A 11/12-22

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 21 March 2012 at 11:00 am and
Thursday 22 March 2012 at 9:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentL.N. No.
1.Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Civic Centres) (Amendment of Thirteenth Schedule) Order 201231/2012
2.Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 1 and 2) Order 201238/2012
3.Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Eighth Schedule) Order 201239/2012
4.Veterinary Surgeons Registration Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 201240/2012
5.Education Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Notice 201241/2012

Other Papers

1.No. 77-HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund
Financial statements together with the Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 August 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Education)

2.No. 78-Hong Kong Rotary Club Students' Loan Fund Financial statements together with the Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 August 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Education)

3.No. 79-Sing Tao Charitable Foundation Students' Loan Fund Financial statements together with the Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 August 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Education)

4.No. 80-The Lord Wilson Heritage Trust Annual Report 2010-2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

5.No. 81-Quality Education Fund Financial statements together with the Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 August 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Education)

6.No. 82-Education Development Fund Financial statements together with the Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 August 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Education)

7.Report No. 14/11-12 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)

IA. Addresses

Hon LEE Wing-tat, Hon WONG Sing-chi and the Secretary for Transport and Housing to respectively address the Council on the Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) Order 2012, the Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) (North Lantau and Chek Lap Kok Airport) Order 2012, the Schedule of Routes (Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited) Order 2012, the Schedule of Routes (Long Win Bus Company Limited) Order 2012, the Schedule of Routes (New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited) Order 2012 and the Schedule of Routes (New World First Bus Services Limited) Order 2012, which are subsidiary legislation laid on the Table of the Council on 1 February 2012.

II. Questions for Written Replies

1. Hon Vincent FANG to ask: (Translation)

The Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") is conducting public consultation on the charging for municipal solid waste ("MSW charging") and the consultation document cited the experience of some cities (including Taipei City, Seoul, western peripheral cities of Metropolitan Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing and Guangzhou, etc.) where MSW charging has been implemented. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the means of treating or disposing MSW, such as recovery, incineration and disposal at landfills, etc., adopted by the aforesaid cities where MSW charging has been implemented, and the respective percentages of the quantities of MSW treated by the various means; the changes in the MSW recovery rates before and after the implementation of MSW charging in the various cities; and the uses of the charges collected;

    (b)whether it knows if the governments of the aforesaid cities have given direct or indirect support and assistance to waste recovery or treatment, including introducing supportive measures in terms of taxation, technology, land or funding, etc.; if so, the relevant measures; and the number and nature of waste treatment facilities established with government support;

    (c)whether, at the present stage, the Government has any plan to extend the scope of the existing three-coloured waste separation bin ("three-coloured bin") scheme to recover waste materials in addition to paper, plastic and aluminium cans; if it has, of the plan; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)of the changes and the rates of increase/decrease in the quantity of plastic waste recovered through the three-coloured bins provided by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department after the implementation of the environmental levy scheme on plastic shopping bags;

    (e)whether the Environment Bureau ("ENB") or EPD follows up on where the waste recovered through three-coloured bins will be processed; whether it knows if there is any enterprise engaged in the recycling of plastic waste in Hong Kong at present; if there are such enterprises, the quantity of plastic waste recycled by them; if there is not any, the reasons for that; and

    (f)of the number of directorate officers in ENB and EPD who have undergone professional training relating to environmental protection and have relevant working experience, as well as the percentage of them in the total number of directorate officers in ENB and EPD; given that the number of environmental protection measures implemented by the Government is increasing, whether the relevant policy bureaux or their executive arms have any plan to recruit more staff to take charge of the relevant measures; if so, of the recruitment criteria?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

2. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported in the press that on 25 February this year, the Sham Shui Po District Office ("DO") carried out a joint operation with other government departments to clear the sleeping places of street sleepers in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)why DO removed the personal documents and belongings of street sleepers without giving any notice and refused to return them to the owners; whether it has assessed if such practice contravenes section 20 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132); if it has, of the assessment result; whether DO will arrange street sleepers to retrieve their personal documents and belongings;

