A 05/06-17

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 15 February 2006 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Legal Aid (Assessment of Resources and Contributions) (Amendment) Regulation 2005 (Commencement) Notice21/2006
2.Legal Aid (Charge on Property) (Rate of Interest) Regulation (Commencement) Notice22/2006

Other Papers

1.No.66-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 2005 and the Results of Value for Money Audits (Report No. 45)
(February 2006 - P.A.C. Report No. 45)
(to be presented by Dr Hon Philip WONG, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, who will address the Council)

2.Report on working poverty by the Subcommittee to Study the Subject of Combating Poverty
(to be presented by Hon Frederick FUNG, Chairman of the Subcommittee)

II. Questions

1. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the regulation of construction works undertaken by works contractors and authorized persons ("APs") for owners of private buildings, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it is against the law for works contractors and APs to carry out unauthorized construction works for owners of private buildings; if it is, of the number of prosecutions instituted against them over the past three years, and the penalties imposed by the court on the convicted persons;

    (b)of the legal liability of works contractors and APs in respect of the quality of the works carried out by them which have been approved by the relevant authorities; and the number of prosecutions instituted against them in connection with such liability over the past three years, as well as the penalties imposed by the court on the convicted persons; and

    (c)given that the Administration had made a legislative proposal in 2003, which was subsequently withdrawn due to the lack of consensus on its implementation details, to introduce a minor works control regime and a registration system for minor works contractors, of the latest progress on this issue?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

2. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

Since the establishment of the Commission on Poverty in January last year, the authorities have only developed a set of 24 poverty indicators to reflect the poverty situation in Hong Kong. However, they have failed to specifically set a poverty line for defining the population living in poverty. Besides, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service ("HKCSS") has estimated that the population living in poverty is currently around 1.25 million in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)how they can implement measures to combat poverty without identifying the size of the population living in poverty;

    (b)whether they will take the size of population living in poverty estimated by the HKCSS as a reference for planning and implementing measures to combat poverty; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether they will set specific targets for combating poverty with a view to reducing the population living in poverty to a particular level within a certain number of years?
Public Officer to reply : Financial Secretary

3. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

The Chief Executive indicated earlier at a Legislative Council meeting that a working group comprising representatives from the Civil Service Bureau, Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau as well as the Efficiency Unit would be set up to actively study the proposal of implementing the five-day working week in the Government from July this year and the specific implementation plan. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the above working group will study if the progress of work undertaken by various bureaux and government departments will be affected by the implementation of the five-day working week, and whether additional manpower and resources will be required; whether five-day working week will be implemented where the findings of the study indicate that the above effects will arise and additional manpower and resources will be required;

    (b)given that Saturdays will not be regarded as working days under the proposed five-day working week scheme, whether this will have any impact on the performance pledges made by various bureaux and government departments; how it will address the problem that the public can only transact business with various bureaux or government departments between Mondays and Fridays upon the implementation of the scheme, and whether the Government will assess the impact of implementing the scheme on the services provided by private organizations; and

    (c)whether the Government will, after implementing the five-day working week scheme, extend the scope of the scheme to public and subvented organizations, and consequently increase the subsidies or funding to such organizations?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

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

Late last month, a travel agent which had been operating for 30 years and had six branches closed down suddenly, affecting about 200 clients. It was reported that except for a few clients who could apply for ex gratia payments from the Travel Industry Compensation Fund because they had purchased hotel-cum-air ticket packages or joined group tours, the remaining majority of clients who had only bought air tickets were ineligible. Hence, they would not receive any compensation. As it is increasingly common for people to buy air tickets through travel agents, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider amending the legislation to extend the coverage of the Fund to include clients who buy only air tickets through travel agents? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Some frontline doctors of the Hospital Authority ("HA") have told me that they have to face situations of heavy work pressure, disparity in pay among doctors performing the same duties and low morale. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the respective average weekly working hours and on-call frequencies of doctors in various HA departments and resident doctors in various HA hospitals in each of the past three years; and in the ten HA departments with doctors working the longest hours at present, the changes in their doctors' average weekly working hours and on-call frequencies as compared to those over the past three years, and the reasons for such changes;

