropriate to take further lease enforcement actions, including re-entry.

Buildings Department According to the BD's record, there are three 3-storey existing

building structures located at the concerned area at Sheung Tsuen, Pat Heung, Yuen Long, which exceed the criteria as stipulated in the Buildings Ordinance (Application to the New Territories) Ordinance (Cap. 121). As there is no approval record of such building structures in the BD, these existing building structures belong to UBWs. However, no obvious danger was noted for these building structures during the inspection. According to the current enforcement policy against UBWs, the above UBWs do not fall within the types against which the BD has accorded priority for taking immediate enforcement action. As such, the BD contemplates no further action.

(3) As set out before, the Development Bureau has published on its

website <www.devb.gov.hk> (and updated regularly) information on land/lease (user restriction) and town planning on the private columbaria made known to the LandsD and the PlanD. There are two parts to the information:

Part A includes private columbaria which are compliant with the

user restrictions in the land leases and the statutory town planning requirements and are not illegally occupying Government land; and


Part B includes other private columbaria made known to the PlanD and the LandsD that do not fall under Part A (that is, those which are pending checking for compliance with the relevant requirements for inclusion in Part A; or have been confirmed not compliant with the user restrictions in the land leases and/or statutory town planning requirements and/or are illegally occupying Government land).

The information on enforcement actions against private columbaria

in the past three years is given below:

Year Number of

inspections/visits conducted(1)

Number of non-compliance cases detected

Number of enforcement

actions taken(2) 2011 907 30 31 2012 804 43 59 2013 617 47 35

Notes: (1) Figures include site inspections of both confirmed and suspected cases

arising from complaints, referrals, patrol, visits (as appropriate) by the BD (figure only available for 2013), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, LandsD and PlanD.

(2) Figures include the issuance of warning letters, orders, enforcement

notices and the instigation of prosecution actions, and so on.

(4) Generally speaking, the BD will consider arranging Buildings

Department Contractor action to remove UBWs and recovering the cost incurred from the owner for special cases, such as UBWs with imminent danger or non-compliance case after repeated prosecution in the default of the owner. According to the current enforcement policy against UBWs, the above UBWs do not fall within the types against which the BD has accorded priority for taking immediate enforcement action. As such, the BD contemplates no further action.


10019

Plan 1


Industrial Accidents in Construction Industry 6. MR LEUNG YIU-CHUNG (in Chinese): President, some members of the construction industry have pointed out that the occurrence of three fatal industrial accidents at the construction sites under the same principal contractor over the past six months reflects that both the occupational safety measures taken by that contractor at its construction sites and the inspections of construction sites conducted by the Labour Department (LD) are inadequate. Regarding industrial accidents in the construction industry, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the numbers of (i) construction site workers, (ii) safety officers at construction sites and (iii) construction sites, in the territory in each of the past five years;

(2) of the respective numbers of surprise and notified inspections

conducted at construction sites, and the respective numbers of suspension notices and improvement notices issued, by the LD in each of the past five years;

(3) of the respective numbers of injury and fatal cases of the industrial

accidents in the construction industry in each of the past five years, broken down by name of the principal contractor concerned; the major causes of such industrial accidents; and

(4) whether it has formulated new measures to reduce the occurrence of

industrial accidents in the construction industry; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Chinese): President, my reply to Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung's question is set out below:

(1) The numbers of construction site workers, safety officers at construction sites and construction sites in Hong Kong in each of the past five years are set out as follows:


10021

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Number of construction workers#

50 501 55 341 62 635 71 295 79 303

Number of registered safety officers*

2 409 2 083 2 318 2 546 2 846

Number of construction sites@

976 1 089 1 108 1 167 1 275

Notes: # The figures refer to the average number of construction workers of that

year released by the Census and Statistics Department. * The figures refer to the total number of registered safety officers with

valid registration. The LD does not keep information on the industries in which registered safety officers are engaged after registration.

@ The figures refer to the average number of construction sites of that year,

including building and civil work sites, released by the Census and Statistics Department.

(2) All inspections to construction sites conducted by LD are surprise

inspections. The relevant figures in each of the past five years are set out as follows:

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Number of inspections to construction sites made

50 801 52 503 56 903 63 966 61 529

Number of suspension notices issued

130 95 336 683 669

Number of improvement notices issued

625 680 772 1 208 1 218

(3) The information on industrial injuries and fatalities in the

construction industry in each of the past five years is set out as follows:


2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Number of injuries 2 736 2 875 3 089 3 136 2 318* Number of fatalities 19 9 23 24 22 Note: * 2 318 refers to the number of injuries in the first three quarters of 2013.

The 2013 full-year industrial accident statistics of the construction industry will be released in late April 2014.

The major causes of the industrial accidents tabulated above include

"slip, trip or fall on same level", "injured whilst lifting or carrying", "striking against or struck by moving object" and "fall of person from height", and so on. A breakdown by type of accident of industrial accidents in the construction industry is set out at Annex. Of the 22 fatal industrial accidents in the construction industry in 2013, most cases involved "work-at-height" (15 cases) and "tunnelling and underground works" (4 cases). Among the 15 "work-at-height" fatal accidents, most cases involved workers falling from bamboo scaffolds (7 cases), working platforms or falseworks (2 cases), and ladders (2 cases). As at the first quarter of 2014, there were 10 fatal industrial accidents in the construction industry. Most of these cases involved "work-at-height" (4 cases) and "lifting operation" (3 cases). The LD does not keep the breakdown of accident statistics by principal contractors.

(4) In collaboration with the trade associations, workers' unions, the

Construction Industry Council, and the Occupational Safety and Health Council, the LD has formulated a set of measures to reduce the occurrence of industrial accidents in the construction industry. These measures include: (i) further stepping up inspections and enforcement actions, particularly for those high-risk processes such as work-at-height, lifting operations and electrical works; (ii) strengthening the monitoring of work safety of major works projects, particularly the safety management systems in respect of high-risk processes such as tunnelling works and operation of heavy plant and machineries; (iii) enhancing the content of the mandatory safety training courses for construction workers by introducing case studies and analysis of serious accidents involving fall of persons from height, lifting operations and electrocution; (iv) expediting the


10023

release of Work Safety Alerts, giving a brief account of serious work accidents and reminding the industry of taking safety precautionary measures; (v) strengthening promotional activities on thematic work safety (for example, work-at-height, electrical work, infrastructure projects, and so on); (vi) conducting visits to construction sites and roving exhibitions, and producing simple and easy-to-understand promotional leaflets on occupational safety and health in languages of ethnic minorities; (vii) launching a work safety accreditation scheme for repair, maintenance, alteration and addition works to enhance work-at-height safety of workers through provision of safety training, subsidies for the purchase of fall arresting devices and conducting safety audits; and (viii) launching a work safety sponsorship scheme to minimize the risk of workers falling from improper ladders.

Annex

Industrial Accidents in Construction Industry in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and the First Three Quarters of 2013 ― breakdown by Type of Accident

Type of Accident

2009 2010 2011 2012 First three quarters of

2013 Total

Slip, trip or fall on same level

513 573 634

719 556 2 995

Injured whilst lifting or carrying

576 546 605

519 349 2 595

Striking against or struck by moving object

424 (2) 442 522 (3) 548 (2) 441 (2) 2 377 (9)

Fall of person from height

397 (15) 406 (6) 390 (10) 423 (12) 323 (6) 1 939 (49)


Type of Accident


2013 Total

Striking against fixed or stationary object

219 302 279 293 (1) 230 1 323 (1)

Contact with moving machinery or object being machined

199 245 (2) 216 234 157 1 051 (2)

Injured by hand tool

137 102 116 95 64 514

Trapped in or between objects

93 85 106 (1) 114 (1) 88 486 (2)

Struck by falling object

87 (1) 75 73 (3) 56 33 324 (4)

Stepping on object

19 27 29 18 4 97

Contact with hot surface or substance

21 20 20 22 7 90

Exposure to or contact with harmful substance

8 7 20 20 8 63

Struck by moving vehicle

17 7 13 12 12 61


10025

Type of Accident


2013 Total

Contact with electricity or electric discharge

5 7 (1) 6 (2) 17 (7) 6 41 (10)

Exposure to fire

8 5 11 7 3 34

Exposure to explosion

4 3 9 (1) 4 5 25 (1)

Trapped by collapsing or overturning object

0 1 8 (2) 6 4 19 (2)

Injured by fall of ground

1 0 1 4 (1) 1 (1) 7 (2)

Drowning 1 (1) 0 1 (1) 0 1 (1) 3 (3) Injured by animal

0 0 2 0 0 2

Others 26 31 51 49 36 193 TOTAL 2 755 (19) 2 884 (9) 3 112 (23) 3 160 (24) 2 328 (10) 14 239 (85)

Notes: (1) Industrial accident statistics are released on a quarterly basis and the latest available statistics are up to the

first three quarters of 2013. The industrial accident statistics of the full year of 2013 will be released in late April 2014

(2) Figures in brackets denote the number of industrial fatalities which have been included in the number of

accidents.

Handling of Public Rental Housing Units of Tenants Sentenced to Imprisonment 7. MR ALAN LEONG (in Chinese): President, I have recently received a letter seeking my assistance from a public rental housing (PRH) tenant who is serving a sentence of more than 12 months' imprisonment, expressing the worry


that the Housing Department (HD) may recover his PRH unit during his imprisonment. Regarding HD's handling of the PRH units of tenants sentenced to imprisonment, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the tenancy eligibility of PRH households will be affected by some of their members being sentenced to imprisonment;

(2) whether payment of PRH rentals by singleton PRH tenants with

financial difficulties may be waived during imprisonment; if so, of the public money involved in each of the past five years;

(3) of the circumstances under which HD will recover the PRH units

from tenants sentenced to imprisonment; of the number of PRH units recovered from such tenants in each of the past five years; and

(4) of the circumstances under which HD will re-allocate PRH units to

the discharged offenders, as well as their waiting time; whether HD will handle applications from the following categories of discharged offenders in a special manner: singleton elderly persons aged 65 or above, people with disabilities and recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, PRH is a precious public resources involving substantial subsidy from the Government. To ensure maximal utilization of PRH resources, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) puts in place the Letter of Assurance (LA) mechanism. In case any singleton PRH tenants who need to serve a relatively long-term imprisonment (normally three months or more), the HD will liaise with the tenants concerned proactively and advise them to terminate the tenancies voluntarily and surrender their flats. The HD will issue a LA to them undertaking that upon their discharge, they could be offered a PRH flat without queuing on the Waiting List (WL) should they still fulfil the relevant criteria. Subject to availability of PRH resources, the HD would allocate PRH flats to them as soon as practicable. My reply to the four-part question of Mr Alan LEONG is as follows:

(1) If some of the authorized members (including the tenant himself/herself) listed in the Tenancy Agreement (TA) of a PRH unit


10027

are imprisoned in a correctional institution of the Correctional Services Department (CSD), according to the TA, the tenants should notify the HD of such changes in family circumstances as soon as possible. In accordance with the prevailing PRH policy, right of residence in the PRH unit of the imprisoned persons concerned will not be deprived because of the imprisonment. The HA will not recover the relevant PRH unit due to the imprisonment of some of the authorized members (including the tenant himself/herself) listed in the TA of that unit.

(2) to (4) Generally speaking, unless the tenants concerned have defaulted in

rent payment or abused the use of their flats, the HA will not issue Notice-to-quit (NTQ) to recover their flats due to their imprisonment. For singleton tenants who are receiving Comprehensive Social Security Allowance and subject to short-term imprisonment (normally less than three months), the HD will, having learnt about the situation, liaise with the Social Welfare Department (SWD) to allow for continued transfer of the rental payment to the HA's account direct. As mentioned above, for singleton tenants who are being imprisoned for a longer period (normally three months or above), the HD will liaise with the tenants concerned proactively and advise them to terminate the tenancies voluntarily and surrender their flats. The HD will issue them a LA, undertaking that upon their discharge, if they still meet the relevant criteria (including income and asset limits applicable to the PRH WL applicants and the requirement of not owning any domestic property in Hong Kong), they could exercise the rights in the LA and be offered a PRH flat without the need to queue up on the WL again. Subject to availability of PRH resources, the HD would allocate PRH flats to them as soon as practicable.

If PRH tenants (irrespective of whether they are imprisoned or not)

have defaulted in rent payment or abused the use of their flats, the HA will issue NTQ to recover the flats in accordance with the clauses of the TA. On par with other PRH applicants, imprisoned persons who are eligible for PRH may apply for PRH via the CSD


when they are serving their sentences. However, the period of their imprisonment will not be counted in the average waiting time (AWT)(1). Upon their discharge, subject to the availability of resources, they will be offered a PRH flat when their PRH applications are due for detailed vetting and if they meet the eligibility criteria. Discharged persons may also consider living in transitional hostels provided by non-governmental organizations. Moreover, discharged persons with pressing housing needs may apply to the SWD for Compassionate Rehousing on medical and social grounds for early rehousing.

The HD does not maintain records on the amount of rental paid by

imprisoned tenants or the number of PRH flats recovered from imprisoned tenants.

(1) It is the Government's policy objective to provide PRH to low-income families who cannot afford private

rental accommodation. The HA's target is to maintain the AWT at around three years for general applicants of the WL. Under the established methodology, waiting time refers to the time taken between registration on the WL and the first unit offer, excluding any frozen period during the application period (for example, the imprisonment of applicants; when the applicant has not yet fulfilled the residence requirement; the applicant has to put his/her application on hold pending arrival of members for family reunion). The AWT for general applicants refers to the average of the waiting time of general applicants housed to PRH in the past 12 months.

Services for Persons with Mental Illness/Mood Disorder 8. MR ALBERT HO (in Chinese): President, according to the 2013 Edition of the Census and Statistics Department's Women and Men in Hong Kong ― Key Statistics, about 50 000 women suffered from mental illness/mood disorder, which outnumbered the 30 000 male sufferers. There are views that as women play more and more roles, they often have to face stresses arising from work and family at the same time. Besides, the press has reported from time to time in recent years on cases of persons with emotional problems killing themselves. Regarding the services for persons with mental illness/mood disorder (particularly for women), will the Government inform this Council whether:

(1) it knows the attendances by persons with mental illness/mood disorder (for example, depression, anxiety) at the psychiatric specialist out-patient clinics (SOPCs) under the Hospital Authority (HA) in the past three years, together with a breakdown by gender;


10029

(2) it has adopted any measure to identify at an early stage persons with early symptoms of mental illness/mood disorder; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) government departments or non-governmental organizations provide

non-pharmacological treatments for persons with early-stage mental illness/mood disorder; if they do, of the details (including the names of the departments or organizations); if not, the reasons for that; whether the Government subsidizes such treatment services; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) it knows the number of women with mental illness/mood disorder

receiving non-pharmacological treatments in the past three years, together with a breakdown by District Council (DC) district and type of treatments; and

(5) it has assessed if the various types of mental health and early

intervention services provided for women in the various DC districts are adequate, and if such services are able to meet the needs of women in the respective districts?

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Chinese): President, at present, the HA is handling about 210 000 cases of mental illness. In each of the past three years, there were over 700 000 attendances in psychiatric SOPCs for treatment of different types of mental problems. Among them, about 200 000 attendances involved patients suffering from mood disorder and 150 000 involved those suffering from anxiety disorder. The breakdown by year and gender is set out in the following table.

Year All types of mental

disorder Mood disorder* Anxiety disorder**

2010-2011 Male 305 625 57 166 50 045

Female 433 561 147 905 99 888 Total 739 186 205 071 149 933

2011-2012 Male 312 151 58 574 51 517

Female 443 594 152 845 105 817 Total 755 745 211 419 157 334


Year All types of mental

disorder Mood disorder* Anxiety disorder**

2012-2013 Male 318 811 60 252 52 773

Female 456 298 158 217 111 931 Total 775 109 218 469 164 704

Notes: * Mood disorder generally refers to the diseases included in F30-39 of the International

Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).

** Anxiety disorder generally refers to the diseases included in F40-48 of ICD-10 issued by

the WHO. To enhance the support for patients with mild mental illness, the HA has launched the Integrated Mental Health Programme since 2010. Under the Programme, patients with mild mental illness are provided with diagnosis, treatment and other support services, including individual or group counselling and psychological treatment, in primary care settings at designated general out-patient clinics in all seven clusters of the HA. The services are provided by multi-disciplinary teams led by family medicine specialists and general practitioners. For patients with common mental disorders such as emotional distress, anxiety disorder and depression, the HA has set up Common Mental Disorder Clinics at the psychiatric SOPCs in all of its seven clusters since 2010. These patients are provided with support services by multi-disciplinary teams, including assessment and consultation. The HA will review the effectiveness of psychiatric services from time to time and work closely with the relevant departments to enhance the services with regard to the needs of the community. The HA does not have the figures and information requested in part (4) and part (5) of the question. Importation of Construction Workers 9. MR JAMES TIEN (in Chinese): President, it has been reported that on 26th March this year, the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) endorsed the proposal of


10031

the Government to expedite the labour importation processes for public works projects (including railway projects). Under the proposal, the authorities will set up a dedicated task force to help examine the applications for importing labour of 26 designated trades prior to their submission to LAB for vetting and approval. It is expected that the average processing time will consequently be shortened from the current 7.5 months to six months. Regarding importation of construction workers, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of imported construction workers and registered local construction workers (with a breakdown by age group) in each of the past five years;

(2) of the respective current shortfalls in manpower in the aforesaid 26

trades and their respective median wages (set out by trade in tables);

(3) whether it has assessed the extent to which the manpower shortage of the construction industry will be alleviated by expediting the labour importation processes for public works projects by LAB; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) whether it has assessed the impacts of the shortage of construction

workers due to the failure to timely import labour on the progress and costs of public works projects (including railway projects), and on aspects such as people's livelihood, and the economy; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(5) whether it has considered making reference to the Special Labour

Importation Scheme for the New Airport and Related Projects (SLIS) implemented by the authorities between 1990 and 1999 and introducing an SLIS for public housing and infrastructural projects, so as to ensure the completion of various related projects on schedule, with a view to addressing the housing needs of the grassroots as early as possible, and maintaining sustained economic and social development; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to promoting economic


growth, creating jobs, improving people's quality of life and enhancing the long-term competitiveness of Hong Kong through infrastructure developments. In the coming few years, construction works of a number of large scale infrastructure projects including transport, medical services, water supply, and so on, will commence. With the total projected construction output of public and private works projects to be maintained at a high level in the coming few years, there will be a keen demand for construction workers in Hong Kong. Further, the construction industry is facing problems of ageing and skills mismatch. In the medium to long term, we will continue to strive to meet the manpower demand by training and re-training local workers and attracting more new entrants to join the construction industry. Over the past few years, the Administration and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) have implemented various training initiatives and training courses, and CIC has substantially increased the number of training places. However, taking into account the limitations of training, such as the time required to nurture semi-skilled graduate trainees to become skilled workers and the loss of productivity for in-service skilled workers in nurturing semi-skilled workers, we project that there will be labour shortage in the coming four years from end 2013 to 2017. With due regard to the principle of not affecting the employment and reasonable income levels of local construction workers, we need to make full use of the "Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS)" to import skilled workers in a timely manner. This will not only help meet the manpower demand of the construction works but also make room for local in-service skilled workers to nurture semi-skilled workers for further enhancing their skills to achieve the productivity of skilled workers. My reply to the five parts of Mr TIEN's question is as follows:

(1) The number of construction workers approved to be imported under the SLS from 2009 to 2013 is set out as below:

Year Approved number of imported workers 2009 7 2010 1 2011 14 2012 284 2013 566


10033

According to construction workers' registration record of CIC, the breakdown of registered construction workers by age groups over the past five years is as follows:

Age Group Number of Registered Construction Workers (approx.) As at end

2009 As at end

2010 As at end

2011 As at end

2012 As at end

2013 Under 20 3 000 1 000 1 000 1 000 1 000 20 to 29 34 000 31 000 35 000 38 000 42 000 30 to 39 54 000 51 000 54 000 57 000 58 000 40 to 49 79 000 71 000 72 000 76 000 80 000 50 to 59 81 000 87 000 95 000 99 000 101 000 60 or over 17 000 24 000 30 000 34 000 40 000 Total 268 000 265 000 287 000 305 000 322 000

(2) to (4)

To cope with the manpower challenges of the construction industry,

we have implemented a series of measures including obtaining a total of $320 million from the Legislative Council in 2010 and 2012 to support CIC to strengthen its role in training local construction personnel and enhance promotion and publicity activities to attract more people to join the industry. Amongst others, we collaborate with CIC to launch the "Enhanced Construction Manpower Training Scheme" with higher training allowance to train semi-skilled workers. Having regard to the manpower forecast study being conducted by CIC, forecast construction output, number of in-service workers, retirement of workers and local workers going to work outside Hong Kong, and so on, and taking account of the forecast number of semi-skilled workers to be trained and better utilization of potential workforce of the industry (including the unemployed and underemployed workers as well as workers who have left the construction industry) and their limitations, we project that the industry will need nearly 10 000 to more than 10 000 additional skilled workers in the coming four years from end 2013 to 2017.

Regarding the labour shortage of individual trades, the manpower

demand for each trade varies with the work progress, whereas the progress of individual projects may be affected by various factors, which may lead to delay of different magnitude. In this connection,


we have difficulty in making accurate projection on the short-term manpower shortage of individual trades.

We need to continue the investment in worthwhile infrastructure

projects in a timely manner to meet social needs and maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness. If we cannot import skilled workers timely to meet the manpower demand in the coming four years, it will not only lead to delay and deferral in the commencement of construction of worthwhile projects but will also pose the risk of creating a more acute construction peak several years later which may result in even higher project prices and further strain the manpower situation. Realization of the economic and social benefits of these projects may also be deferred. Moreover, construction project comprises works of sequential phases. Works of the later phases may only commence when the works of the preceding phase have been completed. Hence, labour shortage for individual trades will not only lead to delay in work progress but will also hamper the job opportunities of local workers in the subsequent phases of works.

The current arrangement is to better prepare for the SLS applications

related to public sector works(1) with a view to saving the time for administrative work in order to facilitate the smooth processing of the SLS applications. Under this arrangement, we will not bypass the LAB, not replace the existing SLS mechanism and not adopt a quota approach. Further, contractors will be notified of their application results within a reasonable period of time to facilitate manpower planning.

As for the trades in manpower shortage, being the co-ordinating

body of the industry, CIC set up a Task Force on Short-term Labour Supply (the Task Force)(2) in January 2014. The Task Force was tasked to identify a list of trades with manpower shortage and their

(1) The public sector works include the works of the Government, MTR Corporation and the Housing

Authority. (2) The Task Force comprises representatives of the Hong Kong Construction Association, the Hong Kong

Federation of Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Limited, the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, the Federation of Hong Kong Electrical and Mechanical Industries Trade Unions, Construction Site Workers General Union of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, MTR Corporation Limited, the Housing Authority and the Development Bureau.


10035

standard recruitment requirements (including close to market wages). After thorough discussion, the Task Force has identified 26 trades with manpower shortage. CIC will regularly review the list to reflect the latest market situation. The information will be for reference of the contractors, the Labour Department and LAB. However, the Task Force will not be involved in individual SLS applications. Besides, CIC can make reference to the list in reviewing and adjusting its training programme, as appropriate to better meet the market needs.

At its meeting on 26 March 2014, LAB accepted the abovementioned

arrangement and agreed to make reference to the list and their standard recruitment requirements in processing SLS applications. Please refer to the Annex for the close to market wages of the list of trades. Details are available at the following CIC webpage: <http://www.hkcic.org/eng/info/ShortageTrades.aspx?langType=1033>.

(5) Having reviewed various options for coping with the short-term

labour shortage in the construction industry, we consider it most appropriate to make use of the existing SLS mechanism in processing the applications case by case.

