A 04/05-19

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 23 February 2005 at 2:30pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
Air Transport (Licensing of Air Services) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2004 (Commencement) Notice 200517/2005


Other Papers

1.No.56-Hong Kong Arts Development Council
Annual Report 2003-2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

2.No.57-The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Annual Report 2003-2004 and the Financial Statements and Auditor's Report for the year ended 30 June 2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

3.No.58-Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund Annual Report for the period from 1 September 2003 to 31 August 2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

4.No.59-Equal Opportunities Commission Annual Report 2003/04
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

5.No.60-Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Director of Audit's Report and Trustee's Report on the Administration of the Education Scholarships Fund for the year ending 31 August 2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

6.No.61-Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Reports of the Director of Audit on the Accounts of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the year ended 31 March 2004 and the Results of Value for Money Audits (Report No. 43)
(February 2005 - P.A.C. Report No. 43)
(to be presented by Dr Hon Philip WONG, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, who will address the Council)

II. Questions

1. Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to ask:(Translation)

It has been reported that the current six government crematoria in Hong Kong with 30 cremators for handling up to 144 bodies per day cannot cope with the public demand for cremating their deceased relatives and friends. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the shortest, longest and average waiting time for cremating bodies at present;

    (b)of the details of the existing booking mechanism for cremation of bodies; whether there are criteria for setting priority; and whether the public could, according to their own needs, apply to the authorities for priority for cremating their deceased relatives and friends; and

    (c)whether the current utilization of the above cremators has exceeded their capacity; if so, of the measures taken by the authorities to relieve the workload?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

2. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask:(Translation)

I have recently received complaints about poor air quality at Platforms 5 and 6 of the Hung Hom Station, for the use of through trains some of which are diesel trains from the Mainland. I understand that currently there is no legislation in Hong Kong governing the air quality in public transport facilities such as railways and air-conditioned buses. On the other hand, the Environmental Protection Department published the "Practice Note for Managing Air Quality in Air-conditioned Public Transport Facilities" in November 2003. The Practice Note sets the air quality objectives for such facilities and provides that the railway corporations should monitor 1-hour average concentration of carbon dioxide during normal operations at peak hours at least once a year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as the diesel trains generate a large volume of emissions when starting to run, whether it knows if the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") monitors if the air quality at the above station platforms meets the relevant air quality objectives at the time when the diesel trains start to run; if it does, of the monitoring results; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)as the air quality at the open platforms of the Hung Hom Station may vary with the climate in the four seasons and may also change due to any works or modifications undertaken in the Station, whether it knows if KCRC will increase the frequency of air quality inspections so as to ensure that the air quality at the platforms of the Station is persistently kept to a good standard; and

    (c)whether it will consider enacting legislation on air quality management to replace the existing Practice Note which has no legal effect, in order to provide an environment with good air quality for passengers and station staff; if so, of the legislative timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

3. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask:(Translation)

Regarding the retrofitting of platform screen doors at the MTR stations at ground and elevated levels, as well as the safety of MTR passengers with disabilities, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the average costs involved in retrofitting screen doors at the above stations, and how they compare to the corresponding costs in respect of underground MTR stations; and

    (b)the number of accidents involving passengers falling onto rail tracks at MTR stations in each of the past 10 years and, among them, the respective numbers of visually and physically handicapped passengers who were injured or died as a result?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

4. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask:(Translation)

After discussion with the Government of the HKSAR, the Mainland Authorities abolished the "four-up-four-down" requirement imposed on cross-boundary container trucks at the end of last year; hence the container, driver, tractor and trailer of a Hong Kong container truck having entered the Mainland need not return to Hong Kong all together. However, the Mainland Authorities have yet to abolish the "one-truck-one-driver" and "operating fee" requirements under which each container truck must be operated by a designated driver and a monthly licensing fee of about HK$6,000 has to be paid by a Hong Kong driver to the Mainland Authorities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the impact of the abolition of the "four-up-four-down" requirement on the transport industry;

    (b)the current progress of its discussions with the Mainland Authorities on issues such as the licensing, regulation and customs clearance of Hong Kong cross-boundary container trucks; and

    (c)the anticipated time when the Mainland Authorities will abolish the "one-truck-one-driver" and "operating fee" requirements, and whether it has proposed any specific alternatives to the Mainland authorities; if so, of the details of such plans?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

