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A 08/09-5
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 29 October at 11:00 am,
Thursday 30 October and Friday 31 October 2008 at 9:00 am on each day
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
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| 1. | Airport Authority Ordinance (Map of Restricted Area) (Amendment) Order 2008 | 228/2008
| | 2. | Census and Statistics (Quarterly Survey of Service Industries) (Amendment) Order 2008 | 229/2008
| | 3. | Road Traffic (Traffic Control) (Designation of Prohibited and Restricted Zones) (Amendment) Notice 2008 | 230/2008
| | 4. | Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) Regulation (Amendment of Schedules 1 and 2) Notice 2008 | 231/2008
| | 5. | Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation (Amendment of Schedule 4) Notice 2008 | 232/2008
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Other Papers
| 1. | No.19 | - | Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Fund
Annual Report for the year from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008
| (to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)
| | 2. | No.20 | - | Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund
Annual Report 2007-2008
| (to be presented by the Secretary for Development)
| | 3. | No.21 | - | Office of the Telecommunications Authority
Trading Fund Report 2007-2008
| (to be presented by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)
| | 4. | No.22 | - | Hong Kong Post
Annual Report 2007-2008
| | (to be presented by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)
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II. Questions for Written Replies
1. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)
Some workers have relayed to me that the diagnoses, made by the occupational health clinics under the Labour Department, on whether an employee is suffering from an occupational disease under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282), were often different from the diagnoses made by registered medical practitioners in public hospitals or private clinics. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | currently there is any mechanism for employees to learn about the criteria, principles and procedure adopted and the time required for occupational health clinics to diagnose occupational diseases;
| | (b) | it will consider setting up a more systematic mechanism for the diagnosis of occupational diseases by making reference to the Measures for Administration of Diagnosis and Confirmation of Occupational Diseases promulgated by the Ministry of Health of the Mainland; and
| | (c) | it will consider setting up a mechanism other than the court to deal with appeals instituted by employees or employers against the diagnoses made by occupational health clinics; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
2. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Task Force on Airport Co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen has commissioned a consultancy study on the feasibility and economic benefits of connecting the airports in the two places with a high-speed rail link for encouraging more passengers to use the two airports for transfer, with the aim of exploiting the respective competitive edges of the Hong Kong International Airport in international transport and the Shenzhen Airport in domestic transport, so as to bring about increases in passenger throughput for both airports. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the details of the above study, including the functions, alignment and station distribution of the new rail link, its supporting facilities and environmental facilities, as well as the investment-benefit analysis;
| | (b) | whether the study will be completed within this month as scheduled and whether the Government will release the findings of the study immediately thereafter; and
| | (c) | how the authorities will take forward the ensuing work upon completion of the consultancy study, as well as of the procedure involved and its details?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
3. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the utilization of public swimming pools under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective attendances of various public swimming pool complexes since January this year, and how these figures compare to last year's figures;
| | (b) | whether it has reviewed if there are presently sufficient public swimming pools in various districts; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities have received any request from the general public in the past three years for the construction of heated swimming pools; of the criteria adopted by the authorities for deciding on the construction of heated swimming pools; whether they have assessed if these criteria are outdated; and of the districts where heated swimming pools will be constructed in the next three years?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs
4. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
I have received complaints in recent months from members of the public who alleged that some schools, on grounds of poor conduct and learning attitude of students, had forced their parents to sign a letter of voluntary withdrawal, thus depriving the students of their right to education. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of students (excluding graduates) who left school in each of the past three years and, among them, the respective numbers of those who were expelled and those who left voluntarily, as well as their reasons for leaving, and the number of those who were admitted by other schools after being expelled; and
| | (b) | whether the Government will take measures to prevent schools from forcing students' parents to sign letters of voluntary withdrawal on the above grounds, in order to safeguard students against deprivation of their right to education; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
5. Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to ask: (Translation)