Annex

List of Trades in Manpower Shortage and their Close to Market Wage Levels

Trade Approx. Market Wage ($) Bar Bender and Fixer 33,350 Carpenter (Formwork) 34,150 Concretor 39,000 Riggers/Metal Formwork Erector 27,050 General Welder 26,500 Leveller 25,500 Plasterer 28,600 Bricklayer 28,600 Metal Scaffolder 23,400


Trade Approx. Market Wage ($) Metal Worker 23,400 Structural Steel Welder 29,100 Painter and Decorator 26,000 Curtain Wall Installer 23,650 Structural Steel Erector 26,500 Escalator Mechanic 22,900 Lift Mechanic 22,900 Plumber 26,500 Fire Service Mechanical Fitter 23,900 Fire Service Electrical Fitter 23,900 Refrigeration/Air-conditioning/Ventilation Mechanic (Air System)

24,700

Refrigeration/Air-conditioning/Ventilation Mechanic (Water System)

24,700

Tunnel Worker 25,870 Compressed Air Worker 22,000 Plant and Equipment Operator (Tunnelling) ― Tunnel Boring Machine

22,000

Trackworker 25,246 Shotfirer 54,262

(Data source: CIC)

Recommendations of Task Force on Manpower Development of the Retail Industry 10. MR KWOK WAI-KEUNG (in Chinese): President, last year, the Financial Secretary announced the setting up of the Task Force on Manpower Development of the Retail Industry (the Task Force) to study the outlook of the retail industry and its manpower problem. After concluding its work, the Task Force submitted a report to the Government in December last year. In his 2014-2015 Budget, Financial Secretary indicated that the Government had accepted the Task Force's recommendations and would allocate $130 million for their implementation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that the Task Force has recommended multi-pronged strategies (that is, adopting good people management policies in the


10037

workplace; providing recruitment, employment and placement services more targeted at the retail industry; strengthening vocational education and training on retail and promoting retail work experience for students; raising the retail industry's image; and managing manpower demand through enhancement in productivity) to tackle the manpower tightening problem in the retail industry, of the following details in relation to the specific measures put in place by the authorities for implementing the various strategies (set out in tables of the same format as the table below by strategy): (i) name of the measure; (ii) the government department(s) responsible for implementing

the measure; (iii) service quota (if applicable); (iv) period of implementation (including the start and the end

dates); (v) amount of government funding; (vi) anticipated results; and (vii) evaluation indicators; and Strategy:

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii)

(2) whether it will consider reinstating the Task Force in two years' time

and review the effectiveness of the measures in part (1) in alleviating the brain drain problem in the retail industry; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, my reply to the two parts of the question is as follows:

(1) Provide information of each strategy in specified format as follows:


Strategy: Adopting Good People Management Policies in the Workplace


Name of the measure

Government department/ Organization responsible

for implementing the measure

Service quota (if applicable)

Period of implementation (including the start and the end dates)

Amount of government

funding

Anticipated results

Evaluation indicators

Foster discussion through the established platform, including the Tripartite Committee (TC) on Retail Trade and Human Resources Managers Club (HRMC) on Retail Trade

Labour Department (LD)

All members of the TC on Retail Trade and the HRMC on Retail Trade may participate

Ongoing Existing resources. No separate breakdown of expenditure

The measures can enhance receptiveness of good people management practices in the retail trade

Feedback from participants

Strategy: Providing Recruitment, Employment and Placement

Services More Targeted at the Retail Industry


Name of the measure






funding

Anticipated results


Set up a dedicated webpage on retail jobs at LD's Interactive Employment Service website

LD Not Applicable

To roll out in Q2 to Q3 of 2014, ongoing

The expenditure for devising the webpage will be absorbed within LD's operating costs. No separate breakdown of expenditure

It is expected that a dedicated webpage at the Interactive Employment Service website, which enjoys high popularity, will help promote the vacancies from the retail industry to job seekers

No. of views

Organize large scale and district-based job fairs for

LD To organize four large-scale dedicated job fairs and 100

From Q2/2014 to March 2017

Existing resources. No separate breakdown of expenditure

Through these recruitment activities, it is expected that retail job

1. Number of visitors

2. Number of

vacancies


10039


Name of the measure






funding

Anticipated results


the retail industry

district-based dedicated job fairs for the retail industry in 2014-2015, and consider enhancement afterwards

vacancies will be brought closer to job seekers in the locality so that they can make applications to various employers at the same time. The activities also provide a convenient and effective platform for employers of the retail industry to recruit staff on the spot, with a view to helping them fill the vacancies as soon as possible

Enhance and expand retraining services

Employees Retraining Board (ERB)

In 2014-2015, ERB has reserved a total of 2 000 training places for the six placement-tied courses and 20 "Skills Upgrading Scheme Plus" courses for the retail industry ERB to consult its "Industry Consultative Network for the Retail Industry" on the manpower and training needs of the retail industry

Ongoing Ongoing

In 2014-2015, the estimated expenditure for the training courses for the retail industry is about $10 million

To assist interested persons to join the retail industry and to assist practitioners to enhance their skills

A set of key performance indicators including the capacity utilization rate (benchmarked at 85%), attendance rate (benchmarked at 80%) and placement rate (benchmarked at 70%)


Strategy: Strengthening Vocational Education and Training on Retail and Promoting Retail Work Experience for Students


Name of the measure

Government department/

Organization responsible





funding

Anticipated results


Encourage major vocational education and training providers to apply the Specification of Competency Standards (SCS) developed by the Retail Industry Training Advisory Committee (ITAC) in developing training programmes

Education Bureau

Not Applicable


Vocational education and training providers will develop SCS-based training programmes where applicable

The number of programmes developed based on the SCS of the retail industry

The Vocational Training Council (VTC) to launch pilot QF-pegged programmes ― Pilot Earn-and-Learn Scheme

VTC An initial estimation of 1 500 student-workers

New cohort in each academic year 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017

$70 million, mainly for offering each student-worker a monthly allowance of an average of $2,000, and some $5 million is earmarked for improving facilities

These programmes dedicated to the retail industry will not only provide extra pairs of hands, the recognized qualifications would also help uplift the professional status of practitioners in the retail industry, hence improved staff recruitment and retention within the industry

Enrolment number and graduation number


10041


Name of the measure







funding

Anticipated results


Apply the training-cum-work mode in implementing the traineeship scheme (the Scheme) in the retail industry

VTC 180 in 2014-2015

To be launched in 2014-2015

In 2014-2015, the Government will provide about $20 million in total to VTC to implement the Scheme in services industries including retail

The Scheme will enable trainees interested in joining the retail industry to acquire the related skills more effectively and provide sustainable manpower to the industry

Enrolment number and graduation number

Suggest all post-secondary institutions to monitor the mediumterm demand for topup degree /senior year places of first degree programmes from retail employees, plan well ahead for appropriate programmes to meet the needs as may be identified; and to work with retail employers to see how best to take forward the idea of providing retail work experience to students at large as part of their learning

Education Bureau

Not Applicable

Education Bureau has written to post-secondary institutions, and will line up an experience sharing session for representatives of the retail industry, Retail ITAC and post-secondary institutions in Q2 of 2014


The post-secondary institutions will monitor the medium-term demand for topup degree/senior year places of first degree programmes from retail employees and plan ahead; and will work with retail employers to see how best to take forward the idea of providing retail work experience to students at large

Feedback of post- secondary institutions and the retail industry


Strategy：Raising the Retail Industry's Image

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) Name of the

measure Government department/






funding

Anticipated results


Plan to work with the Hong Kong Retail Management Association and other retail industry players in rolling out a three-year publicity campaign to raise the retail industry's image

Commerce and Economic Development Bureau

Not applicable

2014-2015 to 2016-2017

$10 million To build a positive image of the industry. This would encourage more youngsters to pursue a career in the retail industry and help attract the return of those who used to be retail practitioners, and tap manpower from latent pools

Undertake perception surveys at different stages to identify specific image problems and review the effectiveness of the initiatives

Retail ITAC to work with the employers and vocational education and training providers to promote to the public the career prospects and opportunities for further training of retail practitioners

Education Bureau

Not Applicable


Feature retail industry in concert with life planning education activities for secondary schools

Education Bureau

Not Applicable

Ongoing starting from 2014-2015 school year


To enrich the knowledge of secondary students and teachers about the latest information and development prospects of the retail industry

Feedback of participants


10043

Strategy: Managing Retail Manpower Demand through Enhancement in Productivity


Name of the measure







funding

Anticipated results


Roll out a Retail Technologies Adoption Fund for Manpower Demand Management (RTAF)

Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC)

About 1 000 enterprises

Invite applications by end 2014 until funding is fully committed

$50 million Enhancing the productivity of retail operations of beneficiary enterprises, managing their manpower demands and also improving working conditions of workers. The proposed RTAF should have a demonstration effect to similar retail operations of the beneficiary enterprises as well as other enterprises, encouraging investments and wider adoption of different technologies by the industry. The proposed RTAF should also promote the development of the technology industry

Upon completion of all approved projects, the HKPC will provide an evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the proposed RTAF

(2) The Government will monitor the progress and effectiveness as set

out in the above tables, closely follow the manpower supply and demand in the retail industry, and consult stakeholders where necessary.


Parents Boosting Their Children During Pre-primary Education Stage

11. DR ELIZABETH QUAT (in Chinese): President, it has been reported that some education experts in the United Kingdom have pointed out that children aged under six should not pursue any formal learning activities but should develop their social skills and learn to control their emotions through a lot of games, because too much emphasis on knowledge construction may not be conducive to their long-term development and may even hamper their healthy development. It has also been reported that Germany has, by way of legislation, prohibited pre-primary education so as to prevent children's brain from becoming computer hard disks, thus leaving more room for imagination and enabling natural growth for children's brain, as well as nurturing their imagination. Yet, some principals have relayed to me that the enrolment rate of Hong Kong kindergartens is as high as 103% because quite a number of parents, in their bid to boost their young children to "win at the starting line", arrange the children to attend not only various interest classes but also both morning and afternoon sessions at two kindergartens concurrently, hoping that the children will achieve excellent academic results and obtain more certificates and awards in extra-curricular activities, thereby increasing their chances of being admitted by their favourite primary schools in future. As a result, the daily schedules of children during their pre-primary education stage are so closely packed that they hardly have any breathing space. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it will make reference to overseas practices and formulate

guidelines to require that primary schools, when admitting Primary One students, must not take into consideration applicants' certificates or awards in extra-curricular learning activities and the number of such certificates or awards should not be taken as a selection criterion, so as to avoid parents boosting their children during the pre-primary education stage, which may adversely affect their study and growth; if it will, of the details and implementation timetable; if it will not, the reasons for that;

(2) whether it has compiled statistics on the current number of children

across the territory who are attending two kindergartens concurrently; if it has, of the number of such children, together with a breakdown in table form by the District Council (DC) districts in which the children reside; if not, the reasons for that;


10045

(3) whether it has compiled statistics on the number of children attending pre-nursery classes in Hong Kong in the past five years; if it has, of the number of such children, together with a breakdown in table form by the DC districts in which the children reside; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) whether it has compiled statistics on the monthly expenditure of

Hong Kong families on children's studies (including school tuition fees and expenses on extra-curricular learning and other activities) in the past five years; if it has, of the average amount of expenditure and its percentage in the average monthly family expenses, together with a breakdown by learning stage (including pre-school, kindergarten and primary stages); if not, the reasons for that; and

(5) whether it has collaborated with academic institutions in conducting

longitudinal study to compare the differences in learning abilities at various developmental stages in future between children who learn through memorizing a lot of information and those who learn purely through play before they are six years old; if it has, of the study results; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Chinese): President, (1) The Education Bureau has implemented the Primary One Admission

(POA) System since the 1982-1983 school year with a view to allocating public sector Primary One places in an orderly manner so as to prevent using children's ability as an admission criterion and reduce the incentive for drilling children in early childhood education. All schools, including private primary schools, are not allowed to select applicant children on the basis of their academic results, including other certificates and awards from extra-curricular learning activities.

The POA System is divided into two stages, namely the

Discretionary Places Admission stage and the Central Allocation stage. At the Discretionary Places Admission stage, if a school is not oversubscribed for its discretionary places, it should accept all the applicant children. If it is oversubscribed, it should admit applicant children according to an objective Points System which does not consider any academic results (including other certificates


and awards from extra-curricular learning activities). At the Central Allocation stage, places are allocated based primarily on parents' prioritized choices through a computer programme.

(2) The Education Bureau does not collect data about the number of

children attending two kindergartens concurrently and hence cannot provide the required information.

(3) As activities offered by classes for pre-nursery children (for

example, playgroups aiming at fostering children's mental development or developing their physical and social skills) do not fall under the Education Ordinance, the Education Bureau does not have the statistics about pre-nursery classes as mentioned in the question.

(4) According to the five-yearly Household Expenditure Survey

conducted by the Census and Statistics Department from 2009 to 2010, the average monthly household expenditure in education which included purchase of textbooks, tuition fees and other educational charges for 2009-2010 is set out in the table below for reference. Further breakdowns in terms of different education stages are not available.

Average Monthly Household Expenditure in Education

for 2009-2010

All households

Households with members under

the age of 18 $ % $ %

Purchase of textbooks 100 0.4 240 0.9 Tuition fees 1,000 4.6 1,860 7.1 Other educational charges 30 0.1 70 0.3 Average monthly household expenditure 21,620 100.0 26,200 100.0

Notes: (1) Sourced from the 2009-2010 Household Expenditure Survey, Census and

Statistics Department. (2) During the survey period, the household expenditure was lowered by a

number of Government's one-off relief measures. Household


10047

expenditure figures in this table refer to the actual expenditure incurred by households upon enjoying various waivers/concessions.

(3) Tuition fees refer to fees for school, interest classes and tutorials as well as

expenses for other learning activities outside school. (4) Other educational charges refer to other educational expenses such as

examination fees, registration fees and school miscellaneous charges. (5) All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

(5) The Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (2006) issued by the

Curriculum Development Council aims at developing, for young children aged from two to six, a curriculum framework which is focused on nurturing children to attain all-round development in the domains of ethics, intellect, physique, social skills and aesthetics, as well as stimulating children's interest in learning and cultivating in them positive learning attitudes, in order to lay the foundation for their future learning. The core of the framework is the four developmental objectives for young children, namely "Physical Development", "Cognitive and Language Development", "Affective and Social Development" and "Aesthetic Development". These objectives need to be achieved through six learning areas, which are "Physical Fitness and Health", "Language", "Early Mathematics", "Science and Technology", "Self and Society" and "Arts". It should be noted that, at this stage, young children's knowledge acquisition involves mainly the development of basic concepts, rather than the study of specific subjects. Pre-primary institutions should adopt the following principles for designing the curriculum: (i) Be child-centred ― meeting children's developmental needs and abilities and relating to children's experiences and interests; (ii) Be comprehensive and well-balanced ― catering for the four developmental objectives for young children and fostering their knowledge, skills and attitudes in different learning areas; and (iii) Adopt play as a learning strategy ― incorporating play activities into different learning areas and adopting an integrated approach which enables young children to learn in a self-motivated, committed, pleasurable, relaxing and effective manner.

According to the guiding principles set out in paragraph 4.2 of the

Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (2006), the Education Bureau firmly believes that "no matter which learning and teaching strategy


is adopted, play is an indispensable and important tool for facilitating children's learning" and "play is also considered to be the best activity for promoting children's physical and mental development". Excessive rote-learning which will only dampen children's interest in learning and hinder their development is not an effective learning method. Hence, we consider it unnecessary to conduct the comparison study in question.

Management Scheme for the Display of Roadside Non-commercial Publicity Materials

12. DR KENNETH CHAN (in Chinese): President, the Lands Department (LandsD) has been implementing the "Management Scheme for the Display of Roadside Non-commercial Publicity Materials" (the Management Scheme) since 2003 to manage the display of non-commercial publicity materials (NCPMs) on the roadside. Under the Management Scheme, the LandsD allocates roadside designated spots to Members of this Council and members of District Councils (DC members) for them to display NCPMs, including banners. The LandsD conducts regular operations jointly with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) to remove publicity materials the display of which is unauthorized or non-compliant with the implementation guidelines, and decides whether to institute prosecutions against the persons concerned or merely recover the removal expenses from them, having regard to the circumstances of each case and the relevant law. Regarding the law-enforcement actions taken in respect of the display of roadside NCPMs and the number of the display spots concerned, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of cases in which the publicity materials displayed on

the roadside by Members of this Council or DC members were removed by the authorities in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the reason for removal; the number of such cases in which Members of this Council/DC members were fined, as well as the total amount of the fines imposed;

(2) whether, according to the law-enforcement procedures of the

LandsD, officers of the LandsD are required, when they notice that the publicity materials displayed on the roadside by Members of this Council or DC members have violated the requirements of the


10049

Management Scheme or that the publicity materials concerned have been damaged, to issue warnings and notices respectively to the Members/members concerned before taking removal actions; if they are, of the details; if not, the justifications for that;

(3) whether the authorities will consider reviewing the law-enforcement

procedures in respect of the display of roadside NCPMs; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) whether the authorities will consider amending the existing

legislation relating to the regulation of the display of roadside NCPMs and making available more roadside spots for Members of this Council or DC members to display publicity materials for more effective dissemination of messages of public concern to members of the public; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Chinese): President, the LandsD has implemented the Management Scheme since May 2003 to manage the display of NCPMs on the roadside, and made revisions to the "Implementation Guidelines" of the Management Scheme in August 2011. The NCPMs in question are usually displayed by Members of the Legislative Council and DC members, District Councils (DCs) and their committees, as well as non-profit-making organizations for the purpose of promoting and publicizing activities that are non-commercial in nature or of interest to the public, and disseminating information that is of general interest or use to the public.

For the purpose of implementing the Management Scheme, some officers in the LandsD are authorized by the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene to give permission for the display of roadside NCPMs under section 104A(1)(b) of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132). The FEHD conducts joint operations with the LandsD regularly, and removes those publicity materials that are verified by the LandsD as being unauthorized or non-compliant with the Implementation Guidelines under section 104C(1) of the above Ordinance and recover the removal costs from the parties concerned.

My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Member is set out below.


(1) In the past three years, the number of NCPMs that have been verified by the LandsD as being unauthorized or non-compliant with the Implementation Guidelines and removed during the joint operations (excluding those pertaining to the general elections of the Legislative Council and DCs); the number of demand notes issued in recovering the removal cost from the parties concerned; and the removal costs recovered are as follows:

2011 2012 2013 the number of NCPMs removed 5 768 2 294 4 051 the number of demand notes issued to recover the removal cost

1 202 732 409

the removal costs recovered ($) 384,527 243,367 130,369 As regards the reasons for the removal, they include cases where the

concerned NCPMs are displayed without permission or at locations other than the designated spots, or are loosened and may impede pedestrian and vehicular movements. The FEHD does not keep separate statistics on the number of NCPMs removed that belong to the Members of the Legislative Council or DC members and the reasons for removing the NCPMs, and the number of demand notes issued to the parties concerned to recover the removal cost and the removal cost recovered.

(2) Under the existing Management Scheme of the LandsD, if the

display of any roadside NCPMs is identified by contractors of the LandsD to be unauthorized under the Management Scheme, non-compliant with the Management Scheme Implementation Guidelines (the Implementation Guidelines) and/or in breach of the conditions imposed by the District Lands Officers (DLOs) in relation to the permission for the display (including failure to securely fix the publicity materials), the LandsD will refer the case to the FEHD for follow-up actions. Under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene may remove the unauthorized publicity materials without giving prior notice; institute prosecutions against the person(s)


10051

concerned; and recover from them the costs for removing the publicity materials.

(3) All along, the FEHD removes NCPMs that are unauthorized or

non-compliant with the Implementation Guidelines through joint operations with the LandsD. During the operations, the LandsD is responsible for identifying and verifying those NCPMs that are unauthorized or non-compliant with the Implementation Guidelines. Removal actions will then be taken by the FEHD. The joint operations have been operating effectively so far. The FEHD and the LandsD will continue to take the concerned enforcement actions.

(4) The implementation of the Management Scheme is reviewed from

time to time and revised where necessary. For example, as mentioned above, the Management Scheme was revised in 2011 to make the objectives and implementation guidelines clearer, and so on. In relation to the roadside spots, in identifying the suitable ones, the DLOs will strive to strike a due balance between the provision of adequate designated spots on the one hand and such factors as traffic safety, amenity and local geographical environment on the other hand. Given these considerations, the number and location of designated spots available for users (including Members of the Legislative Council and DC members) are accordingly limited.

Air Pollution Problem of Hong Kong 13. MR LEUNG YIU-CHUNG (in Chinese): President, the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) released by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) reflects the short-term health risks caused by air pollution, for example, admission of people with respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses to hospital due to exposure to air pollution. In the month of January this year, there were 21 days on which AQHI recorded 8 or above (that is, the health risk having reached the "Very High" to "Serious" categories), revealing the seriousness of Hong Kong's air pollution problem currently. Regarding the problem of air pollution, will the Government inform this Council:


(1) whether it has formulated, with reference to the Guidelines on Site Safety Measures for Working in Hot Weather, guidelines on working outdoors when AQHI reaches 8 or above; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(2) given that the EPD is conducting, in collaboration with the shipping

industry and the relevant Mainland authorities, a study to explore the feasibility of requiring ocean-going vessels to switch to cleaner fuels while berthing at the ports in the Greater Pearl River Delta (PRD) and setting up an Emission Control Area (ECA) in PRD waters in the long run, of the progress of the study?

SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Chinese): President,

(1) The EPD launched the AQHI to communicate the short-term health risk of air pollution to the public on 30 December 2013. We have also recommended appropriate precautionary actions for different groups of people under different health risk categories, including the elderly and children, people with existing heart or respiratory illnesses, and outdoor workers. In addition, to tie in with the newly launched AQHI, the Labour Department issued in September last year the revised "Checklist for Risk Assessment of Outdoor Work under High Air Pollution Levels" to assist employers in conducting relevant risk assessment and taking appropriate preventive measures, including reducing outdoor physical exertion of the workers and reducing the time of their working at air polluted environment under high air pollution levels.

(2) Since early 2013, the EPD has introduced our vessel emission

reduction measures to the Governments of Guangdong Province and Shenzhen Municipality, and explored with them the possibility of adopting a regional approach to reduce marine emissions. As regards setting up an ECA in the PRD waters, we must obtain approval from the Central People's Government and complete the relevant assessments and studies in accordance with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization before materializing the plan. The work involved is complicated and


10053

time-consuming. Therefore, Hong Kong Government and the Governments of Guangdong and Shenzhen consider setting up an ECA is our long-term collaboration goal. Before an ECA is set up, we are now actively examining the feasibility of mandating ocean going vessels to switch to cleaner fuel while at berth in ports of PRD. We will report to the Panel on Environmental Affairs of the Legislative Council when there is tangible progress.