    (b)given the cold weather on the day of the aforesaid operation, whether the relevant government departments immediately arranged the street sleepers to seek refuge in temporary cold shelters after the clearing operation; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (c)given that the Home Affairs Department ("HAD") will open temporary cold shelters when the Hong Kong Observatory issues cold weather warning, whether HAD will at the same time arrange staff members to reach out to street sleepers in the districts and assist them in seeking refuge in the temporary cold shelters; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (d)given that some organizations have pointed out that at present there are around 1 000 street sleepers in Hong Kong, whether the Government will allocate additional resources to the Social Welfare Department or other social welfare organizations, so as to enhance their support services provided to street sleepers?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

3. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the household income data collected from the 2001 Population Census, the 2006 Population By-census and the 2011 Population Census, will the Government provide the following data for 2001, 2006 and 2011:
    (a)the range, median and mean of the household income for each of the 10 decile groups obtained by dividing the number of all Hong Kong households according to their household income in each of the aforesaid three years (list in ascending order);

    (b)the range, median and mean of the per capita household income for each of the 10 decile groups obtained by dividing the number of all Hong Kong people according to their per capita household income in each of the aforesaid three years (list in ascending order); and

    (c)the respective Gini coefficients compiled on the basis of household income and per capita household income in each of the aforesaid three years?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

4. Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that with regard to the case of a cleansing worker who was killed in an explosion caused by incorrectly mixing cleansing agents, the coroner handling the case pointed out that he had handled quite a number of cases involving cleansing workers being killed after inhaling toxic chemical fumes, and such cases reflected that the knowledge of these workers and their supervisors about dangerous cleansing agents was limited, and the management of some cleansing companies was perfunctory about adopting occupational safety and health measures. The coroner therefore suggested the Labour Department ("LD") to introduce a licensing system to ensure the implementation of effective occupational safety guidelines by the management of cleansing companies. In addition, according to a survey report on the chemical hazards to workers of the outsourced cleansing service industry published in 2010 by an organization which is concerned about occupational health ("the organization"), among the cleansing workers interviewed, nearly 80% indicated that their employers had not provided proper training, nearly half of them said that the safety information on chemicals provided by their employers was inadequate, and over 40% of them said that they did not understand the labels on chemicals and did not read the contents. The organization suggested that employers should enhance safety measures and training, and that the Government and property developers should stipulate in detail contractors' responsibilities for safeguarding occupational safety and health of cleansing workers in the outsourced cleansing service contracts, conduct regular reviews, and introduce a demerit point system to penalize contractors for not implementing the relevant measures. The organization also suggested that LD should step up monitoring and inspection to check whether the employers were fulfilling their relevant responsibilities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the measures currently adopted by LD targeted at safeguarding the occupational safety and health of cleansing workers;

    (b)whether LD will draw up relevant measures to minimize the potential risk posed to cleansing workers when they come into contact with and use chemicals, and increase their awareness towards the hazards of different chemicals; if it will, of the details; and

    (c)whether LD will make reference to the aforesaid suggestions by the coroner and the organization on enhancing the safeguard for the occupational safety and health of cleansing workers by cleansing companies and employers, and take follow-up actions and adopt improvement measures, including introducing a licensing system and a demerit point system in respect of the outsourced cleansing service contracts of the Government, etc.?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

5. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

Some local students of the universities in Hong Kong ("the universities") relayed to me that there was keen competition for university education resources (including undergraduate places, hostel accommodation, scholarships and postgraduate places, etc.) among local and non-local students. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)if the various universities have formulated different policies on the allocation of undergraduate places for local and non-local students; if they have, the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)the systems for allocating hostel places of the various universities at present; if guidelines have been issued to the universities by the authorities with a view to enhancing transparency of such systems (including the processing of applications from local students); if assessments have been conducted on whether the hostel places of the various universities can meet the needs of both local and non-local students; and