At present, quite a number of large housing estates use centralized liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") and many households in old buildings and remote areas use cylinder LPG. Despite the sharp fall in crude oil price in recent months, there is still a substantial gap between the import and retail prices of domestic LPG. Moreover, it has been reported that the LPG price adjustment mechanism also lacks transparency and price adjustments are not clearly indicated on the bills for centralized LPG customers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | it knows the number of households using LPG at present, and its percentage among all households using gas fuels;
| | (b) | it will consider formulating measures to regulate price adjustments of domestic LPG; and
| | (c) | it has assessed whether the Competition Bill to be introduced to this Council in this legislative session will effectively introduce more competition, whether the Bill can prevent monopoly in the retail market of cylinder LPG, and whether households using domestic LPG will have more choices of suppliers; if it cannot prevent monopoly, whether other measures will be adopted?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
6. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the price of Thai rice has dropped from the peak of US$1,400 to about US$900 per ton recently, which is a drop of more than 35%, but the retail price has gone down by about 10% only. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the quantities of and monthly variations in rice imported from around the world over the past 12 months; whether the authorities have assessed if there has been any change in the patterns of rice consumption among Hong Kong people, including changes in the choice of place of import and rice consumption, etc., as a result of the price fluctuations in recent years;
| | (b) | of the variations over the past 12 months in international rice prices, as well as import and retail prices of rice from Thailand and China, including changes in the differences between import and retail prices; and
| | (c) | whether it has looked into why the drop in retail prices of rice is less than the drop in international rice prices; whether it has assessed if there is a situation where prices are "quick in going up but slow in coming down"; if there is, of the reasons for that; whether it has found importers and retailers indiscriminately jacking up prices for profiteering; and of the measures in place to cause retailers to correspondingly reduce rice prices expeditiously?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
7. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
The Government has made provisions in the Budget of this year for implementing the Building Maintenance Grant Scheme for Elderly Owners and the Home Environment Improvement Scheme for the Elderly ("the Home Improvement Scheme"). It has been reported that the Home Improvement Scheme has certain implementation problems. For example, the fees charged by contractors are higher than the market prices, and as no guideline has been issued for the District Elderly Community Centres ("DECCs"), which are responsible for administering the Home Improvement Scheme, to follow, confusion has arisen when they vet and approve the applications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of applications received, approved and rejected by the authorities concerned under the above two schemes since their introduction, the total amount of subsidy or grant approved, as well as a breakdown of the number of rejected applications by the reasons of rejection (such as applicants considered not eligible and problems with the receipts submitted by applicants);
| | (b) | of the number of complaints received by the Government about contractors charging fees higher than the market prices and, among them, the number of substantiated cases; and
| | (c) | whether guidelines for vetting and approving applications have now been issued to DECCs in respect of the Home Improvement Scheme; if so, of the details of the guidelines; if not, whether such guidelines will be formulated?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
8. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
The Code of Practice in times of Typhoons and Rainstorms compiled by the Labour Department advises employers to discuss with employees to set out prior work arrangements and contingency measures when typhoon and rainstorm warnings are in force. Although in recent years the Hong Kong Observatory ("HKO") normally issues an early alert ("Pre-No. 8 Special Announcement") once the Typhoon Warning Signal No. 8 is expected within two hours to allow employees to be released in stages, quite a number of employers still release their employees only after the Typhoon Warning Signal No. 8 has been issued. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the measures in place to improve the situation of traffic congestion and confusion caused by large numbers of employees being released at the same time upon the issuance of the Typhoon Warning Signal No. 8; and
| | (b) | whether the authorities will reconsider not to rely on negotiations undertaken by employers and employees themselves and, instead, legislating for the work arrangements during typhoons, including immediate release of employees in stages by all employers, except those in the exempted trades and industries, upon the issuance of Pre-No. 8 Special Announcement by HKO; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
9. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
Under economic recession looming, the Government has advised that it will expedite the implementation of infrastructural projects to boost the economy and create employment opportunities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has conducted any review on the difficulties encountered in the implementation of infrastructural projects; if it has, of the results; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | of the projects anticipated to commence in the next two years and the ones that can be implemented more expeditiously, as well as the latest specific measures to improve the established procedure so that the infrastructural projects can make an early start; and
