A 07/08-10

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 5 December 2007 at 11:00 am

I. Taking of Legislative Council Oath

Hon Mrs Anson CHAN to take the Legislative Council Oath.

II. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Unsolicited Electronic Messages (Amendment) Regulation 2007225/2007
2.Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) (No. 6) Notice 2007226/2007

Other Papers
1.No.36-Audited Statement of Accounts of the Director of Social Welfare Incorporated, together with the Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 March 2007
(to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

2.No.37-Report by the Trustee of the Emergency Relief Fund for the year ending 31 March 2007, together with the Audited Statement of Accounts and the Director of Audit's Report
(to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

III. Questions

1. Hon Albert Jinghan CHENG to ask: (Translation)

Some members of the public have reflected to me that trade licences and trade plates ("T plates") are originally used in the delivery of vehicles, presale demonstration of vehicles to potential customers by motor dealers, and testing of serviced vehicles by vehicle repairers, but there is a trend of misuse of T plates in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has prescribed the intervals of the day in which T plates may be used; if so, of the details;

    (b)whether the authorities have uncovered any cases of misuse of T plates (e.g. using such plates for evading the vehicle first registration tax or vehicle licence fees, or for driving vehicles which have not been tested by the authorities on their safety and whether they comply with environmental protection specifications); and

    (c)whether it has examined if it is against the law for car dealers to lease their T plates to customers for them to display on their vehicles for prolonged use; if it is, whether the authorities have instituted prosecutions in this regard; if it is not, whether the authorities will amend the relevant legislation to plug loopholes such as tax evasion and avoidance of the requirements for fittings of vehicles to comply with safety and environmental protection specifications?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

The media recently uncovered that a number of inspection staff of the Newspapers Registration Section under the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority ("TELA") had, without permission, left their work for tea, movies and even workout in fitness centres, while they were on field duties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)when the investigation conducted by TELA into the aforesaid incident will be completed and whether the investigation report will be made public;

    (b)given that it has been reported that TELA has been using 3G video phones to monitor the work of its field staff since 2005, and supervisors at various levels also regularly conduct surprise checks and verify the work report of its staff, of the number of cases uncovered last year by TELA involving the breach of rules by inspection staff and, among such cases, the number of those which were substantiated, and the penalties imposed on the staff concerned; and

    (c)given that TELA has previously submitted for classification three newspapers on which an identical set of nude photographs of an overseas female celebrity was published, but it failed to discover during its inspection that such photographs were also published in the NOW magazine, whether it will investigate if there was any dereliction of duties on the part of TELA staff; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

It has been learnt that the number of cross-boundary students has been rising in recent years and their safety while shuttling between Hong Kong and the Mainland to attend school has aroused growing concern. Currently, the authorities do not allow school buses to pick up such students at the Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay Control Points, resulting in thousands of very young cross-boundary students having to change buses several times. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will:
    (a)reconsider allowing school buses which are permitted to operate in Frontier Closed Area to pick up cross-boundary students during the two specified periods before and after class at the Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay Control Points; if so, of the timetable concerned; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)consider lowering the relevant licence fees of non-franchised buses providing direct coach service for cross-boundary students to reduce the operating costs of such buses, so that the fees charged for carrying cross-boundary students can be lowered, and hence more cross-boundary students can use the most direct and safest mode of transport travelling to and from schools; if so, of the details; and

    (c)reconsider issuing Closed Area Permits to all cross-boundary students who attend schools in Hong Kong which are located in districts other than the North District, so that they may take school buses at the Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay Control Points, so as to safeguard their safety?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

4. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

When the Government announced the Hong Kong Disneyland project in 1999, it estimated that the "net economic benefit in present value over 40 years" would be $148 billion. The Government also stated that "in addition to the substantial quantified economic benefits as assessed above, the theme park and its associated facilities are also expected to bring about significant non-quantifiable benefits". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has conducted separate assessments of the quantifiable economic benefits that the Hong Kong Disneyland has brought to the local economy since its opening, and of the non-quantifiable benefits (e.g. knowledge transfer to the local technology and creative industries); if it has, of the respective assessment results? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

5. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

In his Policy Address delivered in October, the Chief Executive said that a Family Council would be set up this year. It has been reported that the Council will coordinate and oversee the three Commissions currently responsible for matters concerning the elderly, women and youth respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the specific terms of reference and work schedule of the Family Council, its organizational structure and membership list, and how it will interface with the existing consultative framework and government departments concerned;

    (b)given the circumstances and needs of families of different compositions are not entirely the same, whether the Family Council will give priority in the provision of support to high-risk families that are in dire need of help, for instance, by allocating additional resources for remote areas and expediting the legislative work on a statutory minimum wage, so as to assist low-income families; and

    (c)given that there is currently no independent commission responsible for matters concerning children, whether it will concurrently set up a commission on children to be responsible for the formulation of policies on the protection of children's rights, or it will simply include the work in this regard directly in the terms of reference of the Family Council?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

6. Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit to ask: (Translation)

Among the seven hospital clusters under the Hospital Authority ("HA"), the Kowloon East Cluster ("KE Cluster") ranks fourth in terms of population but last in terms of funding allocation for the current financial year. Comparing with KE Cluster, the populations of the Hong Kong West Cluster and Kowloon Central Cluster last year were respectively 43% and 47% less while their funding allocations for the current financial year are respectively 20% and 39% more. Consequently, the services of KE cluster are under great pressure. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as the Government has indicated that one of the main advantages of forming hospital clusters is the provision of comprehensive medical care in a single cluster, whether any hospital services currently provided by other clusters are unavailable in KE Cluster; if there are, whether it knows if HA has any plans to introduce such services in KE Cluster based on the demographic structure of KE and the medical needs of residents in the district;

    (b)whether it knows if HA plans to revise the criteria for allocation of funds to various clusters to ensure that medical services for residents covered by KE Cluster are comparable to those for residents of other districts; if there are revision plans, of the details and implementation date; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Government will take other measures to alleviate the pressure on the cluster (such as allocating land within the district for the construction of private hospitals); if it will, of the details of and implementation schedule for the measures; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*7. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)

In recent years, it has been found from time to time that some illegal entrants have illegally cut down trees in Hong Kong and transported them to the Mainland for profit. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases of illegal felling of trees in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown of the number of trees felled by the species to which they belonged;

    (b)among the cases referred to in (a), of the respective numbers of those resulting in the conviction of the offenders, those which took place in country parks, and those involving the species of trees listed on the Register of Old and Valuable Trees;

    (c)whether it has reviewed the relevant legislation to see if there is a need to increase the penalty for illegal felling of trees; if so, of the results; and

    (d)whether, in the light of the above situation, it will reconsider enacting legislation on tree conservation to enhance the protection of trees; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

*8. Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that while the number of transactions in the property market has increased recently, the Integrated Registration Information System of the Land Registry repeatedly broke down or slowed down between mid and end of October this year. Members of the public therefore had to queue in person at the Land Registry in Queensway to inspect the land registers. Such a situation had caused great inconvenience to both the public and the property agency sector. After investigation, the Land Registry indicated that the main cause of the problem was transitional teething problems arising from the operation of the new software system. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether there were incidents of major breakdown or slowdown of the above information system last year; if so, of the details (including the date of occurrence, duration of service disruption and the reasons thereto, the time taken to repair the system and the number of complaints received); and

    (b)whether the above teething problems have been resolved completely and what measures the authorities will take to ensure smooth operation of the system and achieve the target of "zero breakdown", even when the system is being upgraded or the demand for online services of the above information system surges considerably?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*9. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)