Persons Seeking Exemptions from Buyer's Stamp Duty Being Requested to Submit Statutory Declarations

14. MR FREDERICK FUNG (in Chinese): President, the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2014 (the Ordinance), enacted by this Council at the end of February this year, has introduced a Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) under which all companies and non-Hong Kong permanent residents acquiring residential properties are required to pay a tax of an amount equivalent to 15% of the prices of the properties. The commencement date of the Ordinance has been set retrospectively at 27 October 2012. I have received enquiries and complaints from members of the public who had acquired residential properties after the commencement date, saying that the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) requested them, as they were recently notified by the lawyers handling the conveyancing transactions concerned, to submit before a specified deadline statutory declarations declaring that they are Hong Kong permanent residents (HKPRs), or else they have to pay BSD. Those members of the public have pointed out that as they had already provided identity documents to their lawyers for verification when acquiring the properties in question, it is a superfluous act of the authorities to request them to submit the aforesaid statutory declarations. Also, the lawyers concerned charged them a fee of $500 or more for handling such declarations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the reasons and justifications for the IRD to request HKPRs

acquiring residential properties to provide the aforesaid statutory declarations before they may be exempted from BSD; whether it has reviewed if such a practice will cause nuisance and unnecessary expenses to the persons concerned; and

(2) whether it will consider abolishing the aforesaid practice and

entrusting the lawyers responsible for handling the conveyancing


transactions concerned to verify the HKPR status of the property buyers; if it will not, of the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, to address the exuberant property market and to accord priority to the home ownership needs of HKPRs in the midst of the tight housing supply situation, the Government announced on 26 October 2012 the introduction of the BSD and the enhancement to the Special Stamp Duty in respect of residential property transactions. The Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2012, which implemented the relevant measures, was passed by the Legislative Council on 22 February 2014. The relevant Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2014 (the Amendment Ordinance) was gazetted on 28 February 2014. The Amendment Ordinance stipulates that a chargeable agreement for sale or a conveyance on sale is not chargeable with the BSD if it is shown to the satisfaction of the Collector of Stamp Revenue that the purchaser or transferee under the instrument is "a HKPR acting on his/her own behalf" in the transaction. This exemption condition aims to avoid the situation where a non-HKPR circumvents the BSD by purchasing a residential property through a HKPR. This ensures that the BSD is effective in achieving its policy objective to accord priority to the home ownership needs of HKPRs. That said, it is not possible to determine if a purchaser or a transferee is "a HKPR acting on his/her own behalf" merely by making reference to identity documents. As the Government has explained at the meetings of the relevant Bills Committee of the Legislative Council, in order to effectively enforce the exemption arrangement for the relevant purchaser or transferee to claim the BSD exemption in question, the Stamp Office will require the purchaser or transferee to make a statutory declaration to declare that he/she is "a HKPR acting on his/her own behalf" in the relevant transaction. The abovementioned statutory declaration has to comply with the requirements under the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance (Cap. 11). The relevant purchasers or transferees may make the declaration at the Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department in different districts, at the IRD, or through their lawyers. In this regard, after the passage of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2012 by the Legislative Council on 22 February 2014, the IRD has written to law firms


10055

representing the purchasers or transferees who may be subject to the BSD to inform them of the stamping arrangement and the procedures to claim exemption, including the arrangement in relation to the abovementioned statutory declaration, with a view to ensuring a smooth implementation of the measure. The IRD has also uploaded onto its website the "frequently asked questions" in relation to the procedures for applying for exemptions from the BSD and the making of the relevant statutory declaration, in order to facilitate members of the public to understand the arrangements. If purchasers or transferees cannot complete the procedures to claim exemption within the specified time frame for any special reason, they may apply in writing to the IRD for extension. The IRD may consider exercising its discretion with reference to the actual circumstances. Taxi Services on Lantau Island 15. DR KWOK KA-KI (in Chinese): President, since the authorities invited tenders for 10 Lantau taxi licences in 1997, the number of Lantau taxi licences has remained at 50 over the years. However, Tung Chung New Town of Lantau Island has continued to develop rapidly during the same period, and its current population is approaching 100 000. I have received from time to time complaints from Tung Chung residents that there are not enough taxis on Lantau Island and, as a result, it is often hard for them to find a Lantau taxi to take. Therefore, they hope that the authorities will issue more Lantau taxi licences. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the reasons why it has not issued additional Lantau taxi licences since 1997;

(2) of the number of complaints received from members of the public by

the authorities in the past five years about the inadequate taxi services on Lantau Island, and how the authorities responded to such complaints;

(3) given that the Secretary for Transport and Housing indicated at the

Council meeting of 13 November 2013 that the Government would consider several established criteria in deciding whether new taxi licences should be issued, that is, (i) the public demand for taxi services, (ii) the operation of the taxi industry and (iii) the possible


impacts on traffic if there were additional taxis, of the specific indicators for such criteria; and

(4) given that the population of Lantau Island is anticipated to reach

267 000 upon the implementation of its development plan, whether the Government will issue additional Lantau taxi licences correspondingly; if it will, of the specific timetable and details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, the reply to the four parts of Dr KWOK Ka-ki's question is as follows:

Taxis provide personalized, point-to-point and more comfortable public transport services to the public. With a daily patronage of about 1 million, they complement the services of mass carriers such as railway and franchised buses, and play a key role in our public transport system.

Lantau taxis have been in operation since 1982. In the past, economic activities and daily passenger transport demand on Lantau Island were mainly concentrated on south Lantau. Lantau taxis thus used to primarily serve residents on south Lantau. Following the opening of Lantau Link and North Lantau Expressway and in view of the developments on north Lantau such as the Tung Chung New Town and Chek Lap Kok Airport (the Airport), and so on, the Government arranged both urban and Lantau taxis to serve north Lantau to meet the demand for taxi service in the new development area. At the same time, Lantau taxis maintain their key function of serving south Lantau. Currently, there are 50 Lantau taxis operating on Lantau Island. There are also over 4 000 urban taxi trips serving north Lantau including the Airport every day.

Every year, the Transport Department (TD) conducts surveys on the overall service level of Lantau taxis in order to better understand passenger demand for such taxis and their operating conditions. The surveys are conducted vide on-site observations, as well as collection of views from the taxi trade and from passengers. The survey results of 2013 collectively indicate that the waiting time for a Lantau or urban taxi at the taxi stand outside Tung Chung MTR Station on weekdays (from 7 am to 7 pm) is about a few minutes on average. Notwithstanding, we notice that the waiting time for Lantau taxis is comparatively longer during certain peak periods on holidays (especially during festive seasons). This is because of the influx of visitors which generates more


10057

passenger trips between Tung Chung and south Lantau, especially during the morning and afternoon peak periods, on those days. Separately, there are 20 franchised bus routes serving north Lantau or plying between north and south Lantau during weekdays and holidays. These routes are able to provide adequate service during both weekdays and holidays to meet passenger demand. As the overall public transport services on Lantau Island should be able to meet passenger demand in general, the Government has not issued new Lantau taxi licences for some time. In the past five years, the TD received from the public an average of about 17 complaints per year concerning the service level of Lantau taxis. The department keeps a record of these complaints, takes appropriate follow-up action(s) and strengthens its communication with the taxi trade so as to make appropriate arrangements to cater for the passenger demand at different locations and periods. For instance, the Lantau Taxi Association (the Association) will remind its member drivers to flexibly deploy taxis to first serve passengers waiting at the taxi stands during peak periods to enhance service efficiency. Depending on the passenger demand at the Airport, the Airport Authority will also liaise with the Association where necessary for appropriate vehicle deployment. As for the issue of new Lantau taxi licences, taking into account the need for effective operation of the public transport system as well as road capacity, it has been the Government's established policy to issue new taxi licences as and when necessary having regard to factors including the demand for taxi services, operating condition of the taxi trade and likely impact of the increase in the number of taxis on traffic conditions. We are mindful that the future development on Lantau Island (such as the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in 2016) and projected growth of local population and in visitor number would both give rise to additional transport demand. The TD will thus continue to monitor the situation, review the service level of public transport on Lantau Island at an appropriate juncture, and consider service enhancement as the need may arise. Meanwhile, the TD will continue to listen to the views from various parties, closely monitor the development of taxi trade and taxi service level (including that of Lantau taxis), and consider whether new licences need to be issued according to the established policy.


Provision of Hillside Escalator Links or Lift Towers 16. MR PAUL TSE (in Chinese): President, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the construction cost as well as annual repair and maintenance costs of the existing "Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System" (Central-Mid-Levels Escalator); the considerations of the Government when deciding to construct this escalator link (such as the population projections and planned land use of the district);

(2) as some members of the local community have suggested that, apart

from constructing pedestrian links at Tsz Wan Shan and Chuk Yuen, the Government should construct escalator links similar to the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator at the hillside areas (including Anderson Road, and so on) in Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong Districts where housing estates/courts have been or will be built, whether the Government is currently conducting studies on the feasibility of such a suggestion; if it is not, whether it will do so immediately; if it is, whether it has taken into account the considerations in part (1) when conducting the studies; if it has, of the findings; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) regarding the approach of constructing escalator links similar to the

Central-Mid-Levels Escalator as mentioned in part (2), and the approach of constructing general pedestrian linkages by adding lift towers at suitable places only when it is necessary to retrofit barrier-free access facilities, whether the Government has made a comparison of these two approaches in terms of construction and operating costs, as well as benefits to the community; if it has, of the results of such a comparison; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will immediately do so; and

(4) of the average daily operating hours of the air-conditioning (A/C)

systems of the lift towers in the territory which are of the type mentioned in part (3) and, among them, the number of lift tower A/C systems which operate around the clock; the average monthly electricity expenditure as well as the average annual repair and maintenance costs for each of this type of lift towers?


10059

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, the Government established in 2009 a set of comprehensive, objective and transparent scoring criteria for assessing proposals for hillside escalator links and elevator systems (hillside escalator links) to determine the priority for conducting preliminary technical feasibility studies for the proposed works projects. The assessment for the 20 proposals received at the time was completed in 2010 and the results were reported to the Legislative Council Panel on Transport in February 2010. Two proposals were screened out initially, and 18 others were ranked. The Government indicated at the time that preliminary technical feasibility studies for the proposals ranked top 10 in the assessment would be conducted by batches, and that the remaining proposals would be followed up after the smooth implementation of the top 10 proposals. The Government is now following up with the proposals ranked top 13 which are under different stages. Amongst those, two are already at construction stage. In planning the construction of the hillside escalator links, the Government will consider a series of factors, including the population within catchment, topographical conditions (such as steep gradient and level difference), connectivity with other existing pedestrian facilities, land rights involved in the proposed hillside escalator links, land requirement, technical and environmental constraints, and whether the difficulties involved in the construction can be overcome, and so on. Besides, the Government will also take into account the estimated usage of the systems, the benefits to local community, journey time saved, improvement to existing pedestrian conditions, and road safety. Our reply to the four parts of Mr Paul TSE's question is as follows:

(1) Commenced in October 1993, the Central Mid-Levels Escalator Link between Central and the Mid-Levels is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. This hillside escalator link starts at Des Voeux Road Central, passes through various narrow streets in Central and ends at Conduit Road. The purpose of installing this hillside escalator link was to promote walking, and to relieve the pressure on public transport services.

The construction cost for the Central Mid-Levels Escalator Link

between Central and the Mid-Levels was about $253 million (MOD prices). Currently, the annual maintenance cost is about $12.5 million.


(2) As mentioned above, in 2009, the Government assessed the 20 proposals already received at the time to determine the priority for conducting preliminary technical feasibility studies for the proposed works projects. This includes proposals located in Wong Tai Sin District and Kwun Tong District. The "Pedestrian Link at Tsz Wan Shan" located in Wong Tai Sin District is implemented under the Sha Tin to Central Link project. The construction commenced in July 2012 for completion by phases between 2014 and 2016. The Highways Department (HyD) has already completed the preliminary technical feasibility study of the "Pedestrian Link near Chuk Yuen North Estate" and preliminary found that the proposal was technically feasible. The HyD is inviting tender to engage consultant to conduct the investigation and preliminary design of the link.

In respect of Kwun Tong District, the HyD has commenced the preliminary technical feasibility study for the "Lift and Pedestrian Walkway at Luen On Street". As for the "Yuet Wah Street Pedestrian Linkage", the project is being implemented by the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) under the Government's policy objective of urban regeneration and enhancing pedestrian connectivity to tie in with the Kwun Tong Town Centre Redevelopment. The construction works commenced in April 2013 for completion in October 2015.

For the Development of Anderson Road Quarry, according to the

information provided by the Development Bureau, the CEDD had, in the engineering feasibility study of the proposed development, investigated the pedestrian connectivity of the new residential area with the Kwun Tong MTR Station, as well as other residential developments in the vicinity, including the use of facilities such as escalators, footbridges and lifts, so as to provide passages between different levels on the hillside. The four pedestrian connectivity routes and facilities recommended in the engineering feasibility study will be included in the Development of Anderson Road Quarry project for implementation.

(3) The major purposes of the provision of hillside escalator links and

installing barrier-free access facilities (including lifts) to existing


10061

public walkways are different. Installing barrier-free access facilities at existing public walkways provide convenience to the public, in particular those who are less mobile (including the elderly and persons with disabilities), in using the public walkways (that is, public footbridges, elevated walkways and subways). As for constructing hillside escalator links, the major purpose is to provide convenience to the public to travel to and from hillside areas (for example steep gradient and with huge level difference). These are considered as facilities that enhance pedestrian flow and reduce reliance on road traffic.

Installing barrier-free access retrofitting facilities to existing public

walkways is comparatively simpler than constructing hillside escalator links and is of smaller scale, and therefore construction cost is also lower than hillside escalator links. Constructing hillside escalator links involves building new public walkways which is of larger scale and involves higher cost. Since constructing hillside escalator links and installing barrier-free access facilities at existing public walkways are of different scopes, their scales and functions are also different, and therefore their costs and benefits to society cannot be directly compared.

(4) Currently there are about 170 lifts at hillside escalator links and

existing public walkways in the territory that operate around the clock. Of which, on the days that air-conditioning are in use, the average daily operating hours of the lifts that are equipped with A/C systems is 18 hours. The average annual repair and maintenance cost for each of the lift towers is $300,000 and the average monthly electricity expenditure is $3,000.

Quality of Train Services and Fare Concessions 17. MR CHARLES PETER MOK (in Chinese): President, according to the Service Performance Arrangement (the Arrangement) implemented since June last year, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has to pay a fine for each train service disruption lasting 31 minutes or longer, in an amount specified for that length of disruption, and the fines will be transferred to a fare concession account


for provision of fare concessions to passengers. In addition, MTRCL will credit part of its profits to that account. Regarding the quality of train services and fare concessions, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:

(1) the (i) date, (ii) cause, (iii) course of the incident, (iv) length of service disruption, and (v) amount of fines imposed (set out in table form) for each service disruption resulting in MTRCL being fined, since the implementation of the Arrangement; the percentage of the total fines imposed in the profits of MTRCL recorded in the year concerned;

(2) the number of service disruptions lasting 31 minutes or longer which

were caused by factors beyond MTRCL's control since the implementation of the Arrangement, and set out in a table the (i) date, (ii) cause, (iii) course of the incident, and (iv) length of service disruption for each service disruption;

(3) the accumulated amount of money transferred to the fare concession

account since its establishment; the percentage of that amount of money in the profits of MTRCL recorded in the same period; the current balance of the account;

(4) the fare concession schemes to be launched by MTRCL this year,

and the (i) details, (ii) expected number of beneficiaries, (iii) total value of concessions, and (iv) percentage of the total value of concessions in the balance of the fare concession account in respect of each scheme; and

(5) the amount of investment to be made by MTRCL on service quality

improvement next year (including train safety, contingency measures to deal with emergencies and relevant training, and so on), and set out the estimated expenditures for the improvement projects and their respective percentages in the annual total expenditure of MTRCL?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, the Government and MTRCL together completed the review on the Fare Adjustment Mechanism (FAM) in early 2013. The service performance arrangement has been introduced. Under the arrangement, a fine will be


10063

imposed on MTRCL for service disruptions of 31 minutes or above resulting from equipment failure or human factors. Proceeds are credited to a fare concession account and returned to passengers through the "10% Same Day Second Trip Discount" scheme. "Exemption Events" (that is, events outside MTRCL's control, such as those caused by passengers' behaviours and bad weather) are excluded under the arrangement. Separately, according to the profit sharing mechanism under the new FAM revised in April last year, MTRCL uses a pre-determined tiered table to decide on the amount to be shared with passengers each year under different underlying business profit levels. Proceeds will also go to the fare concession account and returned to passengers via the "10% Same Day Second Trip Discount" scheme. The underlying business profit includes profit from all businesses of MTRCL, that is, profit from Hong Kong transport operations, Hong Kong station commercial business, Hong Kong property rental and management businesses, property developments and the Corporation's overseas ventures, and so on. MTRCL's underlying business profit was $8.6 billion in 2013. Using the tiered table of the profit sharing mechanism, an amount of $125 million will be set aside for the"10% Same Day Second Trip Discount" scheme in 2014. My reply to Mr Charles Peter MOK's question is as follows:

(1) Details of the service disruptions of 31 minutes or above resulting from equipment failure or human factors from 2012 to March 2014 subsequent to the introduction of the service performance arrangement last year are at Annex 1.

(2) Details of the service disruptions of 31 minutes or above resulting

from events outside MTRCL's control from 2012 to March 2014 are at Annex 2.

(3) The fare concession account has been in operation since its setup on

1 July 2013. The amount to be returned to passengers via the "10% Same Day Second Trip Discount" scheme under the new FAM in 2013-2014 (effective since 1 July 2013) was estimated to be $363 million, including $150 million and $13 million respectively from the profit sharing mechanism and service performance arrangement, as well as an unspent sum of around $200 million committed from the 2012 fare concession schemes. Ending on


31 March 2014, the scheme eventually returned an amount of $379 million to passengers, with the extra sum of $16 million paid by MTRCL.

(4) Every year, MTRCL provides fare concession schemes that benefit

different passenger groups. Such schemes include interchange discounts, monthly pass extra/day pass, and concessions for children, students, persons with disabilities and the elderly. The total amount exceeds $2 billion.

In 2014, MTRCL will put $152.5 million into the fare concession

account for the "10% Same Day Second Trip Discount" scheme. The sum includes $125 million and $27.5 million respectively from the profit sharing mechanism and service performance arrangement. The scheme will be implemented again from June 2014 onwards.

As a result of the FAM review last year, the MTR City Saver ticket

scheme will be launched in the second quarter this year. MTRCL is also examining the possibility of introducing other concessionary schemes.

(5) Every year, MTRCL invests over $5 billion ($5.6 billion in 2013,

around half of that year's expenditure on Hong Kong transport operations (around $8.4 billion) and related capital expenditure (around $2.7 billion), totalling $11.1 billion(1)) on replacement, upgrade and repair/maintenance of trains, railway assets as well as station facilities, with a view to maintaining a safe and reliable railway service. Moreover, MTRCL will from time to time strengthen the manpower of the Rapid Response Units of infrastructure maintenance, rolling stock and customer service. In case of incidents, the three Rapid Response Units can swiftly provide the necessary recovery and help maintain station order. This year, a total of 35 employees will be recruited for the Rapid Response Units, incurring an additional $11 million in the annual expenditure.

(1) Excluding the amount MTRCL has to pay the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) each year

for using the latter's railway assets since the rail merger (some $2 billion was paid in 2013).


10065

Under the Listening‧Responding Programme, service frequencies of various railway lines have been and will be enhanced this year in two stages, with the addition of 329 train trips per week on Island Line, Kwun Tong Line, Tsuen Wan Line, East Rail Line and West Rail Line in April and August. Light Rail service has also been enhanced since April, operating an extra 148 trips per week. With more coupled-set vehicles running along five Light Rail routes, the carrying capacity has been enhanced. Since the introduction of the Listening‧Responding Programme in 2012, an additional $57 million has been incurred in the annual expenditure.

Moreover, MTRCL will recruit some 300 platform assistants this

year, adding the total number of platform assistants to about 1 000. The annual expenditure of which is about $20 million.

Annex 1

Service disruptions of 31 minutes or above caused by equipment failure or human factors from 2012 to March 2014

Date Cause Process Delay Time

(minutes)

Fine ($ million)

2012 19 April Equipment

failure The last Central-bound Tsuen Wan Line train was blocked and delayed at Lai Chi Kok Station by the preceding engineering train which sustained a power system fault.

35 1

3 May Equipment failure

A piece of gap filler came loose from installations on the tunnel ceiling of West Rail Line, which contacted with the overhead line and the pantograph of the passing train. This caused a short-circuiting near Mei Foo Station which led to suspension of train service between Nam Cheong and Tsuen Wan West stations.

93 2



(minutes)

Fine ($ million)

29 May Equipment failure

Due to a fault on the train antenna, a Hong Kong-bound Airport Express train was withdrawn from service upon arrival at Sunny Bay Station.

35 1

14 June Human factor

Due to collision of two Light Rail vehicles near Hung Shui Kiu Stop, Light Rail service between Hung Shui Kiu and Siu Hong stops was suspended.

71 2

9 July Equipment failure

Due to the breakage of an overhead line insulator and hence affecting power supply, Light Rail service Route 505 between San Wai and Tuen Mun stops was suspended.

98 2

25 July Equipment failure

Train service on the Tseung Kwan O Line between Tseung Kwan O and Po Lam/LOHAS Park stations was delayed because of signalling defect.

39 1

14 September

Equipment failure

Due to failure of the braking system, a Hung Hom-bound East Rail Line train was withdrawn from service at Tai Wai Station.

40 1

3 October Equipment failure

Train service between Island Line Admiralty and Sheung Wan stations was suspended because the metal cover of a temporary emergency ventilation duct partially loosened and came into contact with two trains without passengers at the Island Line Sheung Wan Station turnaround track.

127 3

Total: 13 (0.14% of the underlying business profit of the year)


10067


(minutes)

Fine ($ million)

2013 24 January Equipment

failure Smoke was emitted from one set of platform screen doors due to the faulty insulation supporting frame at the platform towards Tiu Keng Leng Station of Tseung Kwan O Line at North Point Station. Train service of Tseung Kwan O Line between Tiu Keng Leng and North Point stations was suspended.

162 3

17 May Human factorNote

A Yuen Long-bound coupled-set Light Rail vehicle on Route 761P derailed on its way from Hang Mei Tsuen Stop to Tong Fong Tsuen Stop which affected the power supply to the section covering Hang Mei Tsuen, Tong Fong Tsuen and Hung Shui Kiu stops and resulted in suspension of Light Rail service between Hang Mei Tsuen Stop and Yuen Long Terminus as well as between Tin Shui Wai and Hung Shui Kiu stops. Police has prosecuted the captain concerned. The case is pending court's decision.

727 15

27 June Equipment failure

Due to a fault on power system at Tai Wo Hau Station, a Tsuen Wan-bound Tsuen Wan Line train was withdrawn from service at that station. Train service between Lai King and Tsuen Wan stations was suspended.

38 1

4 October Equipment failure

A Central-bound Tsuen Wan Line train was blocked by a preceding out-of-order engineering train between Tai Wo Hau and Kwai Hing stations.

33 1



(minutes)

Fine ($ million)

16 December

Equipment failure

A broken fastening wire for an overhead line support bracket near Tiu Keng Leng Station caused suspension of train service on Tseung Kwan O Line and part of Kwun Tong Line.

293 7.5

Total: 27.5 (0.32% of the underlying business profit of the year)

2014 (up to end March) 22 January Equipment

failure A faulty overhead line insulator affected the power supply which led to suspension of Light Rail service at eight stops between Hang Mei Tsuen and Yuen Long stops.

157 3

9 February Equipment failure

An insulator on the overhead line near University Station of East Rail Line broke, and power supply was cut off on the southbound track from University to Tai Wai stations. The southbound track between Fo Tan and Tai Po Market stations was closed to facilitate repairs. Service of East Rail Line was maintained by implementing bi-directional working of trains on the northbound track of the affected section at reduced frequencies.

50 1

18 February

Equipment failure

A faulty overhead line insulator on the northbound track near East Rail Line Fanling Station affected power supply in the section. The northbound track between Tai Po Market and Lo Wu/Lok Ma Chau stations was closed to facilitate repairs.

80 2


10069


(minutes)

Fine ($ million)

Service of East Rail Line was maintained by implementing bi-directional working of trains on the southbound track of the affected section at reduced frequencies.

14 March Equipment failure

A faulty insulator near Light Rail Ho Tin Stop affected the power supply which led to suspension of Light Rail service between Tuen Mun and Kin On/Choi Yee Bridge stops.

83 2

Total: 8 (As the underlying business profit of 2014 is not available yet, the percentage cannot be calculated)

Note: Cause of the Light Rail derailment incident on 17 May 2013 is still pending court's decision.

Annex 2

Service disruptions of 31 minutes or above outside the control of MTRCL from 2012 to March 2014


(minutes) 2012 3 April External

factor Due to a dump truck's jumping of red light at the junction of Castle Peak Road and Tin Ha Road in Yuen Long and its collision with an approaching Light Rail vehicle, Light Rail service

54



(minutes) between Tuen Mun and Yuen Long/Tin Shui Wai was suspended.

19 April Passenger's behaviour

Due to a passenger's jumping onto the track at University Station of East Rail Line, train service was delayed.

38

29 April Passenger's behaviour

Due to a passenger's failure to follow traffic light signal when crossing the junction of Ming Kam Road and Shek Pai Tau Road and his hitting by an approaching Light Rail vehicle, Light Rail service in Tuen Mun area was suspended.

31

23 July External factor

Service of East Rail Line was suspended as Severe Typhoon Vicente brought down a number of trees which damaged the overhead lines.

476

24 July External factor

Light Rail service was suspended as Severe Typhoon Vicente brought down a number of trees which damaged the overhead lines at San Hui Stop.

264

29 September External factor

Train service of East Rail Line was delayed by a faulty Mainland Through Train stalling near Tai Wai Station.

35

Total: 6 incidents

2013 16 March Passenger's

behaviour Due to a passenger's jumping onto the track at University Station of East Rail Line, train service was delayed.

44

14 June External factor

Due to a taxi's jumping of red light at the junction of Tin Sau Road in Tin Shui Wai and its collision with an approaching Light Rail vehicle, Light Rail service was delayed.

43

30 June Passenger's behaviour

Due to a passenger's jumping onto the track at Tai Wai Station of East Rail Line, train service was delayed.