| | (c) | how it ensures that the employment opportunities for local workers to be created by these projects will not be lost as a result of the work processes being contracted out and prefabricated components produced on the Mainland being used?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development
10. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the Light Rail ("LR") services provided by the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") in the North-west New Territories ("NT"), will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of LR vehicles commissioned in each of the past three years and the LR network expansion during the period;
| | (b) | of the current population of the North-west NT; and whether it has assessed if the existing LR services can meet the service demand; if it has, of the details; and
| | (c) | whether MTRCL has plans to reorganize the existing LR service network; if so, of the details of such plans?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
11. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
I have learnt that the Police had earlier formulated guidelines specifying that suspected cases of cruelty to animals would be referred to the officers in the crime investigation units ("CIUs") for investigation. However, the Police recently refused to follow up a relevant case reported to a police report centre by telephone by a member of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of reports involving suspected cruelty to animals received by the Police since the formulation of the above guidelines; and among such reports, the respective numbers of those passed to officers of CIUs for investigation, those referred to other government departments (with a breakdown by the name of the departments), those in which prosecution was instituted and those in which the persons concerned were convicted, as well as the penalties imposed on the convicted persons;
| | (b) | whether it has received, since the formulation of the above guidelines, any complaint (e.g. refusing to investigate) against the investigation approach adopted by the Police; if it has, of a breakdown by the subject of the complaints and, among such complaints, the number of substantiated cases; and whether the Police have reviewed the guidelines regularly, so as to improve the handling of such reports;
| | (c) | whether guidelines have been provided to frontline uniform officers at present to help them decide if a case involves cruelty to animals and if it is necessary to refer the case to relevant government departments for investigation; if such guidelines have been provided, of the details;
| | (d) | as the Government stated in its paper to this Council that "inter-departmental meetings were held among the Police, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to draw up new operating protocols to enhance inter-departmental cooperation in the handling of reports of cruelty to animals", whether the relevant drafting work has been completed; if so, of the details of the operating protocols;
| | (e) | whether it has assessed if entrusting with officers of CIUs investigation of cases of cruelty to animals has increased their workload and affected their other duties; if it has, of the assessment results; and
| | (f) | whether the Government will reconsider setting up a dedicated unit in the Police specialized in handling reports of cruelty to animals?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
12. Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask: (Translation)
At present, the Social Welfare Department takes into account the total income and assets of applicants and their family members in vetting and approving applications for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA"). For those elderly people who live with family members but wish to apply for CSSA on their own, their family members are required to make a statement on non-provision of financial support. Some elderly people have expressed that this requirement has made them feel bad and affected their relationship with family members. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of elderly CSSA applications which were rejected over the past three years on grounds of the applicant's failure to provide the above statement;
| | (b) | whether it will remove the requirement for elderly people living with family members and applying for CSSA on their own to submit the above statement; if it will not, of the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | whether it will review the existing eligibility criteria for and the amounts of assistance provided to elderly CSSA applicants, as well as the coverage of and the application procedure for special grants, so that the elderly will have a more comprehensive protection?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
13. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that chrysotile, a type of asbestos, and materials containing chrysotile are still permitted to be imported into and re-exported from Hong Kong. Also, from time to time, building materials containing asbestos are found to have been used in old buildings as well. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | it knows the details (including the types, quantities, uses and sales channels) of the import into and re-export from Hong Kong of chrysotile and materials containing chrysotile in the past three years;
| | (b) | it knows the approximate number of workers who had had contact with materials containing asbestos while at work in Hong Kong in the past three years, and whether the authorities have formulated measures to ensure that the employers and employees concerned comply with the Code of Practice: Safety and Health at Work with Asbestos in order to safeguard the health of such employees; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (c) | it knows the respective numbers of buildings aged 20 to 29, 30 to 39 and 40 years or above in which building materials containing asbestos may have been used, as well as the number of residents in such buildings; and