A number of cleansing workers of schools in the New Territories recently complained to me that some subsidized schools had outsourced their cleansing and security services, but the wages of the cleansing workers and security guards employed by the outsourced service contractors concerned were lower than those of the cleansing workers and security guards previously employed by the schools, and the wages received by some of those workers were even lower than the rates stipulated under the Wage Protection Movement. In addition, the complainants pointed out that some of the above contractors had wrongfully deducted their employees' wages and hence breached the labour legislation. Yet, the schools concerned had not monitored such contractors. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the current respective numbers of government and subsidized primary and secondary schools which have outsourced the cleansing and security services and those which employ their own staff to provide such services directly, as well as the respective wage rates of the cleansing workers and security guards employed by the schools concerned and the relevant contractors, broken down by the 18 District Council districts;

    (b)whether it had received in the past three years any cases in which such workers complained about wrongful deduction of wages and hence breach of the labour legislation by their employers (the schools or the outsourced service contractors); and

    (c)how it will monitor the above outsourced service contracts which are awarded by government and subsidized schools to ensure that the wages of the employees of the contractors concerned will not be lower than the relevant average market rates published in the Census and Statistics Department's Quarterly Report of Wages and Payroll Statistics?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

I have learnt that as many people with physical disabilities are currently living in the community and the Rehabus service is not sufficient, such people therefore have to rely on the non-emergency ambulance transfer service of the Hospital Authority ("HA") for travelling to and from public hospitals for follow-up consultations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the existing number of non-emergency ambulances in each of the hospital clusters under HA, and the respective numbers of such ambulances which have been in use for over 10 years and those with platforms having a single handrail only; whether HA has any plans to increase the number of non-emergency ambulances and replace those which have been used for over 10 years;

    (b)last year's average utilization rate of the above ambulances in each of the hospital clusters under HA; and whether there is a waiting list for the service; if there is, the current number of people waiting for the service and the estimated average waiting time in each of the clusters; if not, how HA assesses the demand for such service; and

    (c)given that a patient has complained to me that it took him six hours to wait for a non-emergency ambulance to take him home after a follow-up consultation at The Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital at Sandy Bay, and another four hours to travel from the hospital to his home in Tuen Mun even without any traffic congestion, because the ambulance had to transfer patients from hospitals in Kowloon and other areas during the journey, whether HA has drawn up any performance indicators (e.g. the maximum waiting time and travelling time) for the non-emergency ambulance transfer service; if it has, of the relevant details; if not, how HA monitors and enhances the quality of such service; and the daily schedule of a non-emergency ambulance?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*11. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:

In his 2007-2008 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced that the District Lands Offices would set up dedicated teams with an integrated management structure to expedite the processing of lease modification and land exchange applications. The Government would launch a pilot scheme in the next financial year by setting up the first dedicated team in the District Lands Office (Hong Kong West and South). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the details of the above pilot scheme (including the membership of the dedicated team, and the measures to be adopted by the relevant District Lands Office to expedite the processing of lease modification and land exchange applications);

    (b)whether the Government will consult the relevant sectors on the measures to be adopted in the pilot scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Government will eventually implement the pilot scheme on a territory-wide scale; if so, of the timetable for setting up the above dedicated teams in other District Lands Offices?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*12. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)

In reply to my question on 2 May 2007, the former Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works said that vessel emissions might have less impact on air quality and public health than those from motor vehicles and other land pollution sources. Yet, it has been reported recently that a study on vessel emissions conducted by experts from the United States and Germany has discovered that people living in coastal cities have a higher risk of death from lung cancer and other cardiopulmonary diseases than those living inland. The study has also found that currently around 3% to 8% of mortalities across the globe are related to emissions from vessels, and that the relevant mortality rate is estimated to increase by 40% by 2012 should the pollution continue. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it will re-examine the situation concerning vessel emissions in Hong Kong and the relevant regulatory standards;

    (b)whether it plans to conduct a detailed study on the impact of pollutant emissions from vessels on public health, having regard to such factors as the high population density in Hong Kong; and

    (c)apart from encouraging ferry operators to switch to environmentally-friendly fuels, what other more positive new measures the Government will take to improve the situation more expeditiously?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

*13. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)