50

19 August Passenger's behaviour

Due to a passenger's failure to follow traffic light signal when crossing the

176


10071


(minutes) junction of Tin Yiu Road and Tin Wu Road in Tin Shui Wai and his hitting by an approaching Light Rail vehicle, Light Rail service between Tin Yiu and Tin Shui stops was suspended.


Train service of East Rail Line was delayed because a sky lantern entangled in a pantograph of a train when it arrived at Sheung Shui Station and tripped the overhead line traction current supplies.

31


Light Rail service in Tuen Man area was suspended as Super Typhoon Usagi brought down a number of trees which damaged the overhead lines.

219

24 September Passenger's behaviour

Due to a passenger's jumping onto the track at University Station of East Rail Line, train service was delayed.

53

7 October External factor

Due to damage of the overhead lines at the junction of Hing Choi Street and Tsing Wun Road in Tuen Mun by the crane of a dumper truck crossing the junction, Light Rail service between Melody Garden and Shek Pai stops was suspended.

267

2 November External factor

Due to a taxi's jumping of red light at the junction of Castle Peak Road and Tin Ha Road in Yuen Long and its collision with an approaching Light Rail vehicle, Light Rail service was delayed.

41

8 November Passenger's behaviour

Due to a pedestrian's failure to follow the traffic light signal when crossing the junction of Melody Garden and Wu Chui Road and his hitting by a Light Rail vehicle, Light Rail service between Tuen Mun Ferry Pier and Light Rail Depot stops was suspended.

37



(minutes) 8 December External

factor Due to a taxi's intruding into Light Rail reserve area together with its hitting of an overhead line mast and a traffic signal pole at the junction of Pui To Road, Tsing Wun Road and Ming Kum Road in Tuen Mun, Light Rail service between Melody Garden and Tsing Wun stops was suspended.

44

Total: 11 incidents

2014 (up to end March)

31 January External factors

Due to a car's jumping of red light at the junction of Wu Chui Road and Lung Mun Road in Tuen Mun and its collision with an approaching Light Rail vehicle, Light Rail service between Melody Garden and Light Rail Depot stops was suspended.

46

Total: 1 incident

Enhancing Self-Reliance Through District Partnership Programme 18. MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Chinese): President, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) has established the "Enhancing Self-Reliance Through District Partnership Programme" (the ESR Programme) since 2006 to provide seed grants for eligible non-profit-making organizations to set up social enterprises (SEs), so as to promote sustainable poverty alleviation efforts at the district level. Last month, a host of a local web radio programme uncovered that the community services foundation of the Kowloon Federation of Associations (the Federation) had set up under the aforesaid Programme the Better Community of Loving Care Supermarket (the Supermarket) in Sham Shui Po, and given out cash coupons of the Supermarket at the offices of designated District Council (DC) members and premises of residents' associations, in order to attract residents to join the Federation. Residents applying for membership of the Federation are required to provide a lot of personal data, and may only order goods from the Supermarket through the relevant DC members' offices or


10073

local organizations. In addition, some members of the public have pointed out that the food served in the "MOS Cafe", which was set up by the Ma On Shan Promotion of Livelihood and Recreation Association under the aforesaid Programme, is expensive and its quality is far from satisfactory. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the total number of applications received under the ESR

Programme in the past five years, and the details of such applications, including (i) the date of application, (ii) the name of the applicant organization, (iii) the trade to which the project belongs, and (iv) the cumulative total amount of grants applied for (set out in table form);

(2) of the total number of applications approved under the ESR

Programme in the past five years, and the details of such applications, including (i) the date of approval, (ii) the name of the applicant organization, (iii) the trade to which the project belongs, and (iv) the cumulative total amount of grants approved (set out in table form);

(3) of the amount of grants provided annually under the ESR

Programme for the aforesaid Supermarket project; whether it has investigated if the Federation has used its own funds to purchase cash coupons of the Supermarket given out to residents; if the investigation result is in the negative, of the respective numbers of Supermarket cash coupons that the Federation intends to give or has given out and the amount of money involved, and whether such a practice has violated the terms of the ESR Programme agreement; if the investigation result is in the affirmative, whether the authorities will review why grants have been provided for the Federation under the ESR Programme given that the Federation has the financial means to purchase a large quantity of cash coupons from the Supermarket; whether it will require the Federation to give out the Supermarket cash coupons to residents at other premises in the district and through more channels; if it has not carried out such an investigation, whether it has assessed if the authorities have been negligent in monitoring the operation of the project;

(4) whether it has investigated if the Federation has made use of the

Supermarket to promote the Federation and the DC members


concerned as well as to collect personal data of residents, in requiring the residents to register their personal data through designated DC members' offices and residents' associations to become members of the Federation before they can order goods from the Supermarket, and whether such a practice has violated the terms of the ESR Programme agreement; if it has not carried out such an investigation, whether it has assessed if the authorities have failed to monitor the Programme properly;

(5) whether it has assessed if the aforesaid practice of collecting

personal data (i) is an excessive collection of personal data and (ii) has violated the requirements under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486); whether the authorities have consulted the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data on the aforesaid incident; if they have, of the views of the Commissioner;

(6) of the annual amounts of grants provided under the ESR Programme

for the MOS Cafe project; (7) whether it has assessed if MOS Cafe's lunch and dinner prices are

reasonable and in line with the consumption patterns of residents of the district, as well as whether its catering services are up to the standards required by the residents; if it has assessed, of the assessment result for the past six months and the criteria for the assessment; if not, the reasons for that;

(8) whether the funded organizations concerned have to shoulder any

responsibility in the event that the projects under the ESR Programme are terminated within the funding period or shortly after the end of such a period; if so, of the responsibilities involved; if not, how the authorities can ensure the proper use of public funds; and

(9) whether HAD has taken into account the political background of the

applicant organizations in approving applications under the ESR Programme; if it has, of the details; whether it has received any complaint from applicant organizations about their applications being rejected due to their political background; if so, of the details?


10075

SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President, the ESR Programme has been launched by the HAD since 2006 to provide seed grants to eligible non-profit-making organizations for setting up SEs. It has helped promote the development of SEs in Hong Kong since its launch. In the past five years a total of 349 applications were received. The types of business and the amount of grants applied for in these applications are as follows:

Type of Business Number of Applications Total Amount of Grants Applied For ($ million)

Catering 73 141 Retail 57 85 Beauty care, massage and personal service 49 90

Arts, performance and workshop 47 88

Business support service 41 86 Horticulture and eco-tourism 21 49 Recycling and thrift store 19 34 Household service (including renovation) 8 10

Others 34 72 Total 349 655 Details of the SE projects approved by the ESR Programme in the past five years are at Annex. All applications of the ESR Programme are assessed by the ESR Advisory Committee (ESRAC). The ESRAC mainly comprises non-official members from the business professional and academic sectors. In vetting the applications, the ESRAC considers the nature, the operation model and the viability of the proposed business the implementation methodology and the budget of the project, and so on. In particular whether the project can meet the objectives of the ESR Programme, that is, to create job opportunities for the socially disadvantaged for enhancing self-reliance, and to become self-financing and sustainable after the funding period. The ESRAC does not take other unrelated factors into consideration. The funded SEs can use the grants approved under the ESR Programme to cover the capital and operating costs of the SEs. The grantees are required to keep the ESR Secretariat informed of the position of the approved projects including the use of the grant, the employment of socially disadvantaged, the


financial condition, and so on, through regular progress reports. Should there be deviation from the original projections the grantee should account for the discrepancies in the progress reports for the ESR Secretariat's consideration and actions deemed appropriate. That said, being operating in form of a business, the SEs like commercial enterprises deploy appropriate marketing strategies, like pricing, sales of cash coupons to groups and so forth, at their discretion having regard to factors such as the business nature, the target clienteles and the operating costs. As regards the two SE projects mentioned in the question, the ESR Programme approved a grant of $2.5 million to the Ma On Shan Promotion of Livelihood and Recreation Association in 2010 to launch a SE project of setting up a cafeteria in order to create employment opportunities and to enhance self-reliance of the socially disadvantaged. The approved grant was to cover the costs involved in the renovation work and procurement of equipment for setting up the cafeteria. The Kowloon Federation of Association (Community Service) Foundation Limited was approved a grant of $2.2 million in 2012 to set up a SE in form of a supermarket so as to provide job opportunities and on-the-job training to the unemployed and low-skilled workers. The approved grant was for the renovation work, equipment staff salaries, rental expenses and other operating expenses of the supermarket. According to the information including financial reports submitted by the two SEs they are running satisfactorily and have spent the disbursed grants solely for the expenditure items approved for the projects as stated in the funding agreements and with no indication of violation of the funding requirements. As informed by the supermarket SE, apart from the retail shop, thanks to the support of some organizations sales have been made through group orders at discounted price. The SE also sells cash coupons but at their nominal face value without discount and has not handed out any cash coupons in free. It welcomes group orders and purchase of cash coupons by organizations. The SEs under the ESR Programme are required to comply with the laws of Hong Kong. Anyone who suspects that a SE has breached the requirements set out in the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) may make enquiry or launch a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data directly. Besides in case a SE under the ESR Programme operates at a deficit higher than anticipated, the grantee itself shall be responsible for it. Should a SE ceases


10077

operation during the funding period, the Government can request the grantee to repay to the Government all or any part of the grant disbursed forthwith according to the funding agreement. Interest can be charged in the event of breach of agreement.

Annex

List of Social Enterprise Projects Approved by the ESR Programme in the Past Five Years

Year Grantee Type of Business Amount of Grant

Approved ($ million)

2009 Women's Federation for World Peace, Hong Kong

Retail 0.60

2009 Hong Kong Ladies Dynamic Association Limited

Retail 0.90

2009 Hong Kong Employment Development Service Limited

Business support service

0.64

2009 Hong Kong Youth Power Association Limited

Retail 0.67

2009 Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association

Beauty care, massage and personal service

1.00

2009 New Territories Association of Societies (Community Services) Foundation

Catering 0.95

2009 Senior Citizen Home Safety Association

Household service (including renovation)

1.70

2009 Christian Action Recycling and thrift store

0.95

2009 ADPL Social Service Centre Limited

Catering 0.77

2009 Hong Kong Movie Star Sports Association Charities Limited

Catering 2.00

2009 Caritas Hong Kong Recycling and thrift store

0.80

2009 Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association

Catering 0.90




2009 Hong Kong Rehabilitation A & E Association Limited

Retail 0.70

2009 HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre


0.71

2010 Faithful Christian Vocational Training Centre Limited

Others 0.70

2010 Salvation Army Arts, performance and workshop

0.80

2010 Jabbok Charitable Foundation Limited


1.50

2010 Hong Kong Rehabilitation Power

Retail 0.72

2010 Ma On Shan Promotion of Livelihood and Recreation Association

Catering 2.50

2010 Friends of the Harp Limited Arts, performance and workshop

1.40

2010 Free Methodist Church Tuen Mun Children and Youth Integrated Services Centre

Catering 0.75

2010 SKH St. Joseph's Church & Social Centre

Household service (including renovation)

0.58

2010 Yan Oi Tong Limited Recycling and thrift store

1.67

2011 Hong Kong Women Workers Association

Retail 0.52

2011 Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Household service (including renovation)

0.95

2011 Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Retail 1.15 2011 Urdu Neighbour Centre

Limited Catering 1.05

2011 New Opportunity Company Limited

Horticulture and eco-tourism

1.09

2011 Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups

Art, performance and workshop

0.76


10079



2011 Hong Kong Association of Youth Development Limited


2.00

2011 New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association

Retail 0.50

2011 Playright Children's Play Association

Arts, performance and workshop

1.50

2011 The Boy's Brigade, Hong Kong


0.77

2011 Joyful (Mental Health) Foundation Limited

Recycling and thrift store

0.62

2011 Sai Kung District Community Centre


1.40

2011 Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation

Retail 0.92

2011 Creative Technology-Cultural Education Activities Centre Limited


0.95

2011 Focus On Film Limited Arts, performance and workshop

1.06

2011 Free Methodist Church Tuen Mun Children and Youth Integrated Services Centre

Catering 1.32

2012 Pentecostal Church of Hong Kong

Recycling and thrift store

1.80

2012 S.K.H. St. Christopher's Home Limited

Retail 0.88

2012 Hulu Culture Limited Business support service

1.04

2012 Lai Bing Chiu Arts Foundation Limited


1.10

2012 The Centre for Spiritual Progress to Great Awakening Limited

Catering 2.00

2012 New Home Association Limited


2.35

2012 Wong T. Lap Foundation Limited


1.00




2012 Pok Oi Hospital Catering 1.64 2012 Hong Kong Blind Union Business support

service 1.42

2012 Kowloon Federation of Associations Foundation Company Limited

Retail 2.20

2012 Hong Kong Employment Development Service Limited


1.11

2012 FTU Employment Development Service Limited

Catering 1.05

2012 Po Leung Kuk Catering 1.40 2012 Life Association Limited Business support

service 0.30

2012 Youth World Foundation Limited


0.85

2012 Yan Chai Hospital Board Retail 1.24 2012 Bright Services Company

Limited Catering 2.11

2013 Le Château des Arts International of the Community Welfare Projects Foundation


1.35

2013 Hong Kong Movie Star Sports Association Charities Limited

Catering 1.95

2013 Life Association Limited Arts, performance and workshop

0.61

2013 Roundtable Community Limited


1.20

2013 United Social Service Centre Limited

Catering 1.70

2013 The Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon

Catering 2.40

2013 Brotherhood Charity Foundation Limited

Others 0.75

2013 Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service


0.40

2013 Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Others 1.01


10081



2013 The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong

Retail 1.18

2013 Social Enterprise Limited Beauty care, massage and personal service

1.66

2013 Baby Kingdom Environmental Protection Education Fund


1.68

2013 Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong Chai Wan Centre

Catering 1.74

2013 Alts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong


1.59

2013 Po Leung Kuk Beauty care, massage and personal service

1.77

2013 Hulu Culture Limited Arts, performance and workshop

1.23

2013 Free Methodist Church of Hong Kong-Social Service Division

Catering 1.96

2013 Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation

Retail 0.96

2014 Methodist Centre Catering 2.45 2014 Mission Ark Limited Business support

service 2.31

2014 Bright Services Company Limited


1.51

New "Universal Accessibility" Policy 19. MR WU CHI-WAI (in Chinese): President, the Government has been retrofitting barrier-free access facilities to public walkways (for example, installing ramps at footbridges that only have staircases) (the "original programme") for years. In August 2012, it introduced a new policy on "universal accessibility" (the "new policy"), under which the authorities would carry out works to install lifts at public walkways (the "expanded programme"), in addition to those works items under the "original programme". In its paper submitted to the Panel on Transport of this Council in November last year, the


Transport and Housing Bureau indicated that the construction works of quite a number of items in the original programme "will commence as soon as possible upon completion of design and after obtaining support from the locals". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as I have learned that the commencement date of the works item to retrofit lifts to the footbridge over Ngau Tau Kok Road and Chun Wah Road near Chun Wah Court has been postponed from last year to 2015, of the reasons, other than the delay in the relocation of the Fu Tak Temple, for the commencement of the works of this item be postponed;

(2) apart from the works item mentioned in part (1), of the number of

works items under the original programme the commencement of which have to be postponed due to technical or other reasons, and a list of the (i) names, (ii) locations, (iii) reasons for postponement, and (iv) updated commencement dates of such items;

(3) of the number of works items under the expanded programme the

commencement dates of which can be finalized because the design for them has been completed and support from the locals has been obtained, together with a list of the (i) names, (ii) locations, and (iii) expected commencement dates of such items;

(4) given that early last year, each District Council (DC) selected three

public walkways for priority implementation under the expanded programme, of the progress of these items; among them, the number of those in respect of which technical feasibility studies, investigation works and consultation with DCs have been completed; and the commencement dates of such items;

(5) of the manpower deployed and expenditure incurred by the

Highways Department (HyD) last year to implement the two aforesaid programmes; whether HyD will allocate more resources in order to ensure that these items can commence and complete on schedule; if it will, of the details;

(6) regarding the footbridges that do not have lifts and are not included

in the two aforesaid programmes, when the authorities will retrofit


10083

lifts at them; whether they will consider afresh including certain socially-benefiting items into the programmes concerned; and

(7) given that last year the Government also received 2 750 proposed

works items that fell outside the ambit of the new policy, and referred these proposals to the relevant government departments or organizations for follow-up actions, whether it knows the progress of such works items at present; whether any of them has been put under the ambit of the new policy, and set out the updated situation of all these proposed works items by the 18 DC districts?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, the Government has been installing barrier-free access facilities at public walkways (that is, public footbridges, elevated walkways and subways maintained by the HyD) where technically feasible, for years (that is, the Original Programme). Under the Original Programme, the Government will provide lifts or standard ramps to existing public walkways if those are not equipped with standard barrier-free access facilities and there are no proper at-grade crossing facilities available within about 100 m. Currently, the HyD is implementing in full steam the 158 items which are technically feasible under the Original Programme. The works of these items will be completed by phases from 2014 to 2018. In August 2012, the Government launched a new policy on Universal Accessibility (UA) which aims at further enhancing the barrier-free facilities at existing public walkways. The new policy received overwhelming responses from the public, and lift installations at about 250 public walkways were proposed (that is, the Expanded Programme). The HyD and the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) consulted the 18 DCs in the first half of 2013 on the priority for implementing these suggestions for retrofitting of lifts. The DCs were generally very supportive of the new policy, and each of them selected three public walkways for priority implementation. Our reply to the seven parts of Mr WU Chi-wai's question is as follows:

(1) The retrofitting works at the existing footbridge across Ngau Tau Kok Road and Chun Wah Road (HyD structure number KF48), an item under the Original Programme, involve three lifts which one of


them will occupy part of the land of a temple (that is, Fuk Tak Temple) scheduled for relocation. Taking into account the estimated relocation schedule of the Fuk Tak Temple, the HyD originally planned to invite tender in around end 2013 for construction in 2014. However, having known in mid-2013 that the relocation of the Fuk Tak Temple would be delayed, the HyD had to review the design and implementation arrangements of the lift concerned. Since the review would take time, the HyD therefore decided to construct the other two lifts not affected by the relocation of the temple first. The tendering exercise was conducted in end March 2014 for commencement within this year. As regards the lift affected by the relocation of the Temple, the HyD will monitor closely the latest development of the relocation plan of the Fuk Tak Temple while considering other viable options for the retrofitting works. The HyD has informed the Kwun Tong DC on the relevant arrangements.

(2) The HyD is pressing ahead in full steam the 158 items which are

technically feasible under the Original Programme (see Annex 1). As at end February 2014, retrofitting works of two items have been completed; 62 items are under construction and 94 items are under design. Works are in general progressing as scheduled, and the items will be completed progressively from 2014 to 2018.

(3) and (4) The HyD and the CEDD consulted the 18 DCs in the first half of

2013 on the priority for implementing suggestions for retrofitting of lifts under the Expanded Programme, and then conducted technical feasibility studies for the three priority projects (see Annex 2) identified by each DC. The studies have been substantially completed and the Government is consulting various DCs on the findings. After consultation with the DCs, the Government will proceed with the detailed design for the items confirmed to be technically feasible and supported by the districts concerned. Works for these items are expected to commence progressively from 2015 onwards for completion by phases by 2017 and 2018.


10085

(5) The expenditure (revised estimate) for the UA programme in the previous year (2013-2014) was $233 million. The HyD has been deploying existing staff to oversee the implementation of the UA programme. The estimated expenditure for 2014-2015 is $639 million.

(6) In the coming years, we expect to implement more than 210

retrofitting of lifts items, including 158 items under the Original Programme and the three priority items suggested by each DC (a total of 54 items) under the Expanded Programme. Upon the smooth implementation of the above items, we will review the implementation schedule for the remaining items having regard to factors such as the progress of works, views of the DCs and the public, capacity of the construction industry and resources of the departments concerned.

(7) When the Government implemented the UA pogramme, suggestions

involving 290 locations outside the ambit of the new policy were received. A breakdown of the parties concerned of these suggested locations is set out below. The HyD has not compiled the relevant information by district.

Parties concerned of the suggested provision of

barrier-free access facilities at locations not administered by the HyD

Number of locations

MTR Corporation Limited 73 Housing Authority/The Link Management Limited/Housing Society 96

Other government departments/public sector organizations 51

Private properties 70 Total 290

These suggestions have been referred to the relevant organizations

for consideration and follow-up. For suggested items within the public housing estates of the Housing Authority, the Housing Authority will follow up under the "Lift Addition Programme".


Annex 1

The 158 technically feasible items under the Original Programme

HyD Structure Number

Location

Central and Western District HS3 Across Cotton Tree Drive near Murray Building HF37 Along Connaught Road Central near Exchange Square HF91 Across Connaught Road Central between Vicwood Plaza and

Rumsey Street Multi-storey Car Park Building HF119 Across Connaught Road Central near Waterfront Police Station HF152 Across Harcourt Road near Citic Tower HF93 At Man Po Street near Pier Road HF118 Across Connaught Road Central near Shun Tak Centre and

Western Market HF118A Across Connaught Road Central near Shun Tak Centre and

Western Market HF137 Across Connaught Road Central near Pottinger Street HF81 Across Pok Fu Lam Road near Hong Kong University HF100 Across Lambeth Walk connected to Bank of America Tower HF40 Across Cotton Tree Drive near Lippo Centre Eastern District HS17 Across Island Eastern Corridor near Hong Kong Film Archive HF78 Across Island Eastern Corridor and Chai Wan Road near Chai

Wan Road Roundabout H162 King's Road Flyover across Kornhill Road HF34 Across Chai Wan Road near Salesian School HF90 Across King's Road and Tin Chiu Street HF90A Across King's Road and Tin Chiu Street Southern District HS16 Across Aberdeen Praya Road near Old Main Street HF134 Across Aberdeen Praya Road and Yue Shi Cheung Road HS7 Across Shek Pai Wan Road near Wah Fu Estate HF59 Along Island Road at Deep Water Bay HS13 Across Ap Lei Chau Bridge Road near Shan Ming Street and San

Shi Street HS13A Across Ap Lei Chau Bridge Road near Shan Ming Street and San

Shi Street


10087


Location

H115 Across Wong Chuk Hang Road to Toll Gate of Aberdeen Tunnel H116 Wong Chuk Hang Road near Nam Fung Road H107 Ap Lei Chau Bridge from Aberdeen to Ap Lei Chau Wan Chai District HF56 Across Tonnochy Road and Harbour Road near Sun Hung Kai

Centre HF117 Across Tonnochy Road and Harbour Road near Sun Hung Kai

Centre HF35 Across Harbour Road near Harbour Drive HF57 Across Fleming Road near Harbour Road HF65 Across Gloucester Road near Central Plaza HF95 Across O'Brien Road and Hennessy Road near Wan Chai MTR

Station HF160 Across Gloucester Road near Central Plaza HF2 Across Gloucester Road near Luk Kwok Hotel HF2A Across Gloucester Road near Luk Kwok Hotel HS10 Across Wong Nai Chung Road and Queen's Road East HF144 Across Gloucester Road and Tonnochy Road HF106 Across Harbour Road and Convention Avenue near Arts Centre HF145 Across Gloucester Road and Fenwick Street HF43 Across Gloucester Road and Wan Shing Street near Canal Road HF25 Across Queen's Road East near Wan Chai Park and Wah Yan

College HF113 Across a slip road from Cross Harbour Tunnel to Gloucester

Road near Hung Hing Road Flyover HF116 Across Gloucester Road near Stewart Road Kowloon City District KF25 Across Waterloo Road near Suffolk Road KF6 Across Princess Margaret Road near Wylie Road and Oi Man

Estate K21 Cheong Wan Road between On Wan Road and Hung Hom Road

South KS9 Across Prince Edward Road West at Kowloon City Interchange KS23 Across East Rail Line Track near Surrey Lane and Dianthus

Road KF29 Across Kowloon City Road and San Shan Road KS32 Across Ma Tau Chung Road near Olympic Avenue and Kowloon

City Interchange



Location

KS10 Across Prince Edward Road East and Ma Tau Chung Road near Tak Ku Ling Road

KS41 Across Chatham Road North near Winslow Street Kwun Tong District KF71 At Lam Tin Bus Terminus near Sceneway Garden KF44 Across Hip Wo Street near Cheung Wo Court KF(WYS) Across Wai Yip Street near Lam Hing Street and HKU School of