    (c)the details (including the ratios between local and non-local students) about the allocation of scholarships and postgraduate places by the various universities at present; if relevant guidelines have been issued to the various universities by the authorities to enable local students to have sufficient opportunities to obtain such resources?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

6. Hon Andrew LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported earlier that as children born locally but whose parents are non-permanent residents of Hong Kong ("doubly non-permanent resident children") do not have household registration and benefits on the Mainland, their parents request the Government to provide residence and schooling for these children in Hong Kong. It has also been reported that of the pupils who were admitted to some local primary schools in recent years, some were doubly non-permanent resident children who had only attended kindergarten for no more than a few months, and these children, who could hardly take care of themselves and lacked basic skills such as recognizing numbers, etc., had created much difficulty for the teachers who teach them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases of doubly non-permanent resident children receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance in each of the past three years;

    (b)of the number of requests for provision of foster care to doubly non-permanent resident children in each of the past three years; and

    (c)whether the authorities will provide additional resources to help doubly non-permanent resident children cope with the problems they face upon admission to primary one in schools in Hong Kong as well as integrate into society, and how the authorities will assist schools in addressing the learning and adaptation problems of such children?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

7. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)

The cable car system of Ngong Ping 360 ("Ngong Ping 360") broke down again on the third day of the Lunar New Year this year and more than 800 visitors were stranded in midair for up to two hours. It has been reported that the incident has aroused strong dissatisfaction among tourists and affected the image of the tourism industry of Hong Kong. The Ngong Ping 360 Limited ("the Company") decided to suspend services for two months for maintenance and replacement of the bearings of bullwheels. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that following the three service suspension incidents in December last year, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department had instructed the Company to enhance daily routine inspection, whether the Company had noticed during routine inspections the wear on the bearing that caused the aforesaid incident; if it had, why it had not replaced the bearing and handled the problem in a timely manner; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it has assessed the losses suffered by the local tourism industry and the commercial tenants of the Ngong Ping Village due to the aforesaid service suspension; if it has, of the amount of losses; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that this is the 23rd service suspension incident of Ngong Ping 360 since its commissioning in 2006, whether the Government and the Company have assessed how Ngong Ping 360 compares with the similar type of cable car systems in other regions in terms of the frequency of incidents; if they have, whether the frequency of incidents of Ngong Ping 360 is too high; and whether they have learnt from the experience of the cable car companies in other regions in operation and conduct of safety checks; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

8. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

In reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 29 February this year, the Government indicated that between late May and early June last year when unauthorized building works ("UBWs") became a topical issue among the media, the Chief Executive reminded various Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux to review whether there was any UBW in the properties they owned, and requested that if necessary, they should engage authorized persons to inspect their units and seek professional advice. Further, the Government also stated that being the department responsible for enforcement against UBWs, the Buildings Department ("BD") had all along been determined to act in accordance with the law and to be impartial to all, and would take enforcement actions in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) and the prevailing enforcement policy on UBWs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether BD's records on properties in which UBWs are found include the properties owned by the government officials listed in the table below; if so, of the details of the UBWs concerned and the enforcement actions taken by the authorities (set out the details in the table below by the government officials concerned who were in post during the period in May and June 2011);

    Details of the UBWs and enforcement actions taken by BD
    Properties of the government officials concerned
    		The date BD acknowledged the UBWs, and whether it had issued warning letters and/or statutory orders Details of the UBWs (including the locations of the properties, the type, purpose and size of each UBW, and when they were erected) The deadline for completion of the rectification works, and the actual completion date The current conditions of the UBWs
    The Chief Executive



    The Chief Secretary for Administration



    The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs



    The Secretary for Education



    The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development




    (b)whether BD's records on properties in which UBWs are found include the properties owned by the current Financial Secretary, the Secretary for Justice, the Secretary for the Civil Service, the Secretary for Home Affairs, the Secretary for Security, the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, the Secretary for Food and Health, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, the Secretary for Development, the Secretary for the Environment and the Secretary for Transport and Housing; if so, of the details;