Regarding traffic accidents caused by the negligence of drivers of public light buses ("PLBs"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of traffic accidents last year involving PLB drivers who were negligent, and the number of relevant cases of conviction in the past three years (together with a breakdown by the charge and penalty imposed); and

    (b)whether the authorities will explore new counter-measures targeting at the accidents referred to in (a) to enhance PLB drivers' awareness of safe driving, with a view to preventing the recurrence of similar accidents; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*14. Hon LEE Wing-tat to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the operation of mutual aid committees ("MACs"), will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)regular checks have been carried out to see if the operation of MACs complies with the Model Rules for MACs; if so, of the results, and whether the operation of any MAC is found to have deviated from the guidelines in the Model Rules;

    (b)any MAC is found not to have held any meeting for a prolonged period of time and the Liaison Officers and District Officers concerned of the Home Affairs Department have not rectified the situation, despite their knowledge of it; if so, how the authorities will rectify such situation; and

    (c)it has considered reviewing the operation of MACs in order to strengthen community participation and enable the Home Affairs Department to promptly be aware of the operational problems and difficulties encountered by MACs and take follow-up actions?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*15. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

In recent years, I have received complaints from many members of the public that they were often disturbed by telemarketing calls while they were in Hong Kong or abroad. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the number of complaints received in each of the past three years by the relevant authorities about nuisance caused by telemarketing calls, together with a list of the names of the organizations under complaint; and

    (b)as person-to-person telemarketing calls are not covered by the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance (Cap. 593), of the circumstances under which it will reconsider regulating such calls?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

The Government is planning to implement a pilot project in Tin Shui Wai North under which the Hospital Authority ("HA") will identify a selected group of chronic patients who have a history of using the general out-patient clinic service on a regular basis and whose conditions are stable, and offer them the choice of receiving medical care from local private doctors participating in the project. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it will draw up eligibility criteria for participation in the project by private doctors and patients;

    (b)of the respective projected numbers of doctors and patients participating in the project and expenditure required each year, and whether it will provide HA with additional funding for the project;

    (c)of the measures for encouraging doctors and patients to participate in the project; and

    (d)of the projected time for implementing and reviewing the project, as well as the Government's considerations in deciding whether or not to extend the project to other districts (e.g. Tin Shui Wai South and New Territories East)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*17. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

In early November this year, the Financial Secretary ("FS") started to consult various political parties, Members of this Council and the public about their views and aspirations on the 2008-2009 Budget. Yet, I have learnt that prior to the commencement of the consultation, the Government had completed the vetting and approving of the bids submitted by bureaux and departments under the annual Resource Allocation Exercise ("RAE bids"). In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)whether FS has considered if the consultation mentioned above should have commenced before completing the vetting and approving of the RAE bids; if so, whether there is a need to revise and rationalize the current arrangement; and

    (b)given that the vetting and approving of the RAE bids submitted by bureaux and departments had already been completed, of the use of consulting various political parties, Members of this Council and the public on the Budget, and how the authorities will take account of their views?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

In respect of the Continuing Education Fund ("CEF"), the Labour and Welfare Bureau has introduced various new initiatives with effect from 1 September 2007 to further enhance the effectiveness of the CEF, including lifting the upper age limit of the CEF applicants to 65; and upon the implementation of the Qualifications Framework, courses designed in accordance with the Specifications of Competency Standards developed by the Industry Training Advisory Committee may also be registered as recognised courses under the CEF. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of courses leading to professional qualifications in information technology ("IT") which have been included in scope of the CEF since its introduction in June 2002;

    (b)as the Report on the 2006 Manpower Survey of the Information Technology Sector published by the Vocational Training Council shows that the IT industry will face additional manpower demand and manpower shortage, whether the Government will place the IT industry as one of the specified economic sectors/skill domains under the CEF upon the conclusion of Specifications of Competency Standards for the information and communications technology industry, and include the learning programmes in the scope of the CEF if they are relevant to the qualifications and already listed in the Qualifications Register, to encourage people in the IT industry to attend those courses and support training work for the industry; if it will, of the detailed plan and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether any measures are in place to ensure that course providers will offer different types of courses to cater for the learning abilities and needs of people from various age groups and strata; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number, in the past three years, of elderly persons whose Old Age Allowance ("OAA") payments had been suspended/terminated for violating the stipulation on the annual permissible limit of 240 days' absence from Hong Kong, as well as on average, the amount of payments and the number of days of absence involved in each case;