Professional and Continuing Education KF48 Across Ngau Tau Kok Road and Chun Wah Road near Chun

Wah Court KS27 Across Shun Ching Street near San Lee Street and Shun Lee

Estate KF39 Across Wai Yip Street near Sheung Yee Road K50 Across New Clear Water Bay Road at Shun Lee Tsuen Road KF83 Across Lin Tak Road near Hing Tin Street KF128 Across Kwun Tong Road from Kowloon Bay MTR Station to

Choi Wan Road KF(LNTKE) Across Kwun Tong Road near Exit B of Kowloon Bay MTR

Station Sham Shui Po District KS47 Across Tai Po Road near Pei Ho Street KF10 Across Lai Chi Kok Road near Cheung Shun Street KF43 Across Nam Cheong Street near Chak On Estate KF32 Across Cheung Sha Wan Road near Fat Tseung Street KS25 Across Cheung Sha Wan Road near Kweilin Street KF13 Across Lung Cheung Road near Beacon Heights Wong Tai Sin District KF57 Across Lung Cheung Road near Tin Ma Court KS7 Across Lung Cheung Road near Choi Hung MTR Station KS17 Across a slip road from Po Kong Village Road Southbound to

Tai Hom Road KS35 Across Prince Edward Road East near San Po Kong Interchange KF60 Across Ma Chai Hang Road near Lung Cheung Government

Secondary School KS11 Across Prince Edward Road East near San Po Kong Interchange K36 At Po Kong Village Road over Lung Cheung Road Yau Tsim Mong District KS40 Across Nathan Road near Bute Street


10089


Location

KS2 Across Chatham Road South near Gun Club Hill Barracks KS29 Across a slip road of Chatham Road South near Gascoigne Road

and Hong Kong Girl Guides Headquarters KS30 Across Hong Cheong Road near Chatham Road Interchange KS31 Across Chatham Road South near Polytechnic University and

Chatham Road Interchange KF3 Across Hong Chong Road and Salisbury Road near Hung Hom

Cross Harbour Tunnel KF82 Across Chatham Road South and Granville Road near Hong

Kong Science Museum KF27 Across Argyle Street near Yim Po Fong Street and Luen Wan

Street KF84 Along Science Museum Path across Science Museum Road and

Hong Tat Path KF2 Across Toll Plaza of Cross Harbour Tunnel near Cheong Wan

Road KS49 Across Jordan Road near Canton Road and Ferry Street KF54 Across Luen Wan Street near Waterworks Depot Kwai Tsing District NF106 Across Tsing Yi Heung Sze Wui Road near Vigor Industrial

Building NS19 Across Ching Hong Road near Mayfair Gardens NS89 Across Tsing Yi Road near Cheung Ching Estate NS126 Across Kwai Fuk Road near Shing Fuk Street NF185 Across Tsuen Wan Road and Kwai Hei Street near Kwai Fuk

Road NF286 Across Hing Fong Road and Kwai Fuk Road to Kwai Tsing

Interchange NF1 Across Kwai Chung Road near Kwai Fong Estate NS1 Across Kwai Chung Road near Princess Margaret Hospital NS1A Across Kwai Chung Road near Princess Margaret Hospital N798 At Flyover of Kwai Tsing Road across Kwai Tai Road NS10 Across Tsuen Wan Road near Lai King Estate N546 Tsing Tsuen Bridge North District NF122 Across Choi Yuen Road and San Wan Road near Pak Wo Road NF84 Across Choi Yuen Road near Sheung Shui Station and Choi Yuk

House of Choi Yuen Estate



Location

NS49A Across Jockey Club Road near Sha Tau Kok Road Roundabout NF296 Across Lung Sum Avenue near San Fat Street NF83 Across East Rail Line Track along Fanling Highway near Pak

Wo Road and Wo Hing Road NF180 Across East Rail Line Track along Fanling Highway near Pak

Wo Road and Wo Hing Road NF96 Across San Wan Road and Fanling Station Road near San Wan

Road Roundabout NF227 Across San Wan Road and Fanling Station Road near San Wan

Road Roundabout NF212 Across Wo Hing Road near Wah Ming Road NF247 Across Pak Wo Road near Wai Ming Street NF76 Across Jockey Club Road near Tin Ping Estate NF104 Across Fanling Highway and San Wan Road NS106 Across Fanling Highway near Tai Tau Leng Sai Kung District NS98 Across Clear Water Bay Road near Tseng Lan Shue Sha Tin District NS38 Across Tai Po Road near Fo Tan Road NS28A Across Fo Tan Road near Yuen Wo Road NF40 Across Tai Po Road ― Sha Tin near Wo Che Street NF71 At Tai Po Road ― Sha Tin over Sha Tin MTR Station near Tin

Liu NF74 Across Lion Rock Tunnel Road near Fung Shing Court NF89 Across Sha Tin Wai Road near Sha Kok Street NS175 Across a slip road from Tolo Highway to Chak Cheung Street

near Sui Cheung Street Tai Po District NS61 Across East Rail Line Track between Tai Po Road ― Tai Wo

and Tai Po Tau Drive NS69 Across Tai Po Road ― Yuen Chau Tsai and Nam Wan Road

near Kwong Fuk Road NS70 Across Tai Po Road ― Yuen Chau Tsai and Nam Wan Road

near Kwong Fuk Road NF97 Across Tai Po Tai Wo Road and Lam Tsuen River near Tai Po

Centre NF266 Across Ting Kok Road near Tung Leung Lane


10091


Location

NS75 Across Nam Wan Road between Kwong Fuk Road and Plover Cove Road

NF78 Across Fanling Highway near Tai Hang Fui Sha Wai between Hong Lok Yuen and Tai Hang

NF81 Across East Rail Line Track near Kiu Tau NF444 Across Nam Wan Road near Wan Tau Tong Estate NF132 Across Nam Wan Road near Tai Po Centre and Sun Hing Garden NS77 Across Tai Po Tai Wo Road near Nam Wan Road NF80 Across East Rail Line Track near Yuen Leng NF82 Across East Rail Line Track near Tai Wo Service Road East and

Tong Hang NS139 Across Yuen Shin Road near Ting Kok Road and Dai Fuk Street NS145 Across Fanling Highway near Tai Po Road ― Tai Wo Tuen Mun District NS108 Across a slip road from Tsing Wun Road to Wong Chu Road NF31 Across Tuen Mun Road and Castle Peak Road ― San Hui near

Hoh Fuk Tong Light Rail Station NS99 Across Tsing Wun Road near Yip Wong Road NF127 Across Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road from Tuen Mun Park to

Tuen Wui Street and Tuen Mun Cultural Square NF206 Across Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road from Tuen Mun Park to

Tuen Wui Street and Tuen Mun Cultural Square NF114 Across Tsing Wun Road near Hong Kong Institute of Vocational

Education (Tuen Mun) NF406 At Siu Hong Road Bus Terminal connecting North Public

Transport Interchange of Siu Hong West Rail Station NF100A Across Wu King Road connecting Wu King Estate and Wu Hong

Clinic near Wu Hong Street NF101 Across Wu Shan Road near Wu King Road NF407 Connecting Tuen Mun Road and South Public Transport

Interchange of Siu Hong West Rail Station Tsuen Wan District NF87 Across Tsuen Wan MTR Depot near Mega Trade Centre NF109 Across Castle Peak Road near Fou Wah Centre NF108 Across Castle Peak Road ― Tsuen Wan near Nan Fung Centre NF167 Across Tai Chung Road near Sha Tsui Road NF311 Across Castle Peak Road ― Tsuen Wan near Tsuen Wan Town

Square



Location

NF248 Across Shing Mun Road near Castle Peak Road ― Tsuen Wan NF(SLKR) Across Sai Lau Kok Road between Luk Yeung Galleria and

Tsuen Wan Multi-storey Carpark Building NF234 Across Yeung Uk Road and Texaco Road TS8 Across North Lantau Highway near Lantau Toll Plaza

Administration Building Yuen Long District NS199 Across Tin Yin Road near Shui Lung House of Tin Shui Estate NF245 Across Fuk Hi Street near Wang Lok Street NS7A Across Castle Peak Road ― Hung Shui Kiu Section at Hung

Shui Kiu Light Rail Station

Annex 2

Priority items selected by each District under the Expanded Programme


Location

Central and Western District HF142 Across Connaught Road West leading to Sun Yat Sen Memorial

Park HF46 Across Possession Street near Lower Lascar Row HF135 Along Cochrane Street near Tun Wo Lane Eastern District HF63 Across Chai Wan Road near Shan Tsui Court HF163 Across Siu Sai Wan Road near Harmony Road HF158 Walkway adjacent to Fortress Hill MTR Station Southern District HF104 Across Aberdeen Praya Road near Nam Ning Street HF105 Across Aberdeen Praya Road near Ocean Court H186 Flyover connecting Tin Wan Praya Road and Tin Wan Hill Road Wan Chai District HF85 At the Junction of Yee Wo Street, Pennington Street and Sugar

Street HF154 Across Gloucester Road and Percival Street near Sino Plaza


10093


Location

HS9 Across Canal Road East near Sports Road Kowloon City District K14 Pui Ching Road Flyover across Princess Margaret Road KF102 Across Hung Hom South Road near Hung Ling Street and

Whampoa Street KF106 Across Hung Hom South Road near Hung Hom Road Kwun Tong District KS56 Across Kwun Tong Road near Ting On Street KF90 Across Lei Yue Mun Road near Tsui Ping Road KF109 Across Shun Lee Tsuen Road near Shun Lee Estate Park Sham Shui Po District KF69 Across Lai Chi Kok Road and Tonkin Street KF79 Across Woh Chai Street and Shek Kip Mei Street KF91 Across Yen Chow Street near Ki Lung Street Wong Tai Sin District KF56 Across New Clear Water Bay Road near Choi Wan Commercial

Complex Phase II KF58 Across Lung Cheung Road near Ma Chai Hang Road KF76 Across Fung Tak Road and Lung Poon Street Yau Tsim Mong District KF88 Across Ferry Street and Waterloo Road along West Kowloon

Highway KF89 Across Ferry Street at Junction of Dundas Street KF94 Across Cherry Street, Ferry Street and Tong Mei Road Islands District NF332 Across Yu Tung Road near Tung Chung Ha Ling Pei NF328 Across Yu Tung Road and Chung Yan Road NS230 Across Shun Tung Road near Lantau North Police Station Kwai Tsing District NF51 Across Castle Peak Road ― Kwai Chung Section near Wo Yi

Hop Road NF72A Across Kwai Foo Road near Kwai Yi Road NF229 Across Junction of Castle Peak Road ― Kwai Chung, Kwai

Chung Road and Lei Muk Road North District NF134 and NS143

Across Fanling Highway near Fanling MTR Station



Location

NS51 and NS128

Across Jockey Club Road near Tin Mei House, Tin Ping Estate

NF295 Across San Wan Road near Landmark North Sai Kung District NF193 Across Po Lam Road North near Lam Shing Road NF309 Across Po Ning Road near Po Shun Road NF336 Across Tong Ming Street near Sheung Tak Shopping Centre Sha Tin District NF73 Connecting Pai Tau Street and Sha Tin MTR Station NS287 Across Ma On Shan Road and Hang Tai Road near Ma On Shan

Rail Tai Shui Hang Station NF316 Across roundabout at Che Kung Miu Road and Mei Tin Road Tai Po District NS87 Across On Po Road near Nam Wan Road and Sun Hing Garden NF156 Across Tai Po Road ― Yuen Chau Tsai near Kwong Fuk Estate NF191 Across Ting Kok Road connecting Tai Yuen Estate and Fu Heng

Estate Tuen Mun District NS42 Across Tuen Hing Road near Tuen Mun Road NF174 Across Tuen Mun Road connecting Tsing Hang Path and San

Wo Lane NF315 Across Lung Mun Road near Lung Mun Light Rail Station Tsuen Wan District NF285 and NF288

Across Sai Lau Kok Road, opposite to Nam Fung Centre (northern end)

NF186 Across Tai Chung Road near Heung Che Street NF251 Across Yeung Uk Road and Ma Tau Pa Road Yuen Long District NF148 and NF306

Connecting Yuen Long Plaza and Long Ping West Rail Station

NF305 Across Castle Peak Road and Long Lok Road near Yuen Long West Rail Station

NF376 Across Ping Ha Road near Exit B of Tin Shui Wai West Rail Station


10095

Proposed New Open-ended Fund Company Structure 20. MR KENNETH LEUNG: President, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau issued the Open-Ended Fund Companies Consultation Paper on 20 March 2014, which proposed to introduce a new open-ended fund company (OFC) structure to complement the existing unit trust structure. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the proposed OFC structure is comparable with or more competitive than that of the major asset management jurisdictions with similar collective investment scheme structures, for example, Luxembourg and Ireland, given that Hong Kong has lagged behind those countries in introducing the OFC structure;

(2) why Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau proposes that OFC

be allowed to invest its assets only in securities and futures contracts; whether, as proposed by Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, OFC will be allowed to invest in bonds, debts and distressed debts in general;

(3) of the policy considerations of Financial Services and the Treasury

Bureau for not proposing, apart from the profits tax exemption applicable to public funds and offshore funds, additional tax incentive for application to OFC, in particular, why (i) the central management and control (CMC) of an OFC has to be located outside Hong Kong in order to be qualified for the profits tax exemption for offshore funds and (ii) no ad valorem stamp duty exemption on transfers of shares in OFC has been proposed; and

(4) as there are views that stamp duty on transfers of shares in OFC can

be avoided if such transfers are effected by simultaneous issuance and redemption of shares, whether it has assessed if there will be substantive loss in stamp duty revenue in this regard; if it has, of the assessment results?

SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY: President,


(1) In developing the proposals for Hong Kong's OFCs, we have considered the legal framework and regulatory regimes of other major asset management jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Luxembourg, the relevant securities regulation principles published by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the market landscape in Hong Kong, with the aim of striking a reasonable balance between facilitating market development, and protecting investors. We have also taken into account current practices adopted in these major asset management jurisdictions when formulating the proposals. Our proposed regime is broadly in line with their regulatory standards and practices.

(2) The proposed OFC regime aims to provide fund managers with more

flexibility in the choice of fund legal structures by allowing investment funds to be set up in a corporate form. The primary purpose of an OFC is to operate as an investment fund. It is not designed to operate as a corporate entity for the purposes of general commercial business, trade or other uses. As such, the asset classes in which an OFC may invest are proposed to be broadly in line with a traditional investment fund, namely, securities and futures(1) as defined under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO).

The scope of securities and futures currently defined under

Schedule 1 to the SFO is fairly broad. It covers, among other things, debentures, loan stocks, bonds or notes of, or issued by, a body, whether incorporated or unincorporated, or a government or municipal government authority unless such instruments fall within any of the specific exclusions set out in the definition.

The proposed investment scope of publicly offered OFCs is similar

to public funds which are commonly approved by the regulators in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Luxembourg under the European funds passport regime as Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (UCITS) pursuant to the European Directives. The permitted asset classes under UCITS are essentially transferable securities, money market instruments, collective investment schemes

(1) And also over-the-counter derivatives once the Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill 2013 is

commenced.


10097

and financial derivative instruments. These are broadly similar to the instruments which are proposed for the investment scope for publicly offered OFCs.

Based on the understanding of the Securities and Futures

Commission (SFC), the private OFCs equivalent in the abovementioned major asset management jurisdictions in practice largely invest in traditional securities and related financial instruments. It appears uncommon for private funds to conduct direct investment in alternative assets.

(3) and (4) The existing profits tax exemption to public funds authorized by the

SFC under section 104 of the SFO or bona fide widely held regulated funds in an acceptable regime outside Hong Kong will equally be applicable to publicly offered OFCs. The offshore fund exemption regime was introduced to reinforce the status of Hong Kong as an international financial centre, attract new offshore funds to Hong Kong and further develop the fund management business in Hong Kong. If the CMC of an OFC, whether publicly or privately offered, is not exercised in Hong Kong, an OFC can qualify for the existing profits tax exemption for offshore funds in respect of profits derived from specified transactions carried out through or arranged by specified persons, notwithstanding that its asset portfolios are managed by a Hong Kong fund manager with full discretionary power.

We will consider carefully the exemption or the extent of exemption

that should be applied to privately offered OFCs with CMC located onshore having regard to possible read-across implications.

For stamp duty purposes, shares in OFCs by definition are Hong

Kong stocks. Their sale or purchase should be subject to stamp duty. At present, stamp duty is exempted if the sale or purchase of a unit in a unit trust scheme involves a redemption by way of extinguishing the unit; or if the manager of a unit trust scheme sells to a new unit-holder a unit which arises from a transfer of a unit to the manager within the preceding two months or the unit sold is a


new unit. Instruments of transfer of units are also exempted from payment of the fixed stamp duty of $5 under specific situations. Shares in OFCs and units in unit trusts bear similarities since they can be reissued after redemption or extinguishment. As mentioned in the public consultation paper on OFC, we propose that allotments, transfers and surrenders of shares in OFCs or of units in unit trusts may be treated in the same way. We welcome public views in this. We do not have the assessment on tax revenue forgone in stamp duty as mentioned in the question.

The public consultation on the proposed OFCs commenced and will

last until 19 June. We welcome views and feedback on the proposals. We will carefully analyse comments received.

Requiring Buyers of Tenants Purchase Scheme Flats to Make Back Payments for Buyer's Stamp Duty 21. MR JAMES TO (in Chinese): President, according to the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2014 (the Ordinance) enacted by this Council in February this year, all non-permanent residents of Hong Kong acquiring residential properties on or after 27 October 2012 are required to pay the Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD). It has been reported that some tenants of public rental housing (PRH) earlier purchased under the Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) the PRH flats in which they lived but they have fallen into financial difficulties as they have been notified, after the enactment of the Ordinance, that they are required to make back payments for BSD because their flats were acquired in the names of their household members who are not Hong Kong permanent residents (HKPRs). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) during the period from 27 October 2012 to the day before the Ordinance was gazetted on 28 February this year, of (i) the number of agreements for sale or conveyances on sale for TPS flats processed by the Housing Department; and (ii) the number of such cases in which back payments for BSD are required because the buyers are not HKPRs, and the average amount of such tax involved in each case;


10099

(2) whether the staff of the Housing Department, when processing TPS cases in part (1), had reminded non-HKPR buyers that they would be subject to back payments for BSD after the enactment of the Ordinance; if they had, of the details, including whether such reminders were given orally or in writing; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) whether the Housing Department will take measures to alleviate the

burdens of those buyers of TPS flats who are subject to back payments for BSD, such as (i) allowing their close relatives who are HKPRs to become the joint owners of their flats, so that they can be granted exemptions from BSD, or (ii) allowing such buyers to make the back payments for BSD by interest-free instalments; and

(4) given that TPS flats are subject to a five-year resale restriction

period from the first assignment, and the objectives of the authorities introducing BSD were to accord priority to meeting HKPRs' needs for home purchase and cool down the overheated property market, whether the authorities have examined if it is justifiable to include non-HKPR buyers of TPS flats in the ambit of the Ordinance; if they have, of the results; if not; whether they will do so?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, the Government introduced a number of demand-side management measures in the past two years, including the enhancement of the Special Stamp Duty (SSD), the introduction of the BSD and the doubled ad valorem stamp duty (AVD), with the objective of addressing the exuberant property market. To accord priority to the home ownership needs of HKPRs, a HKPR acquiring a residential property on his/her own behalf is exempted from the BSD in accordance with the gazetted Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2014 (the Amendment Ordinance). In addition, the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2013 (the Amendment Bill), which is currently under the scrutiny of the Legislative Council, proposes that a person who is a HKPR acting on his/her own behalf in acquiring a residential property and not being the beneficial owner of any other residential property in Hong Kong will also be exempted from the doubled AVD rates as proposed under the Amendment Bill. Apart from the foregoing, only acquisitions made under specified circumstances will be exempted from the relevant stamp duty, such as gifts of properties to approved charitable institutions, acquisitions of a property to


replace another property of the same nature that has been acquired or resumed pursuant to certain Ordinances, and so on, so as not to unduly undermine the effectiveness of the demand-side management measures. Units acquired under TPS are similar to all other residential properties and hence are subject to the BSD. Our consolidated reply to the various parts of the question raised by Mr James TO is as follows. The "Terms and Conditions of Sale" of TPS flats stipulates that the applicant is responsible for paying all types of stamp duty related to the transaction, and points out that payment of stamp duty will be borne solely by the purchasers. Purchasers have also signified that they have read and understood the "Terms and Conditions of Sale" in the "Letter of Offer" to purchase the TPS flats. The Housing Department (HD) also requires a TPS purchaser to appoint a solicitor firm to represent him/her to handle relevant transaction procedures. To ensure that solicitor firms were kept abreast of information regarding the related stamp duty measures and operation details, after the announcement of the measures on 27 October 2012, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) notified Law Society of Hong Kong (the Law Society) on the same day of the relevant information and the Law Society subsequently informed the legal sector accordingly. Relevant "Frequently Asked Questions" have also been uploaded onto the website of the IRD. Besides, the Government has repeatedly explained to different sectors of the community about the relevant policy objectives and implementation details of the measures on different occasions and through different platforms. Relevant measures were also widely reported by the media. The HD will continue to scrutinize various information provided to prospective purchasers so as to ensure the accuracy of the information. From the introduction of the BSD on 27 October 2012 up to 27 February this year, assignments of a total of about 4 740 TPS flats were completed. The value of these properties for stamp duty purpose ranges from about $300,000 to $1,000,000. According to the Amendment Ordinance, the BSD is calculated on the basis of the stated consideration for the transaction or the market value of the property, whichever is the higher. By applying 15% BSD rate as stipulated in the Amendment Ordinance, the amount of the BSD payable ranges from $45,000 to $150,000. Regarding the number of these purchasers who are subject to the BSD, the IRD will, upon receipt of the relevant stamping requests, ascertain


10101

whether the instruments of the transactions are subject to the payment of BSD under the Amendment Ordinance. According to the records of the IRD, a total of about 77 500 requests for stamping in respect of residential properties transactions were received during the period from 27 October 2012 to 27 February 2014. Since the gazettal of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2014, the IRD is still ascertaining whether the relevant cases are chargeable with the BSD, and there is no statistics on the number of TPS flats which are subject to the BSD at this stage. Stamp duty is charged on an instrument basis. The HD has no authority to alter the instruments nor exempt the payment of relevant stamp duty, including the BSD. Upon execution of a conveyance on sale, the relevant transaction is completed, with parties to the instrument liable to pay the relevant stamp duty. A buyer subject to the BSD cannot cancel or alter an assignment which had already come into effect on the date of its execution. Even if a close relative of the buyer who is a HKPR is subsequently added as a joint owner of the property, the assignment previously executed will not be exempted from the BSD. Under the existing stamp duty regime, depending on the actual circumstances of individual cases, the IRD may consider accepting payment of stamp duty by installment and may also consider remitting any penalty payable. Transparency of District Councils 22. MS EMILY LAU (in Chinese): President, in January this year, the Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee invited all the District Councils (DCs) to organize in their districts Basic Law promotional activities in relation to constitutional developments, and such activities have to be completed by early May this year. In this respect, the Home Affairs Bureau has made an allocation up to $250,000 to each DC for organizing such activities. It has been reported that some committees/working groups of the DCs have vetted and approved the funding applications for the aforesaid project and other projects merely by conducting closed meetings or by circulation of papers, and that 14 of the 18 DCs have not uploaded all their meeting minutes and papers circulated in 2013 onto their DC websites, making it difficult for the public to monitor the operations of these DCs. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether it knows:


(1) the ways by which each DC vetted and approved the funding applications for the aforesaid Basic Law promotional activities, as well as the organizers/co-organizers, estimated expenditure and other details of such activities (set out according to the table below);

DC

Ways of vetting and approving funding

applications (open meetings/ closed meetings/

circulation of papers)

Name(s) of organizer(s)/

co-organizer(s) of the activities

Estimated expenditure

of the activities

Other details of

the activities

(2) the reasons why some DCs have not uploaded all the papers for DC

meetings onto their websites, and the measures taken to increase the percentage of documents of DCs uploaded onto the relevant websites; and

(3) the committees/working groups of the DCs which vet and approve

funding applications at closed meetings, and the reasons why such committees/working groups have not made public their meeting minutes and papers; whether it will urge the DCs concerned to increase the transparency of their work, including requesting them to open up the relevant meetings to enable the public and the media to monitor them?

SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President,

(1) The ways by which each DC has vetted and approved the funding applications for Basic Law promotional activities, as well as the organizers/co-organizers, estimated expenditure and other details of such activities are set out at the Annex.

(2) DCs are provided with secretariat support from respective District

Offices. In general, DC Secretariats (Secretariats) will upload documents of full DC and committee meetings, including agendas, discussion papers and minutes of the meetings, and so on, onto their


10103

respective DC websites for public access, except for matters discussed at closed-door meetings (including but not limited to those concerning internal administration as well as sensitive information involving tenders and quotations, and so on).

The respective Secretariats will work with DCs to enhance services

regarding the arrangements for uploading DC documents onto their websites. Where manpower resources permit, the Secretariats will upload the relevant circulation papers and written and supplementary information of DCs and committees onto their websites as soon as possible. Information of working groups will also be uploaded onto the respective websites in a progressive manner in due course.

(3) There are a total of 104 committees and 253 working groups under

the 18 DCs. According to the Secretariats, since the commencement of the current DC term (that is, 1 January 2012), there are only three committees and 16 working groups that have discussed matters in relation to the vetting and approval of funding applications at closed-door meetings.

(i) The three committees which have vetted and approved

funding applications at closed-door meetings are as follows:

(a) Funding and Finance Committee of Wan Chai DC; (b) Finance and Administration Committee of Kwun Tong

DC; and (c) Administration and Finance Committee of Kwai Tsing

DC. (ii) The 16 working groups which have vetted and approved

funding applications at closed-door meetings are as follows:

(a) Working Group on Civic Education under Culture, Leisure and Social Affairs Committee of Central and Western DC (one closed-door meeting only);


(b) Vetting Sub-committee under Community Affairs and Tourism Development Committee of Southern DC;

(c) District Council In-house Working Group of Wan Chai

DC (in respect of applications for funding of Women's Commission in total of $53,000); and

(d) thirteen of the working groups under Kwai Tsing DC,

including the Vetting Working Group.

Members of the public may approach the respective DC Secretariats for access to other documents. The Secretariats will provide appropriate assistance as far as practicable.

We have invited the DCs concerned to look into the suggestion of

making the relevant meetings and papers of the meetings public. The Secretariats will take appropriate follow-up action according to the respective DCs' decisions.

Annex

Details of Basic Law Promotional Activities by 18 DCs (position as at 15 April 2014)

District Council

(DC)

Ways of vetting and approving funding applications (open

meetings/closed meetings/circulation of

papers)

Name(s) of organizer(s)/ co-organizer(s) of the activities


of the activities

(amount of DC

Funding)

Other details of the activities

Central and Western

After discussion by the working group (WG) at a closed-door meeting, the Cultural, Leisure and Social Affairs Committee (CLSAC) convened an open meeting for deliberation. With the process left unfinished, the application was

Organizer: Hong Kong Island Federation Central and Western Regional Committee Co-organizers: - Association of the

Hong Kong Central and Western District

- Working Group on Civic Education of

$133,000 - roving exhibition

- writing competition

- award presentation ceremony

- afternoon tea reception


10105

District Council

(DC)



papers)



of the activities

(amount of DC

Funding)


approved by CLSAC and the Finance Committee (FC) by circulation in the end.

Central and Western DC

Following deliberation first by WG and then by CLSAC at open meetings, the application was approved by FC by circulation.

Organizer: Joint Committee for the Promotion of the Basic Law of Hong Kong Co-organizer: Working Group on Civic Education of Central and Western DC

$117,000 - youth retreat camp

- parent-child colouring competition

- thematic talk

- booth games

- variety show

Eastern

Approval by circulation after discussion at open meeting

Organizer: Community Building and Services Committee of Eastern DC

$200,000 - bus parade - distribution

of publicity materials

- production of publicity banners

- roving exhibition

- colouring competition

- quiz competition

- award presentation ceremony

Organizer: Community Building and Services Committee of Eastern DC

$30,000 - putting up lamppost buntings

Co-organizers: - Community

Building and Services Committee of Eastern DC

$19,960 - buzz-in quiz competition


District Council

(DC)



papers)



of the activities

(amount of DC

Funding)


- Hong Kong Island Federation

Southern

Approval by committee by circulation after discussion by WG at closed-door meeting

Organizer: Association of Industries and Commerce of Hong Kong Southern District

$78,070 - float parade - lunch-time

talk

Organizer: Hong Kong Fishermen's Association

$94,000 - telematch fun day

Organizer: Hong Kong Island Federation

$77,930 - talk and fun day

Wan Chai

Approval at open meeting

Co-organizers: - Hong Kong Island

Federation - Wan Chai DC

$68,020 - quiz competition

- distribution of publicity materials and pamphlets

Co-organizers: - Hong Kong Sing's

Power Arts Association

- Wan Chai DC

$36,765 - micro-film competition

Co-organizers: - Younger Look - Wan Chai DC - Wan Chai

Community Activities Centre

$45,965 - online quiz competition

Co-organizers: - Hong Kong Wan

Chai District Association

- Wan Chai DC

$44,600 - talk

Approval by circulation Organizer: Wan Chai DC

$51,000 - distribution of "Fun Fun" game cards by bus tour

Kowloon City

Approval by circulation Co-organizers: - Kowloon City DC

Working Group on


- quiz game


10107

District Council

(DC)



papers)



of the activities

(amount of DC

Funding)


District Promotion of National Education

- Kowloon City District Office

- distribution of publicity materials


Co-organizers: - Kowloon City DC

Working Group on District Promotion of National Education

- Kowloon City District Office


- quiz game - distribution


- resident forum

Kwun Tong


Organizer: Kwun Tong District Civic Education Committee


- publicity materials

Organizer: Kwun Tong Schools Liaison Committee

$30,000 - vote on top 10 articles of the Basic Law

Organizer: Hong Kong Tertiary Youth Association

$50,000 - online quiz competition

- promotion day

Organizer: Kowloon City, Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin Residents' Association

$40,000 - seminar

Organizer: Kwun Tong Resident Association

$30,000 - exhibition - quiz game

Organizer: Kowloon Federation of Associations Kwun Tong District Committee

$30,000 - exhibition - booth

games

Sham Shui Po

Approval by circulation Co-organizers: - Sham Shui Po

District Committee on Promotion of Civic Education

- Sham Shui Po District Office


- quiz game - opening

ceremony - booth

games - seminar


District Council

(DC)



papers)



of the activities

(amount of DC

Funding)


Wong Tai Sin


Organizers: - Wong Tai Sin

District School Liaison Committee

- East Kowloon Youth Society Co-organizers: - Youth Heart - Youth Pulse - Wong Tai Sin

Youth Development Association

- Wong Tai Sin Association of Youth Development

- Kowloon Region Outstanding Students' Association

$250,000 - team quiz competition for primary and secondary schools

- online quiz competition

- parent-child colouring competition

- workshop for the youth

- award presentation ceremony and booth games

- roving exhibition

Yau Tsim Mong


Co-organizers: - Yau Tsim Mong

Organizing Committee on Promotion of Civic Education

- Yau Tsim Mong District Youth Programme Committee

- Yau Tsim Mong District School Liaison Committee

- Yau Tsim Mong Youths Society

- Hong Kong Playground Association Mongkok Integrated Service Centre for Children and Youth

$80,000 - school roving exhibition

- quiz competition

- creative colouring competition


10109

District Council

(DC)



papers)



of the activities

(amount of DC

Funding)


- Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Jockey Club Tai Kok Tsui Integrated Services Centre

- Mong Kok Kai-fong Association Chan Hing Social Service Centre

- The Salvation Army Yaumatei Integrated Service for Young People

- Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong Jordan Centre Jockey Club Integrated Children and Youth Services Centre

- Yang Memorial Methodist Social Service Yau Tsim Mong Integrated Centre for Youth Development



- Tsim Sha Tsui District Kaifong Welfare Association

- Mong Kok Kai Fong Association

- Yaumati Kai Fong Welfare Advancement Association

$40,000 - seminar


District Council

(DC)



papers)



of the activities

(amount of DC

Funding)




- Working Group on Women's Affairs of Yau Tsim Mong DC

$34,000 - seminar



- Association of Industries and Commerce of Yaumatei Tsimshatsui Mongkok

$40,000 - seminar

Organizer: Yau Tsim Mong Organizing Committee on Promotion of Civic Education

$50,000 - interactive drama programme

Islands


Organizer: Islands DC Working Group on Promotion of Basic Law

$250,000 - studies programme

- seminar - quiz

competition - creative

cloze and colouring competition

- roving exhibition

- post-event sharing session


10111

District Council

(DC)



papers)



of the activities

(amount of DC

Funding)


Kwai Tsing


Organizer: Kwai Tsing DC Working Group on Promotion of Basic Law

$250,000 - putting up lamppost buntings

- roadside publicity banners

- display panels

- printing and distribution of Basic Law

North


Co-organizers: - North DC - North District

Office

$250,000 - seminar - roving

exhibition - production

and distribution of publicity materials

- quiz game

Sai Kung

To be discussed in open meeting

Co-organizers: - Sai Kung DC - Sai Kung District

Office

A funding application of $250,000 to be examined by DC

- roving exhibition


- prize quiz - printing and

distribution of Basic Law summary

Sha Tin

Approval by committee by circulation after discussion by WG at open meeting

Organizer: - Working Group on

Promotion of Civic-Mindedness and Youth Affairs under Culture, Sports and Community Development

$250,000 - community roving exhibition

- distribution of publicity materials for Basic Law promotion


District Council

(DC)



papers)



of the activities

(amount of DC

Funding)


Committee of Sha Tin DC

- quiz competition

- easy-mount frame exhibitions at primary and secondary schools

Tai Po

Approval by circulation Organizer: Tai Po District Association

$250,000 - colouring competition

- slogan competition

- quiz competition

- roving exhibition

- seminar - award

presentation ceremony

Tsuen Wan


Co-organizers: - Tsuen Wan DC - Tsuen Wan District

Civic Education Committee

$250,000 - launching ceremony

- roving exhibition and quiz game

- four-grid comics/ slogan/ essay/short play competitions

- seminar

Tuen Mun

Approval by circulation Organizer: Tuen Mun DC



- quiz game


10113

District Council

(DC)



papers)



of the activities

(amount of DC

Funding)


Yuen Long


Co-organizers: - Yuen Long District

Secondary School Heads Association

- Yuen Long District Primary School Heads Association

- Yuen Long District Office

$133,140.60 - exhibition - distribution


- promotion day cum award presentation ceremony (including students' dance performance, quiz competition, drama, and so on)


Secondary School Heads Association


$7,896 - creative comics competition


Primary School Heads Association


$8,098.50 - quiz competition

Organizer: Federation of Yuen Long Youth


Organizer: Tin Shui Wai Women Association

$21,800 - exhibition - carnival - booth

games Organizer: Yuen Long Town Hall Management Committee

$50,000 - exhibition - booth

games - distribution



BILLS First Reading of Bills PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Bill: First Reading. ELECTORAL LEGISLATION (MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS) BILL 2014 CLERK (in Cantonese): Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2014. Bill read the First time and ordered to be set down for Second Reading pursuant to Rule 53(3) of the Rules of Procedure. Second Reading of Bills PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Bills: Second Reading. ELECTORAL LEGISLATION (MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS) BILL 2014 SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I move the Second Reading of the Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2014 (the Bill).

To prepare for the next election cycle, we have reviewed various electoral laws in the light of experience gained from previous elections, with a view to improving the clarity of relevant provisions as well as refining certain statutory procedural requirements. After the review, we propose to introduce some technical amendments to various pieces of electoral legislation through the Bill. These technical amendments are related to the voter registration (VR) arrangements and the electoral procedures for the Legislative Council, District Council (DC) and Rural Representative elections.


10115

The technical amendments proposed in the Bill include:

(1) extension of electoral deadlines in case of inclement weather to compensate for the time lost for completing relevant procedures;

(2) inclusion of electors who have voluntarily requested de-registration

in the omissions list to ensure consistency in the compilation of the provisional register and omissions list;

(3) express provision of an avenue for existing geographical

constituency (GC) electors to register in the DC (second) functional constituency (FC);

(4) removal of the requirement for prior notice of appointment of polling

and counting agents to simplify procedures; (5) requirement for an elector who is entitled to have two or more ballot

papers in a Legislative Council election to cast all his ballot papers at one time, to maintain good order and ensure smooth operation in polling stations;

(6) rationalization of counting procedures at main counting stations; (7) clarification in the law an election agent's authority to act on behalf

of candidate(s); (8) improvements to the provisions about postponement or adjournment

of an election, poll or count, including (i) changing the period within which an election, poll or count, postponed or adjourned due to an occurrence which appears to be a material irregularity relating to it, must be conducted or resumed from "no later than two days from the original day" to "no later than 14 days after the original day", and (ii) specifying that an election, poll or count can be postponed or adjourned when it is likely to be obstructed, disrupted, undermined or seriously affected by a danger to public health; and

(9) other minor or technical amendments which do not affect the

substance of the electoral systems.


In addition, the Bill proposes to advance the statutory deadline for VR application in respect of the GC, FC and Election Committee subsector registers by 14 calendar days, in order to provide 10 more days for the public to inspect the provisional registers and the omissions lists and to make claims and objections; and to provide the Revising Officer with four more days to handle hearings of claims and objections.

The Bill also proposes to change the existing offences on making false or incorrect statements concerning VR from summary offences to indictable offences, in order to remove the six-month time bar for prosecution, to enhance enforcement effectiveness and deterrent effect.

With these remarks, President, I hope that Members will support the Bill so that the various amendments to enhance the VR and electoral procedures can take effect as early as possible. PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2014 be read the Second time.

In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, the debate is now adjourned and the Bill is referred to the House Committee. Resumption of Second Reading Debate on Bills PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): We now resume the Second Reading debate on the Appropriation Bill 2014.

Members have already been informed that after the conclusion of the resumed debate on the Bill and if the motion on the Second Reading is passed, I will adjourn the meeting and any unfinished business on the Agenda, including the Committee stage of the Bill, will stand over until the next Council meeting of 30 April 2014; but if the motion on the Second Reading of the Bill is negatived, the Council will proceed to the next item on the Agenda.

I will now invite the public officers concerned to speak.


10117

APPROPRIATION BILL 2014 Resumption of debate on Second Reading which was moved on 26 February 2014 CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): President, I would like to thank Members for their views on the 2014-2015 Budget. First of all, I will speak on several subjects, and later the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, the Secretary for Education, and the Secretary for Food and Health will respond to views in respect of their respective policy areas, and finally the Financial Secretary will give his concluding remarks. The policy areas of social welfare, education and health that the three Secretaries are in charge of account for almost 60% of the Government's recurrent expenditure in 2014-2015; they also cover the livelihood issues that the public are most concerned about.

As in the past, the Financial Secretary provides in this Budget full resources support for the implementation of the policy initiatives announced by the Chief Executive in the Policy Address. At the same time, with Hong Kong's competitiveness as the theme of the Budget, the Financial Secretary proposes a series of economic strategies to reinforce the competitive edge of many industries in Hong Kong and introduces alleviation measures that will benefit people of various social strata and reduce the pressure on people's livelihood. As this forward-looking Budget will be conducive and beneficial to people's livelihood, it should have the support of both the Legislative Council and the general public.

Members present here are all very familiar with the Government's operation, they are well aware that in the governance cycle, the Policy Address and the Budget are the blueprints of the Government's work in the coming year. In drawing up these two documents, the Government has undergone extensive consultation with the Legislative Council and the community, including gathering the views of various relevant committees, and considering seriously such views by politically appointed officials and colleagues in the Civil Service. The two documents are the fruits of close co-operation between the two parties. Every proposal has been mulled over and considered over and again. As far as policy or resource implications are concerned, each proposal has to be approved by internal gate-keepers which involve the respective policy committees, the resources departments and even the Executive Council before incorporating it into the Policy Address with resources provided by the Budget.


The relevant arrangements of policy formulation and resource allocation are highly systemized and the process is under very strict control. In future, we will also uphold this stringent attitude in implementing policies. As the Financial Secretary has pointed out in the Budget, we have to face squarely the long-term impact of an ageing population and a shrinking workforce on public finances and adopt multi-pronged measures to address the future financial challenges. Citing the words of Prof Francis LUI, we hope that the report of the Working Group on Long-Term Fiscal Planning (Working Group) would be a "self-defeating prediction". We hope that the Working Group's projection and analysis will raise public awareness about the future public finances and turn their vigilance into a driving force to jointly take appropriate measures to prevent the prediction from coming true.

As the Chief Secretary for Administration, I will support the Government's effort in maintaining the sustainability of public finances in a number of areas.

Firstly, the Financial Secretary and I will jointly chair the Government's Star Chamber to determine the priority of the Government's expenditure items in the coming year and decide on the new distribution of resources. We will step up the control of public expenditure through resource allocation exercise to prevent the growth in government expenditure outpacing economic growth on a prolonged basis and ensure proper utilization of resources. However, Members can rest assured that the Government will still endeavour to improve people's livelihood and promote social development, but we will strengthen the discipline of the internal resource allocation system, in particular, we will carefully scrutinize policy proposals that involves huge recurrent expenditure.

Secondly, to maintain the sustainability of public finances, the proper courses to take are to review afresh the work priority, ensure proper utilization of existing resources, take advantage of information technology, explore policy innovation and enhance cost-effectiveness. I will ask various departments to strive harder in the above aspects to satisfy the demand for new services through deployment of existing resources. The Efficiency Unit will, as always, assist all departments in formulating and implementing effective measures to enhance the standard and effectiveness of public services. For example, I have requested the Efficiency Unit to commission consultants to examine the feasibility of providing one-stop service for processing applications for welfare benefits, so as to address the present situation in which members of the public have to apply to different departments for benefits under different welfare schemes. A one-stop approach


10119

can also reduce the duplication of services provided by different departments, thereby enhancing the efficiency of resource utilization.

Thirdly, the Public Engagement Exercise on Population Policy ended in late February. It is envisaged that the workforce will start to shrink in 2018, and this will be the main cause for future deceleration of economic growth. The Working Group projects that between 2014 and 2041, the average annual growth of real GDP will drop to 2.8%, which is lower than the past trend rate of 3.4% recorded since 1997-1998. The deceleration of economic growth will affect government revenue and weaken the Government's financial capacity to cope with an ageing population. The Steering Committee on Population Policy is now gauging public opinion for drawing up medium- and long-term policies to boost the labour participation rate of women and the elderly; improve the quality of local manpower; make good use of foreign workers to address short-term labour shortage faced by individual industries on the premise of not affecting the employment opportunity, wages and interests of local workers; as well as attract more Mainland and overseas talents.

As a matter of fact, the 2014 Policy Address has announced many policies to respond to the proposals in the Consultation Document on Population Policy in respect of improving childcare services and enhancing the status of vocational education. The Civil Service Bureau is now collecting public opinions on extending the service of civil servants, including the introduction of a higher retirement age for new recruits. I have noticed that this proposal has been well received in society upon its announcement. We hope that with the Government taking the lead, other public bodies and even private organizations will also adopt similar measures to extend people's working life as one of the strategies adopted by the community to tackle the challenge posed by an ageing population.

President, the Chief Executive has outlined in the 2014 Policy Address the blueprint for poverty alleviation within the tenure of the incumbent Government. As the Chairperson of the Commission on Poverty (CoP), I am grateful for the support and assistance given by the Financial Secretary in providing the required resources for the poverty alleviation work, which includes giving the financial undertakings needed by certain poverty alleviation measures for this financial year and thereafter. The relevant Policy Bureaux will focus their efforts in the next few years to gradually put into effect all the measures listed in the blueprint.


Members have not said much on the work of poverty alleviation in the debate, which I believe is due to the fact that the CoP has pooled together the wisdom of the masses over the past year to put forward measures which are well-placed and appropriate. The measures have also struck a balance between providing support and assistance for the underprivileged and maintaining prudent financial management. In this connection, as certain Members have criticized the Government incessantly for being indifferent to the wealth disparity in Hong Kong and to the people's plights, I must make a response.

Poverty alleviation is one of the major priorities of work of the incumbent Government. Thanks to the efforts of the CoP, the Government has set an official poverty line; published the Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2012 to enable a better understanding of the poverty problem in Hong Kong; appropriately implemented the Old Age Living Allowance and planning to implement the Low-income Working Family Allowance (LIFA), and will gradually regularize seven of the Community Care Fund programmes for the benefit of needy families and individuals at various social strata, including primary students, children on the Waiting List of Subvented Pre-school Rehabilitation Services, people with severe physical disabilities and recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA). All these measures and the resources injected manifest the commitment and determination of the incumbent Government in alleviating poverty. Besides, the authorities will update the poverty line and the poverty situation year-on-year, so that the public can have a better grasp of the poverty problem in Hong Kong, and can also assess the effectiveness of government intervention to ensure the proper use of public funds.

I am glad that within a mere two months' time, funding applications for several major welfare initiatives have been approved by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council. In February this year, it approved the Labour and Welfare Bureau's injection of $10 billion into the Lotteries Fund to ensure the smooth implementation of the Special Scheme on Privately Owned Sites for Welfare Uses. This Scheme will help us address the shortage of land for welfare uses in the long run. The Finance Committee has also approved the injection of $200 million into the Hong Kong Paralympians Fund to strengthen the support for the disabled athletes. It has also approved the injection of $50 million into the Elderly Academy Development Foundation to promote the establishment of more elderly academies in the community.


10121

At present, we are making preparations for the implementation of the LIFA. Since the announcement of this proposal in the Policy Address, we held two meetings with the CoP to discuss with members the implementation details of the scheme, which is fully endorsed by the CoP. The Labour and Welfare Bureau will maintain liaison with the Subcommittee on Poverty and the Panel on Welfare Services of the Legislative Council. However, as I have pointed out earlier, every major policy initiative introduced in the Policy Address has been examined over and over again, and the allocation of public resources required for the implementation of the initiative is determined after considering the competitive bidding of various bureau and departments. Hence, it is neither appropriate nor suitable for the Government to make amendments at will. The LIFA is a scheme involving $3 billion recurrent expenditure. Apart from helping low-income families improve their living standard, we have to carefully address the impact of this scheme on the labour market and the long-term implication on public finances. Colleagues of the Labour and Welfare Bureau are making their best efforts to submit funding application to the Finance Committee by July this year in the hope that the scheme can be introduced in 2015. We will review the scheme within a period after its implementation.

The Community Care Fund (CCF), which was given an additional injection of $15 billion last year, will continue to help fill the gaps in the existing system and launch more targeted assistance programmes and pilot projects to assist specific groups of people. The CCF is now accepting applications for the One-off Living Subsidy for Low-income Households Not Living in Public Housing and Not Receiving CSSA. So far, over 25 000 households have received the subsidy. The CCF launched an incentive scheme on 1 April this year to encourage able-bodied CSSA recipients to seek employment, become self-reliant and get out of the CSSA net. At the same time, we are also planning a number of new initiatives, including the provision of carer allowance for the elderly and hostel allowance for poor university students, as well as the increment of academic expenses grant for poor students enrolled in recognized self-financing post-secondary programmes. We have already consulted the relevant panels and the Subcommittee on Poverty of the Legislative Council on these initiatives and will launch them as soon as possible.

President, next I would like to address Mr Dennis KWOK's concern about the resources of the Judiciary.


According to the current arrangement, in every financial year, the Judiciary submits to the Government its resource requirements and staffing proposal for the coming year, and the Government will then draw up the operating expenditure envelope and staff establishment ceiling for the Judiciary. The Government will discuss with the Judiciary their needs and will give priority to the Judiciary's resource application in a vigorous and constructive manner. As the Judiciary Administrator pointed out at the special Finance Committee meeting on 31 March, these budgetary arrangements had been working satisfactorily and that the Administration had been helpful in the process.

As a matter of fact, there is an overall increase in the funds allocated to the Judiciary in recent years. Take the past three years as examples. The draft Estimates of 2014-2015 for the Judiciary, amounting to $1,356.6 million, represents an increase of $133.7 million, or 10.9%, over its revised estimates for 2013-2014; and the draft Estimates of 2013-2014 and 2012-2013 also increased by 5.2% and 6.3% respectively as compared with the previous year.