    (c)given that in accordance with the internal guidelines on the prioritization of "actionable" UBWs ("the new enforcement policy") which came into effect on 1 April last year, BD will issue statutory orders against confirmed "actionable" UBWs to require the owners concerned to conduct rectification works immediately, and it has also ceased issuing warning notices to "the New Commitments" which have been included as UBWs with effect from 1 April last year, as they will instead be served with removal orders under the new enforcement policy, which of the UBWs in (a) and (b) are "actionable" UBWs, and which of them belong to "the New Commitments";

    (d)whether BD has taken enforcement actions against the "actionable" UBWs (including "the New Commitments") in (c) in accordance with the new enforcement policy; if it has, when the authorities issued the relevant statutory orders, and of the contents of such statutory orders; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (e)whether "actionable" UBWs currently cover basements constructed without authorization; if not, whether it will consider further extending the scope of "actionable" UBWs to cover basements constructed without authorization, and include them under the list of "the New Commitments", so as to ensure the safety of the buildings concerned?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

The Guidelines for the Implementation of Fair Usage Policy for the Provision of Mobile and Fixed Broadband Services ("the Guidelines") issued by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority ("OFTA"), which also covers mobile data services for mobile phones, came into effect on 13 February this year. A telecommunications service provider ("service provider") announced earlier the cancellation of its unlimited data usage service plan but later revived the relevant plan, and a number of customers complained against the service provider for having allegedly misled them, causing them to renew their contracts well before the expiry date. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the respective numbers of enquiries and complaints the Consumer Council ("CC") has so far received on the aforesaid trade practice which was alleged to have misled consumers; whether CC will assist consumers in requesting the service provider to refund and rescind the contracts; if it will, of the situation; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)if OFTA has any measure in place to monitor whether service providers have complied with the guiding principles stipulated in the Guidelines for the implementation of fair usage policy and whether they have enhanced the transparency of the service terms, so as not to mislead consumers; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

In 2005, the Government applied to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council ("LegCo") for a loan of about $600 million for the City University of Hong Kong ("CityU") to construct a new academic building ("the new building"), which can accommodate 6 000 students, on its main campus. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
    (a)at present, the use and target groups of various floors of the new building, the respective types, subvention modes and numbers of student places of the courses conducted in the new building, as well as the vacancy position of various floors (including the number of floors which are still vacant); whether the authorities have monitored the utilization of the new building upon its completion; whether conversion of floors, change of floor use or not using some floors and leaving them vacant by CityU are subject to the Government's approval;

    (b)the current number of sub-degree students attending classes at the temporary campus of CityU at Telford Garden in Kowloon Bay; whether these students can attend classes and enjoy the facilities in the new building just like other CityU sub-degree students; if they can, when they can begin attending classes in the new building; if not, why they are not allowed to move into the new building to enjoy the reasonable and quality teaching environment and facilities; and

    (c)whether CityU has reserved some floors of the new building for other uses (e.g. setting up a school of veterinary medicine); if it has, of the uses of the floors concerned, and whether the Government has assessed if CityU has contravened the conditions set by LegCo in approving the loan at that time; if such an assessment has been made, the outcome?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

11. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)

A number of social work teachers in the universities have earlier relayed to me coincidentally that there were news in the academia that the University Grants Committee ("UGC") has amended its funding model for the institutions from the 2011-2012 academic year onward, as well as reduced the funding amounts, which resulted in some UGC-funded programmes not being fully funded. Those teachers worry that the funding for teaching activities of the UGC-funded institutions ("institutions") will be tightened, which will in turn affect students' learning as well as the number, remunerations and quality of teaching of teachers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
    (a)whether UGC has discussed any change in funding model since 2008; if it has, the changes; whether any plan to adjust the funding model is under discussion at present; if so, the details;