    (b)the respective numbers of doctors who left and newly joined HA in the past three years, with a breakdown by hospital and rank; and among such new recruits, the respective numbers of those who have been deployed to alleviate the workload of other doctors, to replace doctors who had left, and to provide new or additional services; and

    (c)the specific proposals and plans HA has regarding the provision of reasonable remuneration, parity, and improvement in the work environment, in order to attract, motivate and retain frontline doctors?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

6. Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to ask: (Translation)

I have learnt that the Government had planned to build an integrated medical and health centre in Area 109, Tin Shui Wai for completion in 2004. Nevertheless, there has not been any timetable for building the centre so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the commencement date of the works to build the centre;

    (b)the measures taken by the authorities to ease the acute shortage of medical services and facilities in Tin Shui Wai before the commissioning of the centre; and

    (c)the medical services to be provided by the centre upon its commissioning, and whether such services will include specialist out-patient service and Chinese medicine out-patient service?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*7. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

Among the outstanding projects of the former Municipal Councils, 25 projects were identified for priority implementation by the former Chief Executive in his Policy Address in January 2005, and 24 projects were shelved or deleted after consultation with the District Councils concerned. Regarding the remaining projects, will the Government inform this Council of the names of the projects rejected, completed, under construction or still under planning and the responsible Government department concerned; the anticipated completion and construction dates for the projects in the last two categories and, among these projects, those that had been designated as "priority projects" by the former Municipal Councils? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*8. Hon Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

I have noticed that many people ride bicycles on pavements, endangering the safety of pedestrians. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of prosecutions instituted in each of the past three years by the Police against persons for cycling on pavements, broken down by administrative districts, as well as the respective annual numbers of traffic accidents involving cycling on pavement;

    (b)whether it will step up prosecution actions in this regard; if so, of the relevant details; if not; the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether there are other measures to curb cycling on pavements; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

It has been reported that the three-year-old girl taken to Guangzhou by her mother had been left stranded in Guangzhou upon the suicide and death of her mother, while the girl's father had sought assistance from the Social Welfare Department about his missing wife and daughter. Regarding the search for missing children, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether there are concrete measures to handle cases reported to the Social Welfare Department, relating to Hong Kong residents' children aged below 12 and missing in the Mainland; if so, of the details; and

    (b)whether it will adopt the practice of other countries, such as Canada, whereby if either of the parents disagrees to their children being taken away from the territory, or children are suspected to having been abducted, the information of the children concerned will be displayed publicly on the border, so that the public can help prevent them from being taken away from the territory?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

I have received requests for assistance from members of the public who suspect that their children have been cheated into gambling and threatened by loansharks to repay the gambling debts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases handled by the Police in each of the past three years in which people were suspected to have been cheated into gambling and, among such cases, the respective numbers of those which occurred within and outside Hong Kong as well as involving victims who were minors;

    (b)whether the cases mentioned in (a) are on an upward trend; if so, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the measures to prevent members of the public, in particular young people, from being cheated into gambling, so as to enhance the protection of the interests and safety of the public?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*11. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that while the forms required of the letters and numerals on the plates displaying the registration marks of motor vehicles are prescribed by the existing legislation, the majority of motor vehicles running on the roads in Hong Kong are carrying registration plates that do not comply with the provisions concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases in which owners of motor vehicles were prosecuted in the past five years, for breaching the above provisions as well as the number of successful prosecutions; and

    (b)as the relevant legislation was enacted 50 years ago, whether it will consider amending it to specify more clearly the forms required of the letters and numerals on the plates, so as to facilitate compliance by owners of motor vehicles and enforcement by law enforcement agencies?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*12. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of waste separation bins of three different colours ("recovery bins") currently placed in various districts throughout the territory, and the respective quantities of different types of waste collected from such bins in each district over the past three years;

    (b)whether it has drawn up any guideline regarding the distribution of recovery bins in public places; if it has, of the details; and

    (c)whether it has regularly reviewed the process and frequency of collecting wastes from the recovery bins to avoid their overflow?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the respective numbers of Mainlanders who came to Hong Kong on student visas over the past three years to study courses offered by University Grants Committee-funded institutions for associate degree, diploma/higher diploma, bachelor's degree, taught master's degree, research master's degree and doctor's degree, with a breakdown by institution; and