5. Hon Ronny TONG Ka-wah to ask:(Translation)

In its reply to me on 31st December last year, the Administration said that a lease modification to allow for redevelopment was in principle acceptable on the basis that if the scheme proposed accorded with the planning intention. However, if the developers of Hunghom Peninsula applied for a modification to allow for redevelopment, the Administration might consider rejecting the application. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the time when the Government was legally advised that it had the right to reject the application by the developers of Hunghom Peninsula for a lease modification to allow for redevelopment; if the advice was received before 5th July of last year, why did the Administration still write on that day to remind the developers that if any redevelopment of the lot did not accord with the Master Layout Plans and the Approved Landscapping Proposals, an application for lease modification had to be made to the District Lands Officer, Kowloon West; if the advice was received after 5th July, why had the Administration not sought legal advice earlier;

    (b)the time at which it was confirmed that the Administration had the right to reject the application from the developers of Hunghom Peninsula for a lease modification to allow for redevelopment; why did the Administration not inform the developers right away; and

    (c)the time when the Administration decided not to accept the developers' application for lease modification and the grounds for the decision?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

6. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask:(Translation)

Regarding public hospital services and fees, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether there has been a drop in the number of attendances at the accident and emergency ("A&E") departments which were classified as non-urgent cases since the introduction of A&E charges in November 2002, and of the progress and anticipated completion time of the review on A & E charges;

    (b)of the fees of public hospital services which are being considered for upward adjustments and the time when the relevant proposals will be announced; and

    (c)whether it plans to increase public hospital fees to alleviate the financial pressures on the Hospital Authority ("HA") before the implementation of long-term health care financing schemes; if so, of the required level of fee increase in order to enable the HA to attain a break-even?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*7. Hon Patrick LAU Sau-shing to ask:(Translation)

Regarding the Government's commissioning of consultancy studies on administrative management, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of consultancy studies commissioned by each policy bureau in each of the past seven years, as well as the costs involved and the duration and findings of each study; and

    (b)whether it has any established mechanism for selecting consultancy firms to conduct these studies; if so, of the details of the mechanism, including the weightings given to tender prices and other considerations; if not, the way by which it selects consultancy firms?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*8. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask:(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it is aware of the following about various public-funded post-secondary institutions:
    (a)the number of places in teacher training courses provided or to be provided each year between this school year and the 2007/08 school year for pre-service and in-service teachers respectively, with a breakdown by:

    (i)whether the courses are/will be provided for teachers of secondary schools, primary schools, kindergartens (or child care centres) respectively;

    (ii)the qualifications obtained upon completion of the courses (such as Bachelor's Degrees, Post-graduate Diploma in Education or Certificate in Education (Early Childhood Education));

    (iii)the number of places of refresher courses for in-service teachers, other than those set out in item (ii) above; and

    (iv)the modes of attendance (such as full-time, part-time or bridging courses); and

    (b)the rationale adopted for determining the number of places for the above courses each year?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*9. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask:(Translation)

Recently, several members of the public have told me that large rodents had been spotted on the busy streets and near the sewers in Central. However, the rodent infestation rates had decreased gradually from 16% in 2000 to 4.3% between January and June in 2004, while the numbers of captured and poisoned rodents had decreased gradually from 57 639 in 2000 to 40 342 in 2003. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has assessed if the above statistics accurately reveal the real situation and severity of rodent infestation in the territory; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the relevant figures by districts; if the result is in the negative; of the mitigation measures;

    (b)whether it has evaluated the economic losses caused by rodent infestation every year;

    (c)how it decides the scope of anti-rodent works, including whether it has regularly assessed the number of rodents in the territory and the anticipated number of rodents bred; and whether it has made reference to the anti-rodent measures taken in other places; if it has not, of the reasons for that; and

    (d)how it evaluates the effectiveness of anti-rodent works, as well as the evaluation results, and whether it will step up anti-rodent efforts?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*10. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask:(Translation)

It has been reported that financial institutions will, upon receipt of the applications for loans or credit cards by the public, refer to their information in a credit database. However, the more frequently a person's credit data in the database are checked by financial institutions, the lower the person's credit rating will be given. Furthermore, some members of the public have complained to me that although they have repaid their loans, their credit ratings have declined. Their future loan applications may thus be affected. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it will draw up a mechanism for members of the public to raise objection to their credit ratings in the above credit database;