| | (d) | the Government has taken other promotional and educational initiatives, apart from providing relevant information on government web sites, for residents in old buildings to understand how to deal with building materials containing asbestos in their premises; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
14. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that in recent months, The Link Management Limited and other shopping mall proprietors have substantially increased the rents of shops in their shopping malls and have even refused to enter into new tenancy agreements with small shop tenants upon expiry of their current agreements in order to introduce large supermarkets, chain stores and trendy shops. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the total number of small shop tenants at the end of each of the past three years, and the annual number of small shop tenants which closed down their businesses upon expiry of their tenancy agreements during the period;
| | (b) | whether it has assessed the impact of the above situation on the business environment of small shop tenants and the interest of consumers; if it has, of the assessment results;
| | (c) | of the measures in place to ensure that the room for survival of small shop tenants will not be throttled by large supermarkets and chain stores; and
| | (d) | of the existing policies to help small shop tenants to face the difficulties in running businesses?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
15. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
In reply to a question from a Member of this Council in June 2006, the authorities advised that the Labour Department ("LD") was conducting a study on whether legislation should be enacted for providing paternity leave to male employees. The Chief Executive also sought to "deepen various family-friendly measures" in his Policy Address in October 2006. However, in response to another question from a Member of this Council in November 2007, the authorities said that "At present, we have no plan to provide paid paternity leave in addition to the existing annual leave benefits of civil servants and non-civil service contract staff". This subject was not even mentioned in the Policy Address delivered recently. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | of the progress of the above study and the expected completion date;
| | (b) | as the authorities stated in their reply to the question in November 2007 that "In deliberating whether we should legislate for paternity leave, we should first and foremost ensure that there is wide consensus in the community......", whether they will consider publishing a public consultation paper immediately upon completion of the above study by LD, with a view to attaining consensus in the community; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (c) | of the increase in the number of local enterprises providing paternity leave to male employees since the Government's promotion of family-friendly employment practices; whether they have assessed the effectiveness of the approaches adopted for promoting paternity leave; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (d) | whether they have assessed how, on the one hand the Government will not consider providing paid paternity leave to civil servants, on the other hand, it can be a model of good employer to encourage enterprises to take up social responsibility and offer paid paternity leave, and what concrete plans it has to do so?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
16. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)
I have received complaints from residents of the Central and Western District that the vent shaft of the West Hong Kong Island Line proposed to be built by the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") at Hill Road will cause noise and air pollution nuisance to residents nearby. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | it has found out from MTRCL the impact of the vent shaft on the local environment, including the environmental impact data in terms of air quality and noise, etc.; if not, of the reasons for that; and
| | (b) | it has suggested to MTRCL to relocate the vent shaft to another area; if it has, of the relevant details and the relocation cost involved; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
17. Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to ask: (Translation)
According to the population projections of the Census and Statistics Department, the percentage of the elderly in the population will continue to rise, and it is expected that the elderly aged 65 or above will account for 27% of the population by 2033. The Chief Executive has also pointed out that 25 years from now, there will be one elderly person in every four Hong Kong people. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | any long-term population policy is currently in place to cope with the pressure on the society exerted by changes in the population structure in the coming decades; if there is such a policy, of the details;
| | (b) | it will establish a flexible retirement mechanism and encourage enterprises to employ the elderly with working ability, so as to enhance the overall labour force; and
| | (c) | it has fully considered, in planning for the development of integrated elderly community projects in remote areas such as Tin Shui Wai, how the elderly living in the projects' elderly housing may be assisted in keeping in touch with their friends and relatives, including participating in social activities, so as to avoid their becoming lonely and helpless?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