    (b)the length of time currently required for processing Mainlanders' applications for student visas to study in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*14. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask: (Translation)

Recently I have received complaints from members of the public that the floodlights around the swimming pool of the estate in their vicinity were excessively bright and not focused on the pool, thus affected their sightlines. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints received by the authorities in the past three years concerning excessively bright floodlights around swimming pools;

    (b)of the difference in the brightness requirements imposed by the authorities regarding the floodlights around swimming pools in private estates and hotels, and those around public swimming pools;

    (c)whether the authorities will consider requiring the fitting of lampshades on the floodlights around swimming pools in densely populated areas; if not, the measures adopted by the authorities to reduce the impacts of the light from such floodlights on the residents nearby; and

    (d)as the utilization rates of swimming pools in private estates and hotels are relatively low at night, whether the authorities will consider relaxing the brightness requirement for the floodlights around the swimming pools concerned as long as the safety requirements of such pools are met?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

A survey conducted by the Consumer Council ("CC") has revealed that slimming service providers often use exaggerated language to persuade the public to join slimming treatment programmes. The charges for such treatment programmes may be as high as $50,000, but their effectiveness remains questionable. Some members of the public have even had their legs scorched. Meanwhile, CC is drawing up a Beauty Industry Code of Practice to provide guidance to the industry on matters such as trade practice and service quality. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints received by the authorities concerned about injuries caused by cosmetic/slimming treatment programmes last year;

    (b)of the expected effectiveness of the Beauty Industry Code of Practice which has no legal effect; and

    (c)whether it plans to introduce legislation to regulate matters such as the use and sale of slimming treatment devices, the professional qualification requirement for and conduct of the operators of such devices, the use of drugs and chemicals by slimming service providers, the contents and marketing tactics of slimming advertisements, and the charging level and mode of slimming services; if it does, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*16. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has organized training programmes for its staff and employees of its service contractors on how to handle carcasses of birds and the related work; if so,

    (i)of the contents and formats of such programmes;

    (ii)of the ranks of staff invited to participate in such programmes, and whether the staff appointed on different terms of employment (such as civil servants, non-civil service contract staff and employees of contractors) enjoy equal opportunities to participate in such programmes and have the same number of hours of training; if not, of the basis for making the relevant arrangements; and

    (iii)of the number of programmes organized since last year, the number of participants in such programmes, as well as the percentage of participants in the total number of the staff concerned; and

    (b)staff appointed on different terms of employment are provided with the same protective gear when handling carcasses of birds and the related work; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*17. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)

On the 3rd of last month, I saw workers using brutal means to remove the Christmas lighting decorations from the trees at Statue Square in Central, which resulted in numerous branches and flowers being snapped off. I gave out advice immediately. As the person in charge of the work was not found at the scene, I subsequently lodged a complaint with the Hong Kong Tourism Board ("HKTB") which had put up such lighting decorations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") and HKTB have deployed staff to supervise the hanging and removal of these lighting decorations; if they have, whether warnings have been issued to the contractors for damaging the trees; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether LCSD and HKTB know the extent of the damage caused to the trees in the vicinity of Statue Square; if so, of the results and whether they have requested the contractors to bear the relevant expenses; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the measures to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*18. Hon LI Kwok-ying to ask: (Translation)

Currently, the authorities classify various countries or regions into three groups to impose different quarantine requirements on importing dogs and cats. The requirements in respect of Group III countries or regions are the strictest, as dogs and cats from these places are subject to a four-month quarantine in an approved Animal Management Centre after arrival in the territory, resulting in each importer having to bear fees in excess of $10,000. Some members of the public have pointed out that while there has been no confirmed rabies case in Macau in the past several decades, the region is still classified as a Group III territory. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the criteria adopted for determining the groups into which individual countries or regions are classified, and whether it regularly reviews the classification? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*19. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)

The Administration has implemented a trial scheme since March 2003, permitting taxis and green minibus ("GMB") on four routes to access the Lok Ma Chau Control Point ("LMCCP") for picking up and dropping off passengers between 12 midnight (advanced to 11 pm since 26th January 2005) and 6:30 am every day. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective daily average numbers of passengers taking urban taxis, New Territories taxis and GMBs of various routes to and from the LMCCP;