    (b)it will require the relevant credit rating agency to make public its rating criteria; and

    (c)it will draw up a mechanism to encourage more competition in the market of credit database so that members of the public can submit their credit ratings from another agency to the financial institutions processing their loan applications, in order to avoid rejection of applications due to unjustified credit ratings?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*11. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask:(Translation)

I have learnt that when dealing with cases of suspected sexual abuse of mentally-handicapped children, the Police must obtain written consent from the victims' parents before they can arrange for physical examination of the victims. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the authorities handle cases in which the suspects are the parents of the victims and who do not agree to allow the victims to receive physical examination;

    (b)whether the authorities will consider authorizing certain social welfare agencies or the Guardianship Board to give written consent to physical examination in respect of the cases in which the suspects are parents of the victims; if not, of the reasons for that and other solutions; and

    (c)whether frontline health care staff have been provided with specific guidelines on handling the above-mentioned cases?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*12. Hon MA Lik to ask:(Translation)

It has been reported that the Urban Redevelopment Authority ("URA") had commenced the private sale of the residential units of a property redevelopment project in Kennedy Town before putting them on public sale recently. The arrangement was criticized by some members of the public as chaotic, unfair and lacking in transparency. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the URA's arrangements for selling redevelopment properties in the past and the principles it followed;

    (b)how the sale arrangement for projects jointly developed by URA and private developers compares to that for URA's own projects, and whether URA has assessed if the sale arrangement for these joint projects is reasonable and in line with the principles for the operation of public organizations, i.e. being open, transparent and accountable to the public, if it has, of the assessment results; and

    (c)whether URA will require that the residential units of property redevelopment projects participated by URA should all be sold in an open and transparent manner in future; if it will not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*13. Dr Hon Joseph LEE Kok-long to ask:(Translation)

Regarding health assessment and medical services for the elderly persons, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it will make plans as early as possible to introduce services on eyesight and hearing protection as well as dental health for the elderly;

    (b)whether it has plans to provide annual comprehensive health assessments for the elderly; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the measures to ensure that elderly patients in public hospitals have the right to make an informed choice of drugs upon the introduction of a Standard Drug Formulary by the Hospital Authority, and that they will not be deprived of drugs outside the drug formulary for lack of financial means?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*14. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask:(Translation)

Under the pensions legislation, a retired civil servant's pension may be suspended if he is employed in a subvented organization determined to be public service under the relevant legislation. However, the list of such subvented organizations has not been updated since February 1997. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the statutory bodies which have been established after February 1997;

    (b)whether it knows the respective numbers of retired civil servants on pensionable terms who are currently employed in the statutory bodies mentioned in (a) and in public bodies which are not included in the relevant list;

    (c)of the criteria for determining whether a statutory or public body should be included in the relevant list; and

    (d)whether it has regularly reviewed if it is necessary to include the newly established statutory or public bodies in the relevant list, so that the Administration may suspend the payment of pensions to those retired civil servants who take up employment in organizations newly added to the list; if it has, of the reasons for not updating the list since February 1997; if it has not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

*15. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:(Translation)

Since the implementation, by the State Ministry of Commerce and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council at the end of August last year, of the new investment facilitation policy for mainland enterprises to invest in the Hong Kong and the Macao Special Administrative Regions, mainland enterprises may apply for investing and setting up businesses in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of mainland enterprises which have come to invest and set up businesses in Hong Kong since the implementation of the above policy, and the major trades in which these businesses are engaged as well as the amounts of investment involved;

    (b)of the specific measures taken by the Hong Kong authorities to actively publicize and promote in the Mainland the investment environment and the advantages of investing in Hong Kong, so as to attract mainland enterprises to invest in Hong Kong; for instance, whether investment promotion activities will be organized in various major cities in the Mainland; and

    (c)whether the Hong Kong authorities have taken any measures to facilitate mainland enterprises to invest and set up businesses in Hong Kong, such as offering concessions to these enterprises; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

*16. Hon KWONG Chi-kin to ask:(Translation)

Regarding the study on the merger of Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation and MTR Corporation Limited, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the government departments and public organizations responsible for drawing up the timetable for the merger, and whether specific merger timetable has been drawn up; if so, of the details; if not, the anticipated date of announcing the timetable;