After getting this year's funding, the Judiciary will create seven additional judicial posts at various levels of courts, including the posts of three Justices of Appeal, one Judge of the Court of First Instance, one District Judge and two Magistrates. Besides, the Judiciary will also set up a team consisting of 10 legally qualified persons to give professional support to the judicial education provided by the newly established Hong Kong Judicial Institute and create 59 net additional civil service posts in the Judiciary Administration.

Therefore, Mr KWOK can rest assured that the Government attaches great importance to the Judiciary's resource needs and will endeavour to satisfy them. The SAR Government always respects judicial independence and has repeatedly emphasized that judicial independence is an important cornerstone of Hong Kong society. We will continue to assist the Judiciary to improve in every aspect and provide quality service to both the Court users and the public.

As Mr Dennis KWOK has put forward a number of proposals concerning legal aid services, I would like to report to Members our work and progress in this aspect.

First of all, I have to stress that legal aid is a very important part of the legal system in Hong Kong. Our policy objective is to ensure that no one with reasonable grounds for instituting or defending legal proceedings is prevented


10123

from access to justice because of a lack of means. The means test and merits test stipulated in the Legal Aid Ordinance are the only criteria for approving a legal aid application. In other words, any legal aid applicant who has passed the means test and merits test will be granted legal aid and his application will not be turned down due to the lack of legal aid fund. If necessary, we will seek additional funding in accordance with the established system to ensure no eligible legal aid applications will be turned down.

Over the past years, the Government has conducted comprehensive reviews of various aspects of legal aid service, including financial eligibility limits, coverage and criminal legal aid fees system. With the support of the Legislative Council, we have amended the relevant ordinance to improve legal aid services. We will continue to conduct timely reviews of the relevant services according to our practical experience. As legal aid service is to assist individual aided persons to institute legal proceedings with public funds, we must strike the right balance between providing legal aid to people with limited means and the proper use of public resources.

President, as I have said at the resumption of the Second Reading debate on the Appropriation Bill last year, we respect the exercise by Members of the Legislative Council their powers and functions conferred by Article 73 of the Basic Law to scrutinize the Budget. The SAR Government is definitely very willing to explain and listen to Members' views with regard to our work priorities listed in the Budget. However, I wish to point out two observations that I have during the examination of this year's Budget.

The first issue relates to the questions raised at special Financial Committee meetings. Asking questions is an integral part of the Legislative Council's examination of the Budget. This year, the Government received about 6 700 questions raised at special Finance Committee meetings, an increase of 1 200 questions, or 22% when compared with about 5 500 questions raised last year, and doubled when compared with an average of 3 400 questions raised each year in the last term of the Legislative Council. The number of questions raised by each Member varies greatly. Some Members raised over 600 questions and the average number of questions raised by each Member also increased from 57 in the last term to 97 this year. Out of these 6 000-odd questions, close to half are raised by 11 Members. The Policy Bureau that has received the most questions is the Labour and Welfare Bureau, over 1 200 questions in total; the Development Bureau and the Food and Health Bureau have also received over


800 and 600 questions respectively. Among these several thousand questions, many are similar or duplicated related to the same policy areas. Many questions request for data and information of many years ago, including some that have no direct relation with the Estimates of Expenditure. In the past four weeks, various Policy Bureaux and departments had painstakingly prepared the written answers to these 6 000-odd questions, while trying hard not to disrupt public services. Directors of Bureaux and the relevant officials had also attended 20 special Finance Committee meetings, spending about 30 hours in total to answer further questions raised by Members on the Budget.

While the Government respects Members' right to ask questions on the Budget and it is also our duty to answer their questions, given the remarked increase in the number of questions and the increasing complexity of the questions raised, I am afraid that various Policy Bureaux and departments will need additional manpower and time to answer the questions raised at the special Finance Committee meetings each year in future. In the end, it will inevitably disrupt public services and delay the Legislative Council's handling of issues which are also of concern to Members. On the premise that the Legislative Council's powers and functions conferred by the Basic Law will not be eroded, the Government wishes to review with the Legislative Council this question and answer arrangement has been adopted for years, so as to ensure that the examination process will be more efficient and effective and public resources more properly used. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau will later discuss this subject with the Chairman of the Finance Committee.

Last year, during the examination of the Budget, some Members adopted various means to filibuster, including proposing 710 Committee stage amendments. Although the President of the Legislative Council had combined some debate sessions, the Legislative Council eventually spent an unprecedented 16 days, 133 hours in total, to examine the Budget. The voting on the abovementioned 710 amendments alone had taken up more than 30 hours.

With this experience still fresh in our memory, those few Members play the same old trick again this year, and worse still, they have proposed 1 900-odd amendments, in an attempt to impede the passage of the Budget to achieve some of their aspirations, such as "handing out money to all people" and implementing universal retirement protection. Their act is very disappointing indeed. We have repeatedly reiterated that the formulation of long-term policies must be thoroughly discussed and examined, with extensive consensus forged in society. President, the Government cannot and absolutely will not succumb to the


10125

filibuster trick and introduce policies hastily. The amendments proposed by these Members are mainly to deduct the annual estimate on general departmental expenses of certain Policy Bureaux, or significantly reduce the estimated expenditure for personal emoluments of certain departments, and so on. We find all these amendments trivial and frivolous. If such amendments are considered as a whole, we can see that they are self-contradictory and will lead to unreasonable results. Some amendments will completely halt the operation of some Policy Bureaux and departments. Therefore, other than deliberately stalling and disrupting the normal operation of the Legislative Council, we really fail to see any justifications for those Members to propose the amendments. I believe those Members would not expect that their amendments can be passed. Their purpose is to make use of the Council meeting as a platform to declare their political stance by means of filibustering. However, the Government, the Legislative Council and all people in Hong Kong have to pay a heavy price for their political gesture as the disruption to the operation of the Legislative Council will delay the implementation of various initiatives relating to the people's livelihood and the economy.

Take last year as an example. During the filibuster, seven motions to amend a piece of subsidiary legislation (including one government motion and six Members' motions) and three motions to extend the period of amending the subsidiary legislation became invalid because the motions could not be dealt with before the expiry of the relevant deadlines. The filibuster also stalled the passage of two bills and two motions on the formulation of subsidiary legislation. Moreover, a bill submitted by a Member during that period had to be dealt with later because of the filibuster. Meetings of some panels and subcommittees of the Legislative Council scheduled to be held in April and May last year had to be postponed or cancelled. Soon after the commencement of the filibuster last year, government departments decided that non-urgent motions on amendment of subsidiary legislation would not be submitted to the Legislative Council as far as possible. Hence, the extent of the Legislative Council business being affected might not limit to what I mentioned above.

Regarding the filibuster staged again this year, it may last longer than last year's. It may obstruct the Government's operation, disrupt the agenda of the Legislative Council and affect Hong Kong society, its economy and people's livelihood more seriously, to which I can only express my deepest regret. I believe that Hong Kong people, who are rational and sensible, will not support such act that unnecessarily waste considerable time, manpower and resources.


With these remarks, President, I sincerely urge Members to support the Appropriation Bill 2014. Thank you, President. SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Cantonese): President, I thank Members for their valuable opinions expressed during the Budget debate in the areas of social welfare, labour and manpower development. I will now respond to some of the important points.

The Government's recurrent expenditure on social welfare for 2014-2015 will reach $56.9 billion, accounting for 18.5% of the overall government recurrent expenditure, second only to education. The recurrent expenditure on social welfare will increase by $5 billion, a 9.7% growth as compared with the revised estimated expenditure of $51.9 billion in 2013-2014.

Many Members have expressed concern about the services for the elderly and the waiting time for places in residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs), which we do understand. In the face of an ageing population, the Government adheres to the policy of "ageing in place as the core, institutional care as backup" and endeavours to adopt a new mindset to strengthen the supply of both the hardware and software of elderly care services, as well as provides a diversification of services, so that more choices are available for elders with different physical conditions. We are now taking a two-pronged approach. While endeavouring to increase the supply of elderly care places, we also comprehensively enhance the ancillary facilities to help elders age in place. We attach equal importance to quality and quantity of services.

In 2014-2015, the Government will allocate $336 million to enhance the support and services in the community for the elderly and their carers. It will also allocate an additional amount of $325 million to continue increasing the supply of subvented residential care places for the elderly and enhancing the related services.

In respect of community support, we will provide additional subvention to 211 elderly centres over the territory to recruit more social workers and strengthen the support provided by district elderly community centres to demented elderly and their families. We will also increase the number of Enhanced Home and Community Care Services places by 1 500, an increase of 27%, as well as enhance the content of such services.


10127

As regards residential care places, a multi-pronged approach will be adopted. We will allocate additional resources to provide some 950 subsidized residential care places. We also propose to raise the unit subsidies of all bought places under the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme and the Nursing Home Place Purchase Scheme. We will also launch a pilot scheme to purchase places in two RCHEs run by Hong Kong based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Shenzhen and Zhaoqing to provide an option for elderly persons on the Central Waiting List to choose to live therein.

To provide the elderly with more choice in respect of community care services and also give service providers the incentive to improve their service quality, the Government has launched a Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly to test the funding mode of the "money-follows-the-user" approach. The response of the elderly and their families has been positive toward the Scheme and so far 1 200 eligible elders have participated in the Scheme. Our target as regards the Scheme has been met.

The Government is fully aware of the challenges brought by an ageing population and attaches great importance to planning for the short, medium and long term. The Chief Executive announced in the 2014 Policy Address that the Elderly Commission has been commissioned to draw up an Elderly Services Programme Plan. In the preparation process, the Elderly Commission will take into account the current services provided and those expected to be provided in future, as well as the provision mode of such services. It will also conduct a one-year study on the feasibility of providing residential care service vouchers for the elderly.

In the face of the shortage of land for social welfare uses, we are actively tackling the issue with a new mentality and in a pragmatic manner, including the introduction of the Special Scheme on Privately Owned Sites for Welfare Users (Special Scheme) whereby NGOs owning land are encouraged to make better use of their land resources through redevelopment or expansion on their sites. According to our preliminary estimation, the Scheme will provide about 7 000 residential care places and about 2 000 day care places for the elderly in the next five to 10 years, which will effectively shorten the waiting time and provide a foundation for the future manpower planning.


With the implementation of the series of measures mentioned above, including the enhancement of facilities to help elders age in place and increase the places of residential care service, we believe that it will significantly alleviate the problem of short supply. It should be noted that many elders currently waiting for subsidized RCHEs are receiving subsidized services, such as day care and home care services or are living in private RCHEs paid by the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA).

As regards retirement protection, the Government has all along strived to strengthen and perfect the three pillars under the current system. In this respect, it introduced the Old Age Living Allowance in April 2013, and the number of beneficiaries is about 420 000 at the moment. On the other hand, a consultant team led by Prof Nelson CHOW is conducting studies on retirement protection and the team is expected to submit a report to the Commission on Poverty by the middle of this year.

In respect of rehabilitation, we will comprehensively enhance the rehabilitation and support services provided for disabled persons and their carers. The annual concurrent expenditure on rehabilitation for 2014-2015 will be $5.1 billion, up from $4.3 billion last year, which is an increase of $800 million, or close to 19%.

The incumbent Government will create 6 200 additional rehabilitation places within its tenure, and coupled with those created under the Special Scheme mentioned above, 8 000 additional rehabilitation places will be made available according to our preliminary estimation.

We will also allocate an additional amount of about $152 million to regularize three Community Care Fund programmes for the benefit of grass-roots children with disabilities and persons with severe physical disabilities.

Besides, we will also increase the manpower of day training centres for persons with disabilities, so as to strengthen the care and support for ageing service users and strengthen the community support for persons with disabilities, including to provide additional places of short-term day care and residential care services, enhance sign language interpretation services for the hearing impaired, strengthen the manpower of the District Support Centres for Persons with Disabilities and introduce a case management service approach, enhance the support for self-help groups, as well as improve the Rehabus service.


10129

The Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities (that is, the $2 fare concession scheme) has been well-received since its implementation, which benefits an average of about 700 000 passengers every day. We are planning to extend this scheme to eligible children with disabilities under the age of 12 starting from the latter part of next month, and we will also extend this scheme to green minibuses in phases starting from the first quarter next year.

Children are the pillars of tomorrow's society. We must enhance the nurturing of children and increase our support to underprivileged families. The Government will earmark an additional $300 million for the Child Development Fund in 2014-2015 to ensure the sustainability of the Fund and benefit more underprivileged children.

We will enhance the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project and the After School Care Programme for children aged six to 12. Apart from providing additional places of both schemes, we will raise the age limit of the target recipients of the former scheme from under six to under nine; as regards the latter scheme, we will extend the service hours on weekday evenings, weekends and school holidays in some after-school care centres. We will inject $400 million into the Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged, of which $200 million will be provided on a matching fund basis and dedicated to encouraging cross-sectoral collaboration to launch more after-school learning and support programmes for primary and secondary students from grass-roots families.

President, in respect of the labour affairs, after the statutory minimum wage was raised to $30 per hour on 1 May last year, the overall employment market has remained largely stable and the employment earnings of grass-roots employees have markedly improved. Adopting an evidence-based approach, the Minimum Wage Commission is conducting a new round of review of the minimum wage rate by means of public consultation and data analysis. The Commission is expected to report its recommendation by the end of October this year.

Since the eligibility criteria of the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme was relaxed last year to allow application on an individual basis, over 26 000 individuals have been granted the subsidy, bringing the total number of people benefited from the Scheme to over 71 000. We will conduct a comprehensive review of the Scheme in October this year.


With the support of the Labour Advisory Board (LAB), the Government has introduced the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2014 into the Legislative Council to provide for a paid paternity leave of three days. I wholeheartedly hope that this Bill will be passed by the Legislative Council smoothly so that this family-friendly employment measure can take effect as soon as possible. I am fully aware that there are comments that the length of the proposed paid paternity leave is on the conservative side, but I wish to point out that this arrangement is a consensus forged by the LAB after thorough discussion, and it is also an appropriate starting point. I undertake to conduct a review one year after its implementation.

The Government set up a Standard Working Hours Committee in April last year. Since commencing its work, the Committee has actively and seriously followed up on the Government's policy study on standard working hours, promote various sectors' understanding of this subject and engage then in in-depth discussion, in the hope of forging a consensus. The Committee has set up two working groups to specifically take charge of wide public consultation and comprehensive working hours surveys. The two working groups plan to submit their reports to the Committee to facilitate its discussion and plan on the remaining work.

Many Members are very much concerned about the issue of labour importation. I would like to point out that the Government has not changed the fundamental principle concerning labour importation, that is, on the premise that local workers are accorded priority in employment and their wages and interest are not affected, employers are allowed to import an appropriate number of workers genuinely in short supply in Hong Kong, so as to boost economic development, create more job opportunities and improve the livelihood of local workers, thereby fostering a multi-win situation. In the face of manpower shortage suffered by individual trades and industries, I hope that employers and employees, and various sectors in society will discuss and seek ways to maintain and enhance our economic development and competitiveness in a sincere, open and pragmatic manner.

Some Members have expressed concern over the arrangement of offsetting severance payments and long service payments against the mandatory provident fund. This is a subject of great public concern, which involves the interests of various stakeholders and has an impact on the retirement protection of employees and the operating costs of employers, especially small and medium enterprises.


10131

The Government will listen very carefully to the views of various sectors and consider this issue in a holistic manner.

In respect of manpower development, the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) and Vocational Training Council (VTC) will continue to provide diversified training services and strive to help enhance the skills and competitiveness of the working population to meet the ever changing needs of the employment market. I thank the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council for approving the Government's injection of $15 billion into the ERB to provide long-term support for its operation and work.

The ERB plans to offer 130 000 training programme places and has reserved the resources to provide an additional 40 000 places in 2014-2015.

Moreover, the VTC will also provide as many as 187 400 places for those seeking to pursue vocational training in the 2014-2015 academic year.

President, from my above remarks, Members can see that the Government has attached great importance to the areas of welfare, labour and manpower development. The Government will continue to allocate large quantities of resources to improve and enhance the services in these areas, so as to satisfy the needs of Hong Kong society brought by the change in our demographic structure and foster a caring and inclusive community.

With these remarks, President, I sincerely urge Members to support the Appropriate Bill 2014. Thank you. SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Cantonese): President, during the debate on the Budget, a number of Members have expressed valuable views on education, including education funding, planning, kindergarten education, publicly-funded first-degree places, Chinese Language learning and teaching for non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students. I would like to give a focused response.

All along, the Government has been unshaken in its resolve to invest in education, with a view to strengthening the nurturing of the next generation and promoting the upward mobility of young people. The total provision for education in the draft Estimates for the financial year 2014-2015 is $75.4 billion, of which the recurrent funding is $67.1 billion, which accounts for 21.8% of the


total government funding, the highest amongst other policy areas. There is a 5.3% increase of $3.3 billion when compared with the revised estimate for last year. Since the reunification, the cumulative recurrent education funding has increased by over 80%, and the average annual increase is about 3.5%.

The Government attaches great importance to continued commitment to education, and it has introduced a number of new standing initiatives this year. In 1997-1998, the total recurrent education funding accounted for 78% of the total funding, while the recurrent education funding in 2014-2015 accounts for 89% of the total funding, this is the highest proportion since the reunification.

The Government emphasizes the importance of education planning to nurture talents for the long-term development of our society. The Policy Address and the Budget this year introduced a series of new measures covering kindergarten, primary, secondary, vocational and tertiary education, and it is worth mentioning that the positioning of vocational education in the education system has been re-established. Another focal point is that the Education Bureau will, starting from the new academic year, provide additional recurrent grants to public schools with senior secondary forms to strengthen "career planning" education. We hope that young people would be successful in their study and get prepared in school to pursue their career dream and interest, so that they can, in the light of their abilities, conditions and aspirations, apply what they have learnt after leaving school.

Given the new measures, it is expected that in 2014-2015, the unit cost of aided primary and secondary schools will respectively increase to $60,000 and $51,000, an increase of 11% and 7% respectively as compared with last year. The unit cost of aided secondary schools has increased by over 46% as compared to $41,000 in 2009-2010 when the New Senior Secondary (NSS) academic structure was introduced.

In recent years, the student-teacher ratio in public schools is also a matter of concern. I am pleased to report that this ratio has continuously declined with better quality of education resulted. The ratio in secondary and primary schools has respectively fallen from 18 and 18.4 in 2005-2006 to 15.5 and 15.3 in 2010-2011. If the Budget is passed, the estimated ratios for 2014-2015 would be 12.9 and 13.9, which evidently reflects the Government's indisputable commitment to education.


10133

In the course of the debate, many Members have expressed concerned about the development of kindergarten education. Let me emphasize that the major objective of the current Government in education is to implement 15-year free education in a practicable manner. The Committee on Free Kindergarten Education (the Committee) was just established a year ago, but the Committee and its five working groups have already held more than 30 meetings to actively study in-depth the issues of concern to the industry and the community. The Committee submitted a progress report to the Education Bureau in late December 2013 and proposed a series of short-term measures to support the kindergarten sector. These are also the requests and expectations of the sector.

The Policy Address 2014 has accepted the Committee's recommendations, which include increasing the voucher subsidy of the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme by $2,500 per year, the total amount increased in two years is $5,000, an increase of 28.6%, and the amount of additional recurrent funding involved amounts to about $900 million. I am confident that, under the leadership of Dr Moses CHENG, the Committee will, as always, continue to have in-depth discussions of all relevant issues, maintain close contacts with the industry and make timely reports of the progress. The Committee is expected to submit a final report and recommendations to the Education Bureau in the middle of next year.

We understand that the issues of particular concern to Members and the industry include the needs of kindergartens with different modes of operation, remuneration of kindergarten teachers, rental of school premises, as well as the need the meet diversity learning. However, the challenges faced by different types of kindergartens differ. For example, for whole-day kindergartens which have been discussed more often in recent days, they have to face the problem of long working hours of teachers, but unlike other kindergartens, they do not have high rental problem. Therefore, the Committee must consider how to cater for the diverse needs of different types of kindergartens. In fact, the problems are very complicated and interrelated. The Committee will certainly continue to actively listen to the views of all parties and make specific recommendations on the blueprint for pragmatic, sustainable and professional development of free kindergarten education.

Another important issue is publicly funded undergraduate programmes. A number of Members have expressed concerns about the number of first-degree places. At present, the number of approved first-year students attending


undergraduate programmes funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) is 15 000, and the senior-year articulated places will increase to 4 000. Calculating on this basis, the number of publicly-funded undergraduate places may reach 19 000.

In 2013-2014, the percentage of students enrolled in publicly funded undergraduate programmes accounted for 22.7% of school-age students. Together with more than 12 500 students admitted to the self-financing first year and senior year top-up undergraduate programmes, 38.4% of school-age students are currently enrolled in undergraduate programmes. If sub-degree programmes are also taken into account, the objective of having 70% of young people attending post-secondary programmes has been reached at an earlier time than the estimate made earlier of reaching this objective in 2015-2016.

Furthermore, as stated in the Policy Address this year, the Government will provide students with more opportunities for higher education in various ways. From the 2015-2016 academic year, the number of senior-year articulation places in UGC-funded institutions will further increase by 1 000 to 5 000. The Government will subsidize students to pursue self-financing undergraduate programmes in selected disciplines to meet Hong Kong's manpower needs. Scholarship and grant schemes will be implemented to support local students to pursue studies outside Hong Kong.

With the implementation of these measures, an additional 2 100 publicly funded places will be provided for Hong Kong students to attend undergraduate programmes in Hong Kong and overseas. As the number of secondary school graduates will continue to drop from 71 000 in the 2013-2014 school year to 45 000 in the 2021-2022 school year, if the percentage of Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) candidates who meet the minimum university admission requirement of "3322" at that time is similar to the current percentage, there will be more first-year-first-degree places than the number of students who meet the minimum university admission requirement. Therefore, we must attach importance to both the quality and quantity of university education and prudently plan for the future development of higher education, in order to ensure that the community has confidence in university graduates.

Regarding Chinese Language learning and teaching for NCS students, starting from the 2014-2015 school year, a provision of $200 million will be earmarked on an annual basis to step up the education support for NCS students


10135

to facilitate their effective learning of the Chinese language and create an inclusive learning environment in schools to help them integrate into society. In respect of the curriculum, we will implement a Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework (Learning Framework) for ethnic minority students in primary and secondary schools. We will provide supporting materials and a clear set of expected learning outcomes for NCS students at different learning stages, so as to address the learning difficulties of NCS students as a second language learner. We will progressively help NCS students bridge over to mainstream Chinese Language classes and sit the HKDSE. The Learning Framework is a "Chinese language as the second language" curriculum for teaching.

In addition, we will also provide, in stages, an Applied Learning (Chinese) subject at senior secondary levels, as an alternative for NCS students intending to acquire Chinese language qualifications. The subject will be pegged at Qualifications Framework (QF) Levels 1-3, and the results will be recorded on the HKDSE Certificate. We are working with stakeholders to ensure that these recognized qualifications can benefit the future employment and studies of NCS students. As for NCS students who have graduated from secondary school, they will also benefit from the Workplace Chinese Language Curriculum that we are developing. The curriculum will be recognized under the QF, and will help enhance students' competitiveness in employment.

In line with the implementation of the Learning Framework, we will strengthen the corresponding supporting measures. This is a matter of concern to Members. The supporting measures mainly include three aspects: First, we will strengthen teacher training through the Professional Enhancement Grant Scheme, to enhance Chinese teachers' professional capability in teaching Chinese as a second language; second, we will strengthen our support for schools in providing NCS students with intensive Chinese learning and create an inclusive learning environment in schools; and third, we will provide professional support services to schools. We will invite experts to develop a study framework for assessing the effectiveness of the measures for supporting NCS students, to review the quality of support services and constantly improve the relevant measures.

Since the announcement of the Policy Address and the Budget this year, Members and various sectors of the community (including the education sector) generally recognize the new initiatives in education. I thank all sectors for their


support of the Education Bureau and I promise to maintain close contact with the sector, with a view to implementing new policies for the benefits of the public and I will continue to endeavour to enhance the overall quality of education in Hong Kong.

With these remarks, President, I implore Members to support the Appropriation Bill 2014. Thank you, President. SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, healthcare and hygiene are closely related to people's living and are matters of public concern. The healthcare system of Hong Kong runs on a dual-track basis encompassing both public and private elements, with the public healthcare sector being the core. The Government has been actively enhancing the quality and quantity of the public healthcare system, so as to meet the service demand as a result of population growth and demographic changes and further improve the quality of healthcare services.