    (b)whether it will consider implementing the above arrangement on a long-term basis, as well as extending the relevant access period to the whole day; if so, of the details of its consideration; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it has considered implementing similar schemes at other boundary control points; if so, of the details of such schemes; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

When attending a radio programme on the 5th of this month, the Chief Executive ("CE") said that while it was provided in the Basic Law that the legislature had the function of monitoring the Executive Authorities, he "hoped that its monitoring would not overstep the line and become a case of acting primarily out of political rather than practical considerations". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for the CE making the above remarks; and

    (b)whether there have been any specific examples showing that the Legislative Council, in monitoring the operation of the Government, has acted ultra vires and primarily out of political considerations; if not, whether it will review if the above remarks were rash and would harm the relationship between the Legislature and the Executive Authorities, and whether the CE will apologize to the Legislative Council for having made such remarks?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

*For written reply.

III. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the following Regulations, made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on 19 January 2006, be approved -

(a)the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) Regulation 2006; and

(b)the Poisons List (Amendment) Regulation 2006.

(The two Regulations have been issued on 25 January 2006
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 301/05-06)

IV. Members' Motions
  1. Implementing the recommendations in the Report on Working Poverty by the Subcommittee to Study the Subject of Combating Poverty

    Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)

    That this Council endorses the Report on Working Poverty by the Subcommittee to Study the Subject of Combating Poverty, and urges the Government to implement the recommendations therein.

    Public Officer to attend : Financial Secretary

  2. Opening up the electricity market

    Hon Albert CHAN: (Translation)

    That, as the electricity market in Hong Kong is currently monopolized by two power companies, prejudicing consumers' interests, this Council demands that the Government implement the following measures to ensure that Hong Kong's electricity market is free from monopoly, so that the people of Hong Kong can enjoy reasonable electricity supply services:

    (a)lowering the permitted return allowed to the power companies in respect of their electricity-related operations for each year from the current 13.5% of their average net fixed assets to 7% or below;

    (b)strengthening the regulation of power plants to ensure that their operations and emissions comply with the relevant environmental protection standards, and formulating practicable measures to ensure that the power companies actively develop renewable energy;

    (c)opening up the electricity market in the coming 10 years, so as to introduce competition and break the current monopoly of Hong Kong's electricity market by the two companies; and

    (d)requesting the CLP Power Hong Kong Limited to offer rebates to its customers by the year 2008 using funds from its Development Fund.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen: (Translation)

    To delete ", as" after "That" and substitute with "this Council urges the Government to earnestly improve the current phenomenon of natural monopoly in"; to delete "is currently monopolized by two power companies" after "electricity market in Hong Kong"; to add "so as to avoid" before "prejudicing consumers' interests,"; to delete "this Council" after "prejudicing consumers' interests," and substitute with "and"; to delete "reasonable" after "Hong Kong can enjoy" and substitute with "reasonably-charged, safe and stable"; to add "re-setting electricity tariffs at a reasonable level by" after "(a)"; to delete "emissions" after "their operations and" and substitute with "the pollutants emitted"; to add "as well as providing proper incentives" after "formulating practicable measures"; to add "setting a timetable for" after "(c)"; to add "in Hong Kong and aiming for its implementation" after "opening up the electricity market"; to add "natural" after "break the current"; to delete "and" after "by the two companies;"; to add "in proportion to their electricity consumption" after "offer rebates to its customers"; and to add "; and (e) actively studying the full implementation of power interconnection" after "using funds from its Development Fund".

    (ii)Hon TAM Heung-man: (Translation)

    To delete "lowering" after "(a)" and substitute with "introducing the rates of return on assets and on equity for calculating"; to delete "from the current 13.5% of their average net fixed assets to 7% or below" after "electricity-related operations for each year" and substitute with ", and applying the median return of public utilities with a 'BBB' credit rating as a reference for setting the permitted return levels for the two power companies"; to add "policy incentives" after "formulating practicable measures and"; to add "progressively relinquish coal-fired power generation, and" after "to ensure that the power companies"; to add "emissions reduction facilities and adopt" after "actively develop"; to add "(c) conducting studies on the long-term development of those industries engaged in the unbundling of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity;" after "renewable energy;"; to delete "(c) opening up the electricity market in the coming 10 years, so as to" and substitute with "(d) expeditiously discussing with the Guangdong Provincial Government the implementation of interconnection, and opening up the transmission network to new electricity suppliers, so as to open up the electricity market,"; and to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)".