    (b)whether staff of various grades and ranks in different departments of the two railway corporations will be consulted before the authorities decide on the mode of the merger; if so, of the details and timetable of the consultation; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)of the details of the options for the mode of merger, and whether public consultation on the proposed options will be conducted; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)whether any study on the modes and effectiveness of mergers of overseas railway corporations has been carried out; if so, of the details and results of the study; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (e)whether it has assessed the social and economic impacts of the merger, especially the impact of the merger progress on the construction of the new Shatin to Central Link, West Hong Kong Island Line and South Hong Kong Island Line; if so, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*17. Hon TSANG Yok-sing to ask:(Translation)

It has been reported that around 1 300 abandoned children were living in residential child care institutions or with foster families in each of the past two years. The Government has recently indicated that some residential child care institution placements would be replaced by foster care placements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of children in the past three years who were neither looked after by their families nor accepted by residential child care institutions, and the reasons for not accepting these children;

    (b)of the unit costs of residential child care institutions and of foster families, and the major expenses (such as staff remuneration) included in such costs; and

    (c)whether replacing some residential child care institution placements by foster care placements will increase the number of children who are benefited; if so, of the estimated rate of increase each year?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*18. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask:(Translation)

Regarding the introduction of a Standard Drug Formulary proposed by the Hospital Authority, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of types of prescription drugs currently paid for by patients at standard fees and charges which will not be included in the future Formulary, together with a breakdown by the classification below, as well as the diseases to be treated by each type of drug:

    (i)drugs which have been proven to be of significant benefits but are extremely expensive;

    (ii)drugs whose efficacy have only been preliminarily verified;

    (iii)drugs which have marginal benefits over available alternatives but are at significantly higher costs; and

    (iv)drugs for the satisfaction of life-style purpose; and

    (b)the estimated annual number of public hospital patients who have to purchase drugs at their own expenses as a result of the introduction of the Formulary and the total amount of additional expenses to be incurred by them?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*19. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask:(Translation)

It has been reported that "Glivec" for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumour and chronic myeloid leukaemia has been classified by the Hospital Authority ("HA") as first-line drug, and patients who have to take the drug and have financial difficulties will be referred to apply for drug subsidy from the Samaritan Fund. However, HA has not yet released details of the subsidy scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)when HA intends to release the details of the above scheme;

    (b)as "Glivec" is very expensive and the existing eligibility criteria of the Samaritan Fund are not reasonable to patients applying for drug subsidy from the Fund, whether HA will revise the eligibility criteria of the Fund when drawing up the details of the scheme, so that more patients who have to take the drug can receive drug subsidy; and

    (c)if HA has switched from its previous policy of bearing most of the expenses for first-line drugs to arranging for the expenses of the existing and new first-line drugs to be subsidized by charity funds, and to conducting income and asset tests on the subsidy applicants?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*For written reply.

III. Members' Motions
  1. Taking forward the issues of concern to the elderly

    Hon TAM Yiu-chung: (Translation)

    That, in view of the ageing of the population in Hong Kong, this Council urges the Government, in response to the recommendations made by nine major elderly and social service organizations and elderly groups, to formulate a sustainable policy on care for the elderly and pursue vigorous measures to take forward the "six issues of most concern to the elderly", that are identified by the elders in various districts after discussion and from polling, which include:

    (a)Long-term care: reinforcing the continuum of community and residential care services, and rendering support to carers of the elderly;

    (b)Medical services: alleviating the burden of medical expenses on the elderly, and enhancing the efficiency of medical services;

    (c)Disease prevention: introducing health care schemes for the elderly, and improving environmental hygiene;

    (d)Mental health: promoting activities which foster a sense of health and worthiness among the elderly, and strengthening the rehabilitation and outreaching services for the elderly;

    (e)Retirement protection: studying the establishment of a community-wide retirement protection scheme, and providing support for the elderly who opt for returning to their hometowns in the Mainland to spend their twilight years; and

    (f)Prevention of elderly abuse: enacting legislation to protect the elderly, providing shelter support for the elderly, and advocating the culture of respect for the elderly and filial piety,

    with a view to continuously improving the quality of life of the elderly and building a society with concern and care for the elderly.