    (b)of the number of elderly persons who joined the Portable Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme in each of the past three years, and whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the Scheme; and

    (c)given that the elderly persons taking up long-term residence in Guangdong or Fujian Province are allowed to continue to receive cash assistance under the aforesaid Scheme, of the reasons for the Government's refusal to further relax the period of absence from Hong Kong for OAA on grounds that there is the need to ensure that public funds are spent on Hong Kong residents who regard Hong Kong as a place of permanent residence?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*20. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the introduction of vehicles using cleaner fuels such as biodiesel, hydrogen, electricity and natural gas, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as it is conducting a consultancy study to examine the feasibility of introducing buses and other heavy duty vehicles using natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas, of the progress of the study;

    (b)of the current number of buses in Hong Kong powered by fuels other than diesel;

    (c)whether it has discussed with franchised bus companies to encourage them to introduce buses which run on natural gas or electricity; if it has, of the details; and

    (d)whether, when replacing vehicles of the government fleet, it will consider purchasing vehicles powered by fuels such as biodiesel, hydrogen, electricity and natural gas; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

*For written reply.

IV. Bills

First Reading

Buildings (Amendment) Bill 2007

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Buildings (Amendment) Bill 2007:Secretary for Development

V. Motions

1.Proposed resolution under the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance

Secretary for Security to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2007, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 22 May 2007, be approved.

(The Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2007 was issued on 22 November 2007
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 161/07-08)

2.Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance

Secretary for Security to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Corruption) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 22 May 2007, be approved.

(The Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters
(Corruption) Order was issued on 30 May 2007
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 629/06-07)

VI. Members' Motions

  1. Promoting social enterprises

    Hon CHAN Yuen-han: (Translation)

    That, although the unemployment rate has come down to a new low, elementary workers still face the plight of low wages, long working hours and even difficulties in securing employment; to alleviate the hardship of elementary workers, the Administration should implement various policies on facilitating the employment of labour in order to improve the employment situation and narrow the gap between the rich and the poor; one of such policies is to "promote the development of social enterprises and boost employment" as proposed by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address; this Council urges the Government to formulate the following policies to effectively promote social enterprises:

    (a)making rules and regulations on social enterprises to clarify the definition of such enterprises;

    (b)providing various financing channels for social enterprises, including setting up a public or private seed fund and encouraging financial institutions to offer low-interest loans, etc;

    (c)providing loan guarantee and setting up marketing, training and development funds, etc, for social enterprises, with reference to the modes of the funding schemes implemented by the Government for small and medium enterprises;

    (d)providing a profits tax exemption period for and offering profits tax concession to newly established social enterprises;

    (e)establishing a social enterprises operation support centre to provide free business information, consultation and support services on the setting up and operation of business as well as market news, etc;

    (f)the Government and private organizations providing shops, properties and venues with rent exemption/concession to social enterprises; and

    (g)reserving a certain percentage of the procurement of government goods and services for social enterprises, in order to provide room for the development of such enterprises.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)