    (iii)Hon KWONG Chi-kin: (Translation)

    To delete "and" after "Hong Kong's electricity market by the two companies;"; and to add "; and (e) requesting that the two power companies shall ensure the stability of their workforce, and recruit their technical staff at all levels in a planned manner and provide them with continuing training, so as to secure a reliable and stable supply of electricity" after "using funds from its Development Fund".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

  3. Reducing the salaries tax

    Hon SIN Chung-kai: (Translation)

    That, in view of the continuous recovery of Hong Kong's economy and the improved government finances, this Council urges the Government to make appropriate use of its resources to provide the grass-roots people with adequate services, and to reduce the salaries tax so as to alleviate the tax burden on the middle class and the grass-roots people, thereby stimulating consumer spending and creating jobs.

    Amendments to motion
    (i) Hon James TIEN: (Translation)

    To delete "in view of" after "That," and substitute with "as the Treasury of the Government has benefited from"; to delete "and the improved government finances" after "Hong Kong's economy" and substitute with ", which has improved the Government's financial position and will likely advance the elimination of the fiscal deficit"; to add "rates of" after "and to reduce the"; and to add "by reverting them to at least the 2002-03 level," after "salaries tax".

    (ii) Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)

    To add "significantly" after "Hong Kong's economy and the"; to add "which will likely eliminate the fiscal deficit," after "improved government finances,"; and to add ", including: (a) reverting the personal allowances, the marginal tax bands, the marginal tax rates and the standard rate to the 2002-03 level; (b) raising the child allowance and the allowances for dependent parent/grandparent; (c) further increasing the entitlement period and the amount of home loan interest deduction; and (d) introducing tax deduction for voluntary contributions to the Mandatory Provident Fund," after "reduce the salaries tax".

    Amendment to Hon CHAN Kam-lam's amendment
    Hon James TO:     (Translation)

    To delete "introducing tax deduction for" after "(d)" and substitute with "studying allowing"; and to add "to be tax deductible up to a ceiling" after "Mandatory Provident Fund".

    (iii) Hon WONG Kwok-hing: (Translation)

    To add "the Government should share the fruits of economic growth with the people," after "the improved government finances,"; and to add "by reverting the personal allowances, tax bands and marginal tax rates under salaries tax to the 2002-03 level," after "to reduce the salaries tax".

    (iv) Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG: (Translation)

    To add "to ease the hardship of the socially disadvantaged groups, and" after "use of its resources"; and to delete ", and to reduce the salaries tax so as to alleviate the tax burden on the middle class and the grass-roots people, thereby stimulating consumer spending and creating jobs" after "adequate services" and substitute with "and financial assistance, including: (a) increasing the medical waivers for the elderly, the vulnerable, the disabled, the chronically ill and the poor families; (b) reverting the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance rates for the elderly, the vulnerable, the disabled and the children to the levels prior to their reduction in 2003; (c) reverting the rates of Disability Allowance to the levels prior to their reduction in 2003; (d) freezing the charges for all livelihood-related items, including medical and educational fees; (e) increasing the financial commitments for medical services, education and social welfare; and (f) increasing the financial commitments for leisure and cultural facilities in new towns, e.g. libraries, swimming pools, sports centres and sportsgrounds; the Government should consider reducing the salaries tax only after implementing the above initiatives".

    (v) Hon TAM Heung-man: (Translation)

    To delete ", and" after "grass-roots people with adequate services" and substitute with "and, provided that the Government's overall income and expenditure position improves, the fiscal reserves increase and the expeditious achievement of fiscal balance in the Government's recurrent accounts is not affected,"; and to add "by widening the tax bands and adjusting some of the allowances," after "to reduce the salaries tax".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

Clerk to the Legislative Council