18. Dr Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that some contractors have recently introduced a new rooftop greening technology from Japan which uses lightweight materials underneath the growing medium in place of conventional soil. As a result, the total weight of the greening project is only one-eighth of that for common rooftop greening projects, and roofs with smaller loading capacities can also carry out greening works. However, the cost of such technology is relatively high. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has adopted the above new technology in carrying out rooftop greening works for government buildings; if it has, of the expenditure involved for such works; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | of the latest rooftop greening technologies adopted by the Government at present and its effectiveness;
| | (c) | whether it has provided the relevant technical and funding support to the private sector to promote rooftop greening; if it has, of the details; and
| | (d) | whether it will formulate a comprehensive long-term strategy to actively promote rooftop greening so as to alleviate the continual rise in Hong Kong's temperature?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development
19. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)
Recently, I have received complaints alleging that traffic noise and air pollution problems along the section of Gascoigne Road Flyover near Ferry Street have caused nuisances to residents nearby. Moreover, in a paper submitted to the Panel on Transport of this Council in May this year, the Transport and Housing Bureau indicated that a consultancy study on the Central Kowloon Route ("CKR") was being conducted, and the study would continue to examine the reprovisioning of the Flyover, including the installation of noise barriers and the implementation of other appropriate measures, so as to maintain smooth traffic along the Flyover during the construction of CKR. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective average daily vehicle flows as well as the noise and air pollutant levels during peak and non-peak hours at the above road section in the past five years; and whether the noise levels concerned have exceeded the statutory standard; and
| | (b) | when the above study on the reprovisioning of the Gascoigne Road Flyover or the installation of noise barriers is expected to complete, and whether the Government has short-term measures in place to mitigate the noise at this road section; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
20. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)
Since the piloting for Applied Learning courses, formerly known as Career-Oriented Curriculum, was introduced in September 2003, four cohorts of piloting have been launched so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the respective numbers of students, in each of the piloting cohorts since 2003, who were admitted to matriculation courses, Project Yi Jin or associate degree programmes after they had completed the above piloting courses, as well as the respective percentages of these numbers in the total numbers of students who completed the piloting courses in the corresponding cohorts;
| | (b) | as the information on the web site of the Education Bureau indicates that successful completion of one piloting course will be recognized as comparable to one subject pass in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination ("HKCEE"), whether the institutions funded by University Grants Committee ("UGC") recognize completion of one relevant piloting course as one HKCEE subject pass in determining whether an admission application has met the requirement on the number of HKCEE subject passes under the Joint University Programmes Admissions System; if it is recognized as such, whether it knows the annual numbers of students who applied for places in local universities with these qualifications since 2003; if it is not recognized as such, of the reasons for that;
| | (c) | whether the Government has discussed with universities the qualification recognition of these piloting courses; if it has, of the outcome of the discussions; if not, the reasons for that, and the paths available for students who have completed these courses to pursue further studies after finishing Form 7; and
| | (d) | whether there will be changes in the recognition of qualifications obtained by students having completed these piloting courses after the implementation of the new senior secondary academic structure and the curriculum reform; if so, of the details, and whether it knows if UGC-funded institutions will recognize these qualifications for admission of students to their programmes?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
III. Members' Motions
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon Fred LI to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that in relation to the Harmful Substances in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2008, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 215 of 2008 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 8 October 2008, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 26 November 2008.
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon Miriam LAU to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that in relation to the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulation 2008, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 219 of 2008 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 8 October 2008, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 26 November 2008.
- Motion of Thanks
Hon Miriam LAU: (Translation)
That this Council thanks the Chief Executive for his address.
Amendment to the motion
Hon Emily LAU: (Translation)
To add ", but as many people support the implementation of dual universal suffrage in 2012, this Council expresses deep regret at the Chief Executive's remark that the timetable for universal suffrage set by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress at the end of 2007 enjoys wide support in the community, which disregarded the request for the implementation of dual universal suffrage in 2012 from the community at large" immediately before the full stop.
Public Officers to attend are listed in the Appendix
Clerk to the Legislative Council
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