    To add "as the mission of social enterprises is to pursue both social and economic objectives, and social objectives may include various aspects such as environmental protection, cultural education and facilitating employment, etc; and" after "That,"; to add "gradually" after "the unemployment rate has"; to delete "to a new low" after "come down"; to delete ", the Administration should implement various policies on facilitating the employment of labour in order to improve the employment situation" after "hardship of elementary workers"; to delete "; one of such policies is to 'promote the development of social enterprises and boost employment' as proposed by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address;" after "the rich and the poor" and substitute with ","; to delete "effectively promote social enterprises" after "the following policies to" and substitute with "promote the development of social enterprises as one of the policies to facilitate and improve employment"; to add "establishing a high-level cross-bureau task force to formulate overall strategies for developing social enterprises; (b)" after "(a)"; to delete ";" after "the definition of such enterprises" and substitute with ", and at the same time encouraging social enterprises to employ a certain proportion of unemployed persons and people with disabilities in the light of their modes of operation; (c) enhancing the awareness of the business sector about social enterprises and encouraging the sector to make use of their professional knowledge to participate in the development of social enterprises, and at the same time enhancing public awareness about social enterprises in order to remove their misunderstanding that social enterprises will lead to unfair competition; (d) introducing more social enterprises in areas where the poverty problem is more serious, such as Sham Shui Po and Tin Shui Wai, etc, so as to increase employment opportunities in these districts;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(g)"; to add ", as well as offering further tax concession to social enterprises which employ a certain proportion of unemployed persons and people with disabilities" after "newly established social enterprises"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(i)"; and to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(j) lowering the tender threshold for social enterprises and".

    (ii)Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG: (Translation)

    To add "according to statistics," after "That,"; to add ", with the objectives of enhancing social capabilities and establishing positive social values" after "effectively promote social enterprises"; to add "and objectives" after "to clarify the definition"; to add ", and avoiding unfair competition with small and medium enterprises" after "of such enterprises"; to delete "or" after "including setting up a public" and substitute with "seed fund and encouraging the establishment of a"; to delete "and" after "private seed fund" and substitute with ", as well as"; to delete "and private organizations" after "(f) the Government"; to delete "; and" after "rent exemption/concession to social enterprises" and substitute with ", and encouraging private enterprises to offer rent concession;"; and to add "; (h) promoting cross-sector collaboration and developing a platform for participation in different aspects, as well as facilitating the establishment of partnership, so that various sectors can expand the scope for collaboration among social enterprises in a complementary and mutually beneficial environment; (i) establishing the value and raising public awareness of social enterprises through publicity and education programmes in schools and the community; (j) eliminating administrative and policy barriers which may hinder the development of social enterprises, so as to create an environment conducive to the growth of such enterprises; and (k) breaking away from the confines of the pure social work sector by encouraging and embracing the participation of willing and capable talents from the business sector, so that social enterprises can possess such management elements as professionalism and market sensitivity" immediately before the full stop.

    Amendment to Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG's amendment
    Hon WONG Kwok-hing:     (Translation)

    To delete "avoiding unfair competition" after "objectives of such enterprises, and" and substitute with "strengthening their abilities to compete"; and to add ", so as to gain their due market share" after "with small and medium enterprises".

    (iii)Hon Albert HO: (Translation)

    To delete "public or" after "including setting up a" and substitute with "$500 million 'social enterprise seed fund' and a $1,000 million 'social enterprise development loan fund' or a"; and to add "to strengthen the support for the long-term development of social enterprises," after "private seed fund".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs

  2. Comprehensively reviewing subsidized home ownership schemes

    Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)

    That this Council urges the Government to expeditiously review afresh the various subsidized home ownership schemes, including the Home Ownership Scheme, Tenants Purchase Scheme and Home Assistance Loan Scheme, with a view to more effectively utilizing housing resources and alleviating the burden of housing on the public.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon LEE Wing-tat: (Translation)

    To add ", as the private property market has become prosperous again and property prices continue to rise, which puts pressure on the burden of housing on the public," after "That"; to add "(HOS)" after "Home Ownership Scheme"; to add "and proactively consider resuming the construction of an appropriate number of HOS flats and the sale of an appropriate number of public rental housing flats, and the number may be adjusted according to the needs of the community, land available to the Housing Authority and its financial situation," after "Home Assistance Loan Scheme,"; and to add "as well as allowing the public to meet their housing needs through various channels" immediately before the full stop.

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

    To delete "review afresh" after "expeditiously" and substitute with "relaunch".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Transport and Housing
Clerk to the Legislative Council