    Amendments to motion

    (i)Dr Hon YEUNG Sum: (Translation)

    To delete " 'six" after "to take forward the" and substitute with "seven"; to delete " ', that are identified by the elders in various districts after discussion and from polling" after "concern to the elderly"; to delete "and" after "retirement protection scheme,"; to add ", and allowing the elderly who live with their families to apply independently for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance" after "their twilight years" and delete "and" after the subsequent ";"; and to add "; and (g) Accommodation for the elderly: helping the elderly with financial difficulties to solve their accommodation problems, including the introduction of a grading system for residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) in Hong Kong so as to give the elderly greater confidence in living in RCHEs; building more small public rental housing (PRH) units with suitable supporting social services to accommodate them; studying the relaxation of the eligibility criteria for PRH of the elderly who live in their self-owned old properties, and allowing them to put their properties under the trusteeship of non-governmental organizations and to use the rental income to pay for their living expenses, so that they can enjoy a peaceful life" after "filial piety".

    (ii)Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG: (Translation) To delete "studying the establishment of a community-wide retirement protection scheme, and providing support for the elderly" after "Retirement protection:" and substitute with "strengthening the support for the retired elderly, including those"; and to add ", so as to provide greater protection for their livelihood" after "their twilight years".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

  2. Policy on the recycling industry

    Hon Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen: (Translation)

    That this Council urges the Government to implement as early as possible a sustainable development plan, which includes formulating a long-term policy on the recycling industry, implementing the development plan of the "Recovery Park", considering the imposition of a reasonable green tax, and establishing a high-level inter-departmental industries facilitation council to co-ordinate the communication and co-operation among various departments in a highly efficient manner so as to enhance public awareness of environmental protection and instill in them the correct attitude to handling wastes, with a view to solving the aggravating environmental pollution problem in Hong Kong as early as possible, as well as creating business opportunities and increasing job opportunities.

    Amendments to motion

    (i)Hon LEE Wing-tat: (Translation)

    To delete "a" after "as early as possible" and substitute with "principles on"; to delete "plan" after "sustainable development"; to delete "includes" after "which" and substitute with "include"; to add "on recycling" after "facilitation council"; and to add "; furthermore, this Council proposes that the Government should: (a) provide additional recycling bins for various types of wastes in public places, major shopping malls, schools and government organizations, etc. to increase recovery quantities, and designate spaces at large refuse collection depots and other major locations as waste recovery points where recyclable waste collectors can collect and transport the waste away; as regards the refuse collection depots where waste recovery points cannot be designated, the Government should consider setting up waste transit centres to facilitate the collection and delivery of wastes by cleaning companies and waste collectors; (b) include in its contracts for outsourcing cleaning services terms of recovery work, and stipulate a waste recovery rate in these contracts; (c) set down a specific target recovery rate as an indicator for recyclable wastes such as paper, tyres, plastic products, and study the imposition of a green tax on manufacturers of certain specified recyclable wastes; (d) for the purposes of creating a local green market and bringing about steady users of green products, encourage public organizations, subvented organizations and schools, etc. to take the lead in promoting the use of recycled products and to specify a ratio for the procurement of recycled products, as well as encourage them to purchase local or foreign recycled products in order to promote the development of waste recovery and recycling industries; and (e) enact local eco-labelling legislation to step up the monitoring of eco-labelling, so as to protect consumer rights and encourage green purchasing" after "job opportunities".

    (ii)Hon CHOY So-yuk: (Translation)

    To add "that adheres to the waste disposal strategy premised on the reduction, recovery and reuse of wastes" after "development plan"; to add "implementing the polluters pay principle," after "which includes"; to add "devising respective schemes on waste separation at source for various trades and communities," after "the recycling industry,"; and to add "priority should be given by government departments to using locally manufactured recycled products," after "reasonable green tax,".

    (iii)Hon CHAN Yuen-han: (Translation)

    To add "and measures" after "a long-term policy"; to delete "," after "recycling industry" and substitute with "in order that the waste recycling and export industries can be retained and developed;"; and to delete "," after " 'Recovery Park' " and substitute with "and setting up large regional recyclable collection centres outside the 'Recovery Park' as well as establishing a network for collecting recyclable waste in various districts across the territory, so as to increase the opportunities for grass-roots workers and operators of small-scale enterprises to join the recycling industry;".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
Clerk to the Legislative Council