In 2014-2015, the estimated government expenditure on healthcare and hygiene is $52.4 billion, which amounts to 17% of the Government's total recurrent expenditure and represents an increase of $2.6 billion over last year. This year, the Hospital Authority (HA) will provide over 200 additional general hospital beds, increase the quota for consultations at general out-patient clinics in Kowloon East Cluster, Kowloon West Cluster and New Territories West Cluster by 32 000 and extend service hours of hospital dispensaries in phases.

However, in view of an ageing population and increasing service demand from the public, the public healthcare system is facing considerable pressure. Problems such as manpower shortage, inadequate spaces, long waiting time, resource management, and so on must be actively addressed and improved. The Hospital Authority Review Steering Committee, set up by the Government in August 2013, is now reviewing HA's management and cluster arrangement, resource allocation, service levels, overall cost effectiveness, and so on. The Committee has visited seven clusters and consulted the relevant stakeholders from patients' groups, medical, nursing and allied health professional groups. It is now analysing the views collected and conducting more detailed study and discussion on topics which front-line officers and the public are relatively more concerned about, such as manpower and resource management.


10137

Many Members are concerned about the issue of healthcare manpower. In the face of the current manpower shortage problem in the public healthcare sector, the HA will still recruit part-time doctors and overseas doctors to practise with limited registration in Hong Kong. As at the end of February 2014, the HA recruited 317 part-time doctors. The number of their working hours is equivalent to the total number of working hours of about 122 full-time doctors. Also, we are conducting a strategic study on a comprehensive assessment of manpower requirements in different healthcare professions. We are working with the Medical Council of Hong Kong on refining the arrangements for the licensing examination for overseas medical graduates, including increasing the examination sitting to twice a year and considering more flexibility in internship arrangements, in order to encourage qualified overseas doctors to practise in Hong Kong. We will make public in phases later this year the review results of different grades, so as to allow public discussion to facilitate the next triennial planning exercise of the University Grants Committee.

Regarding facilities, some Members are concerned whether the public healthcare infrastructure is able to meet the demand arising from population development and ageing. We had made a long-term plan for the development of public hospitals and had briefly introduced the blueprint to the Panel on Health Services of the Legislative Council in July 2013. The Government will make continuous efforts to invest more resources for expanding our public healthcare infrastructure, building new hospitals and improving existing hospital facilities. The HA will also optimize the one-off grant of $13 billion approved by the Legislative Council at the end of last year for more intensive minor works projects for the next decade in order to improve the facilities and environment of existing hospitals and clinics for more services. We will soon seek funding approval of the Legislative Council for the redevelopment of Queen Mary Hospital and Kwai Chung Hospital and expansion of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Headquarters. I call on Members to support these funding proposals.

President, according to the projection made by the Working Group on Long-Term Fiscal Planning, judging from the current service level and considering the future changes in population structure, the recurrent expenditure on health services may increase from 2.4% of nominal Gross Domestic Product in 2014-2015 to 4% of the same in 2041-2042. That means an increase from $52.4 billion to over $280 billion in dollar terms at a rate of 6.5% a year.


Apart from expanding service capacity by increasing manpower and enhancing equipment and facilities, we have to work for better co-operation between the public and private healthcare sectors as well, so as to encourage people who are suitable and are willing to use private healthcare services on the one hand and reduce pressure on the public healthcare sector on the other, thereby striving for the balanced development between the public and private sectors under the dual-track system.

Apart from introducing directly different public-private partnership programmes, such as the upcoming General Outpatient Clinic Public-Private Partnership Programme which enables eligible patients having hypertension to receive up to 10 consultations with private doctors in a year covering both chronic and acute care, we are also working on the infrastructure and the other aspects for promoting information sharing between the public and private sectors. As regards information technology facilities for healthcare provision, we are developing a territory-wide Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS) facilitating the sharing of patients' complete personal health records among healthcare providers in the public or private sectors alike. We will soon introduce the Bill on eHRSS into the Legislative Council. Subject to the approval of the Bill, we expect to launch the eHRSS by the end of 2014.

President, many Members are concerned about the arrangement announced earlier by the Financial Secretary about earmarking $50 billion in support of the healthcare reform. To ensure a healthy and sustainable development of Hong Kong's healthcare system, the Voluntary Health Protection Scheme (VHPS) is an important measure that strikes a balance between the public and private healthcare sectors. We are formulating the relevant implementation proposals based on the consultants' advice, overseas experience and local conditions, including introduction of the Minimum Requirements to all individual-based indemnity hospital insurance products, recommendations on the key components, supervisory and institutional frameworks of the VHPS standard plans and the various feasible options for provision of public subsidies or financial incentives for implementing the VHPS, including provision of tax incentives. We will shortly consult the public on the details of the VHPS.

With respect to private hospital development, following the award of a site at Wong Chuk Hang for private hospital development in March 2013, we are considering various private hospital development and expansion proposals put forward by different organizations. Most of the proposals are raised by


10139

non-profit making bodies (including universities) with a view to providing suitable and affordable private healthcare services for the middle class. We will assess the needs of the community in formulating the way forward for the overall development of private hospitals.

On reviewing the regulatory regime for private healthcare facilities, we established a Steering Committee on Review of the Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities in 2012 to study how to strengthen regulatory standards over private healthcare facilities. The review will soon be completed. The Steering Committee has already set out a list of high-risk cosmetic procedures that should be performed by registered medical practitioners or dentists. It will soon put forward recommendations on regulation of private hospitals and ambulatory medical centres.

I would like to thank Members for supporting the proposals of doubling the annual healthcare voucher amount for the elderly to $2,000 and initiating the study and implementation of a pilot programme to subsidize colorectal cancer screening for specific age groups. I have also heard about some Members' views on improving dental care service for the elderly. At present, as elderly healthcare vouchers can be used for getting dental services, we have reservation on the proposal of introducing dental care service vouchers on top of elderly healthcare vouchers. We have just announced that the Pilot Project on Outreach Primary Dental Care Services for the Elderly in Residential Care Homes and Day Care Centres will be regularized. Also, the Community Care Fund has been proactively studying how to expand the existing dental care service for the elderly. We will assess the effectiveness of such programmes and determine the way forward.

On the front of environmental hygiene, several Members are concerned about the issue of columbaria niches. In October 2013, we reported to the Panel on the progress made with regard to the supply of public niches and the proposed enactment of legislation to regulate private columbaria. We aim to introduce the relevant bill into the Legislative Council in the second quarter of this year. Meanwhile, we are also proactively taking forward a number of public columbarium works projects in promoting the district-based development mode. I would like to call on different political parties and their district organizations to give as much support to the projects as possible during our consultation with the relevant District Councils, so that these facilities needed by local communities can be commissioned as early as possible.


President, lastly, I would like to talk about tobacco control. The Government has been taking a progressive and multi-pronged approach in its tobacco control policies. Studies by the World Health Organization and others point out that increasing tobacco duty is an effective means of tobacco control. So, this Budget proposes to increase the duty on cigarettes by 20 cents per stick. We will continue to strengthen smoking cessation services, as well as publicity (targeting female and young smokers in particular) and law enforcement on tobacco control. The Customs and Excise Department will step up enforcement against different forms of illicit cigarette trading. Earlier, the Bills Committee of the Legislative Council completed its scrutiny of the Bill, and arrangement on resumption of Second Reading is now made. I implore Members to support the passage of the proposal with a view to protecting public health.

With these remarks, President, I hope Members will support the Appropriation Bill 2014. FINANCIAL SECRETARY (in Cantonese): President, first of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Honourable Members and the public for their valuable views on this year's Budget.

The Chief Secretary for Administration and three Secretaries have just responded in detail to the views on individual policy areas. To conclude, I shall now give a brief account of the latest economic situation before addressing a number of issues of concern.

According to the forecast made by the International Monetary Fund early this month, global economic growth this year is estimated at 3.6%, exceeding last year's 3%. The growth rate for advanced economies is estimated to reach 2.2%, the highest since 2010. As for developing regions in Asia, the estimated growth rate is 6.7%, a marginal increase over last year's 6.5%.

The global economic situation is still shrouded by a multitude of uncertainties, stemming mainly from the United States Federal Reserve Board's asset purchase tapering and its impact on emerging markets. With the upcoming of the interest rate up-cycle, there is the likelihood of more volatile market expectations about interest rates.

Despite improvements in the United States and European economies, there is no sign of pick-up in demand, leading to a rather sluggish performance of our


10141

merchandise exports. Hong Kong's merchandise exports registered a year-on-year decline of 1.7% in real terms in the first two months of this year.

Domestically, consumer and business sentiments generally stay positive. Our labour market remains in a state of full employment, and the latest unemployment rate stands at 3.1%, the lowest in 16 years. Total employment in 2013 increased by over 80 000, and people's income keeps improving.

The sanguine job conditions and sustained growth in the number of inbound visitors have provided support to our consumer market. Retail sales recorded a year-on-year increase of 7.9% in the first two months of this year. Investment activities in the private sector will still be rather volatile, but the overall investment spending will be underpinned by the major infrastructure projects in full swing.

I forecast a real growth rate of 3% to 4% in the local economy this year, a slight improvement from last year's 2.9%. I shall keep in view the implications of global economic and geopolitical developments, and act accordingly as appropriate.

Local inflation continued to trend down, with the underlying consumer price inflation easing from an average of 5.3% in 2011 and 4.7% in 2012 to 4% in 2013.

The underlying inflation rate in the first two months of this year averaged 4%, reflecting the rather modest external price pressures, and the gradual feed-through effect of the notable milder increases in fresh-letting rentals last year on consumer price inflation.

The average underlying inflation rate for the year as a whole is forecast to further decline to 3.7%. I shall continue to keep a close watch on the inflation trend and its impact on low-income families.

The Government's efforts in land supply are producing results. A total of 71 000 residential flats will be provided in the coming three to four years.

Over the past year, the average number of monthly residential property transactions was 3 800 (as at March 2014), far much lower than the 6 800 in 2012. The rising trend in property prices notably subdued over the same period,


and there was even a slight drop in property prices towards the end of last year. The overall property prices in this February fell by 0.9% when compared with the peak in last August.

While the property market has slightly cooled off, we must not lose sight of the risk of a bubble. Overall property prices in this February rose by a cumulative 133% over the trough in 2008. The affordability ratio, that is, the ratio of mortgage payment to household income, still stood high at 54% in the fourth quarter of last year as compared to the long-term average of 48%. This indicates that property prices are still out of tune with the economic situation and people's affordability.

I am thankful that this Council passed the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2012 more than a month ago. The introduction of the Buyer's Stamp Duty implies a windfall and a larger surplus this year for the Government.

I hope that Members will complete the scrutiny of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2013 and pass it as soon as possible for the implementation of the doubling of the ad valorem stamp duty rates. The passage of the Bill is also necessary for allowing me to introduce appropriate responsive measures and make timely adjustments.

The Working Group on Long-Term Fiscal Planning (the Working Group) published its report in early March, providing a scientific and objective basis for our next move. According to the Working Group, if government expenditure keeps growing and outpacing economic and revenue growth amid an ageing population and slower economic growth, a structural deficit would be inevitable.

The Government's financial position is still healthy in the short term, allowing us to implement the committed initiatives. In the next two to three decades, our economy will continue to have a positive growth, yet at a slackening pace. The Government's revenue will rise with the growth pace of our economy. This implies that we can still afford an increase in the overall government expenditure, so long as the growth in public expenditure is commensurate with that of the economy and government revenue. The Government will proactively follow up the Working Group's recommendations to cope with the sustained challenges posed by an ageing population to public finances.


10143

Heeding the warning issued by the Working Group in its report, I hope that the community will now focus on discussing how to prevent the growth of government expenditure from continuously outpacing that of government revenue and the economy.

As a responsible government, we shall not subject Hong Kong to any fiscal crisis. To avoid structural deficit, the Government must take a multi-pronged approach. Apart from developing our economy, it should also work on its expenditure, revenue and savings. As a first step, we should start from within the Government.

The Working Group recommends that public expenditure be controlled at 20% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or a comparable level. I agree that this is a suitable level since it can help maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness and ensure that the Government will not over-consume the limited social resources which may impede the development of the private sector. More importantly, government revenue does not generally exceed 20% of GDP.

To uphold the principle of "keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues" as laid down by the Basic Law and maintain fiscal stability, the Government will stay within this target. Of course, the 20% mark should be an indicator … (Holding a pile of "hell notes", Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung left his seat and walked towards the Financial Secretary) PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Financial Secretary, please hold on. Mr LEUNG Kwok-him, go back to your seat immediately. MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Since you like the "Future Fund" so much … PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, leave the Chamber immediately!


MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): … you can have all these, each note is worth $100 billion … (As Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung hurled the "hell notes" at the Financial Secretary, security staff came forward to stop him) PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Leave the Chamber immediately! MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): If you fork out $50 billion, we will stop filibustering! PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, leave the Chamber immediately! (Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung continued hurling the "hell notes" at the Financial Secretary and shouted aloud. The Clerk and security staff stopped Mr LEUNG from going near the Financial Secretary and assisted him in leaving the Chamber) PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): The meeting is now suspended. 12.10 pm Meeting suspended. (While the meeting was suspended, Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung left the Chamber with the assistance of the Clerk and security staff) 12.14 pm Council then resumed.


10145

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Financial Secretary, please continue. FINANCIAL SECRETARY (in Cantonese): President, the Working Group recommends that public expenditure be controlled at 20% of GDP or a comparable level. I agree that this is a suitable level since it can help maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness and ensure that the Government will not over-consume the limited social resources which may impede the development of the private sector. More importantly, government revenue does not generally exceed 20% of GDP.

To uphold the principle of "keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues" as laid down by the Basic Law and maintain fiscal stability, the Government will stay within this target. Of course, the 20% mark should be an indicator for fiscal management rather than a rigid target. Government expenditure growth should be allowed to exceed 20% in individual financial years if necessary.

To contain our expenditure growth, the Government will adopt eight specific measures as follows:

(1) In its internal resource allocation exercises, the Government will strive to contain overall government expenditure growth within the forecast nominal GDP growth rates over the medium term. According to this year's medium range forecast, the growth of government expenditure should be around 5.5% per annum between 2015 and 2018;

(2) we shall request all government departments to adjust service

priorities and re-engineer work procedures to save recurrent expenditure in the coming two to three financial years. The savings will be used to provide new and more targeted services;

(3) we shall strengthen the mechanism of financial impact assessment.

Major new policies proposed should be assessed for their fiscal sustainability for 10 years or longer term before introduction;

(4) we shall actively identify individual policy areas for fundamental

expenditure review to achieve the aim of doing more with less by


streamlining procedures or consolidating potentially redundant services;

(5) we shall consider allocating funding that straddles different financial

years to suitable subvented organisations. This will facilitate medium-term service planning and resource deployment of the organisations, and save the administrative work relating to the submission and vetting of applications every year;

(6) we shall review procurement procedures and related rules, simplify

the provisions of tender documents and reduce unnecessary assessment criteria so as to enhance the efficiency of government procurement without compromising fair competition;

(7) the Government will adjust the implementation schedules of new

works projects as appropriate to prevent an over-concentration of works which will push up the construction cost. We shall exercise tighter cost control over the various stages of projects such as planning, design, tendering and construction to avoid overspending; and

(8) we shall continue to allocate resources to promote the economy and

prepare the community for the ageing population. For better resource allocation and expenditure planning for capital works projects in areas such as developing land, enhancing healthcare and elderly facilities, and improving the environment, the departments concerned will draw up 10-year programmes for major projects to facilitate early preparation in this respect.

To preserve our revenue, we shall ensure that all the money receivable is

duly received by the Government in the first place. For example, to prevent revenue loss, the departments concerned will step up tax enforcement to combat tax evasion and avoidance. To stabilize the revenue base, all departments will continue to review their fees and charges according to the user-pay principle.

In the medium to long term, we need to explore ways to broaden the revenue base. The Government has conducted a number of reviews on tax policies over the past years. For example, set up in 2000, the Advisory


10147

Committee on New Broad-based Taxes conducted vast amounts of research on how to broaden tax bases and gauged public views on the issue. Later, in 2006, it launched an extensive consultation on the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax. At that juncture, the public did not accept the introduction of such a new tax by the Government. Despite so, members of the community generally agreed during the consultation process that the problems of our narrow tax base should be addressed. They even put forward other options for broadening the revenue base, but did not have any clear inclinations or mainstream views as to which option the Government should adopt.

Since the Working Group has alerted us to the long-term fiscal challenges, I am obliged to ensure that the Government will address the fundamental issue of broadening the revenue base at a suitable time in future. After the measures to contain expenditure growth have been finalized, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau will revisit previous research and analysis findings and consultation results to explore the ways to push forward the tax review, taking into account the Working Group's projections.

I must emphasise that the Government, at the moment, does not have any plan to introduce new taxes to increase revenue. In principle, we keep an open mind on any new taxes.

However, in considering the various options on broadening tax revenue in future, we shall have regard to whether the option is effective in broadening the revenue base; fair and in line with the "capacity to pay" principle; and in line with our simple and low tax system. I will keep the community informed of our views and proposals in due course.

On the savings side, the Working Group recommends that we save for the future having regard to the experience of other economies. Specifically, we can set up a sort of "Future Fund" scheme so that a contingency fund would be available for the next generation should the Government find itself in any fiscal predicament. Given its non-recurrent nature, the "Future Fund" should not be used on recurrent expenditure.

The recommendation of setting up a "Future Fund" calls for public discussion and consideration. After the passage of the Appropriation Bill 2014 (the Appropriation Bill), I shall task the Working Group to conduct further


in-depth studies on the recommendation and put forward specific proposals. I shall also request the Working Group to explore ways to manage government assets in a more proactive and effective manner.

In the face of an ageing population, we shall address the resultant long-term fiscal challenges not only through the management of public finances, but also by maintaining Hong Kong's economic vibrancy, which is a key element in raising government revenue.

The Hong Kong economy operates on market principles and has many competitive advantages, including free flows of information and capital, a simple and low tax regime, provision of an excellent infrastructure and judicial independence. It is incumbent upon the Government to maintain a favourable business environment so that enterprises can capitalize on Hong Kong's tenacity and entrepreneurship for further business growth. We shall also strengthen G2G ties to open up more markets for enterprises.

On the development of industries, the four pillar industries employ almost half of the total labour force of Hong Kong and contribute close to 60% of GDP. To help develop a high value-added and knowledge-based economy, we shall promote innovation and technology industries and raise the productivity of all sectors. In parallel, we shall nurture with patience other new industries which have potential to foster economic diversification.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the mainstay of our economy and employment market. They make up over 90% of local enterprises and take on 1.3 million employees. We attach great importance to the operating environment of SMEs, and we shall continue to lend support to these enterprises in financing, market expansion, brand building and productivity enhancement.

Because of land and manpower constraints, the Government has put in place various measures to increase land supply for commercial and residential uses, and strengthen our human capital in terms of quantity and quality by enhancing the training of local talent and attracting talented people from overseas. Furthermore, the Government will continue to develop our infrastructure to bolster the flow of people, goods, capital and information, thereby reinforcing our position as an international hub.


10149

Since the announcement of the Budget, one-off relief measures have once again become a focus of concern. In fact, expenditure on this year's counter-cyclical measures accounts for only 5% of total government expenditure, whereas recurrent expenditure takes up 75%. This 1:15 ratio shows the obvious difference in importance between the two.

Over the years, the Government has been making use of recurrent measures to promote social development and improve people's livelihood. In this year's Budget, I have increased recurrent expenditure by 7.8%, bringing the total recurrent expenditure above the $300 billion level for the first time.

These additional resources will be used to provide new services and enhance existing services to meet the needs of all walks of life. Education, healthcare and social welfare together account for almost 60% of recurrent government expenditure. In the coming year, recurrent expenditure on these three areas will exceed $170 billion, an increase of 6.7% over the previous year.

President, with competitiveness as the theme of this year's Budget, I hope that the wide-ranging measures it proposes will help us consolidate Hong Kong's position as an international hub, move our economy up the value-added chain, overcome the development constraints and add impetus to the Hong Kong economy.

At the same time, we must also respond to the long-term fiscal challenges brought by an ageing population. It is therefore all the more important for us to maintain strict fiscal discipline as stipulated in Article 107 of the Basic Law by keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up the budget, striving to achieve a fiscal balance and keeping the budget commensurate with the growth rate of GDP.

Structural fiscal problems are looming on the horizon. We must make longer-term planning to ensure that our policies and measures will be implemented in a way such that we shall be able to maintain fiscal sustainability and remain competitive.

This year, as many as 1 900-odd amendments have been proposed by Members. The Government will make every effort to support this Council in scrutinizing the Budget for its early passage.


The funds on account totalling $78.7 billion previously authorized by the Legislative Council are sufficient to meet the overall expenditure before the end of May. However, if the Appropriation Bill is not secured earlier, government departments and the public sector will begin to see resources running out in early June and the delivery of public services cannot be maintained. In addition, the Budget initiatives cannot be taken forward without the passage of the Appropriation Bill.

To avoid disruption to public services, maintain the Government's normal operation, and facilitate prompt implementation of the Budget initiatives, I earnestly seek Members' support for an early passage of the Appropriation Bill in the overall interests of the community.

President, I so submit. PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now put the question to you and that is: That the Appropriation Bill 2014 be read the Second time. Will those in favour please raise their hands? (Members raised their hands) PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Those against please raise their hands. (Members raised their hands.) Mr Albert CHAN rose to claim a division. PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Albert CHAN has claimed a division. The division bell will ring for five minutes. MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): "Refund" $10,000!


10151

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Albert CHAN, sit down immediately and stop yelling. PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will Members please proceed to vote. PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will Members please check their votes. If there are no queries, voting shall now stop and the result will be displayed. Mr CHAN Kam-lam, Dr LAU Wong-fat, Mr TAM Yiu-chung, Mr Abraham SHEK, Mr Tommy CHEUNG, Mr Vincent FANG, Mr WONG Kwok-hing, Mr Jeffrey LAM, Mr Andrew LEUNG, Mr WONG Ting-kwong, Ms Starry LEE, Dr LAM Tai-fai, Mr CHAN Hak-kan, Mr CHAN Kin-por, Dr Priscilla LEUNG, Dr LEUNG Ka-lau, Mr WONG Kwok-kin, Mr IP Kwok-him, Mrs Regina IP, Mr Paul TSE, Mr Michael TIEN, Mr James TIEN, Mr NG Leung-sing, Mr Steven HO, Mr Frankie YICK, Mr YIU Si-wing, Mr MA Fung-kwok, Mr Charles Peter MOK, Mr CHAN Han-pan, Miss CHAN Yuen-han, Mr LEUNG Che-cheung, Mr Kenneth LEUNG, Miss Alice MAK, Mr KWOK Wai-keung, Mr Christopher CHEUNG, Dr Elizabeth QUAT, Mr Martin LIAO, Mr POON Siu-ping, Mr TANG Ka-piu, Dr CHIANG Lai-wan, Ir Dr LO Wai-kwok, Mr CHUNG Kwok-pan, Mr Christopher CHUNG and Mr Tony TSE voted for the motion. Mr LEE Cheuk-yan, Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung, Mr Frederick FUNG, Mr Ronny TONG, Ms Cyd HO, Mr CHEUNG Kwok-che, Mr Alan LEONG, Mr Albert CHAN, Mr WONG Yuk-man, Ms Claudia MO, Mr Gary FAN, Mr CHAN Chi-chuen, Dr KWOK Ka-ki, Mr Dennis KWOK and Dr Fernando CHEUNG voted against the motion. Mr Albert HO, Mr James TO, Ms Emily LAU, Prof Joseph LEE, Mr SIN Chung-kai and Dr Helena WONG abstained. THE PRESIDENT, Mr Jasper TSANG, did not cast any vote.


THE PRESIDENT announced that there were 66 Members present, 44 were in favour of the motion, 15 against it and six abstained. Since the question was agreed by a majority of the Members present, he therefore declared that the motion was passed. CLERK (in Cantonese): Appropriation Bill 2014. NEXT MEETING PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now adjourn the Council until 11 am on Wednesday 30 April 2014. Adjourned accordingly at twenty-eight minutes to One o'clock.

OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Wednesday, 16 April … › sc › › yr13...LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─...

Documents

Transcript of OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Wednesday, 16 April … › sc › › yr13...LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─...