    (b)whether UGC will, after granting the funds, monitor if the institutions have put the funds to effective use and formulated relevant indicators (including the courses offered, the numbers of student intake and teacher-student ratio of the courses, etc.); if it will, whether it has any plan to amend such indicators within the next five years; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)following the approval granted by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in 2009 for the funding proposal on institutions for the 2009-2010 to 2011-2012 triennium, whether UGC has eventually reduced the funding for the institutions for the 2011-2012 academic year; if it has, the reasons for that; the respective amounts and percentages of reduction regarding the various institutions as compared to those of the previous academic year; how it ensures that the funding for the institutions will not be tightened because of the reduction in grants, which will affect students' learning as well as the number, remunerations and quality of teaching of teachers;

    (d)given that quite a number of institutions offer self-financing programmes, the accounts of which are kept separately, whether UGC monitors if the institutions utilize the full amounts of their funding on the funded programmes; if it does, the monitoring mechanism; if not, the reasons for that; whether the institutions are allowed to utilize part of such funding on other purposes which may result in the funded programmes not receiving the full amounts of funding and the institutions having to look for extra resources for supplementary funding (including raising students' fees or offering self-financing programmes); how it ensures that the funded programmes maintain the quality of teaching and research under such circumstances;

    (e)how UGC ensures that the social work programmes (in terms of teacher qualifications, teaching hours, practicum hours and student performance) offered by the institutions can train graduates who reach the standard of registered social workers verified by the Social Workers Registration Board;

    (f)the criteria and formula adopted by UGC in determining the costs of the academic programmes and their weightings when it calculates the funding for various institutions;

    (g)given that the authorities have pointed out in the paper for the meeting of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council held on 13 January 2012 that, in determining the resources required by various institutions, the "relative cost weightings" of the "taught programmes" and "research programmes" under "social sciences" were both set at 1.0, whether this weighting has been changed as compared to that in the previous triennium; if it has, the reasons for that and the impact on the funding amounts for various institutions; whether UGC has assessed the effectiveness of various institutions in utilizing the funding on teaching; and

    (h)given that the paper mentioned in (g) indicated that "some subjects are more expensive than the others because they require special equipment, laboratory or more staff time", while the subject of social work which is categorized under social sciences similarly requires laboratory to train skills and, according to the criteria and standards of the Social Workers Registration Board, each student has to conduct a minimum of 800 hours' placement under the supervision of a fieldwork supervisor, why the weighting of the social work subject is set at 1.0 instead of 1.4 under the group with higher cost?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

It has been reported that since The Link Management Limited ("The Link") took over the management of the shopping malls under the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") in 2005, the shop rents have been on the increase. Quite a number of shop tenants were forced to close their businesses or move because they could not withstand the pressure of rental increase, and even HA's estate offices which used to rent premises in The Link's shopping malls had to move elsewhere as a result of the exorbitant rents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the overall rate of rental increases imposed on the shop tenants operating in the shopping malls under The Link last year, together with a breakdown by type of tenant; the details of the shop tenants paying the highest rate of rental increase, and the justification for such an increase;

    (b)the respective numbers and types of shop tenants operating in the shopping malls under The Link which had closed down or moved because rental increases were imposed on them upon renewal of leases in each of the past three years; if The Link does not have any statistics in this respect, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that the shopping malls under The Link are mainly located in public housing estates where the grassroots reside and the businesses operated by the shop tenants there are mostly related to people's daily necessities and the rental increases imposed by The Link will directly add to the operating costs of its shop tenants, the measures put in place by the Government to safeguard the livelihood of the grassroots from being affected by the rising goods prices resulting from the rental increases imposed on the shop tenants?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

13. Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask: (Translation)

The authorities are carrying out works at the area between Anderson Road and Sau Mau Ping Road in Kwun Tong (North) to form about 20 hectres of building platforms for development of public housing as well as other government, institution or community facilities ("the Development Area"), and the works are expected to be completed by around 2014. At present, residents in Kwun Tong (North) mainly rely on two major trunk roads (i.e. Clear Water Bay Road for westbound traffic and Tsueng Kwan O Road for eastbound traffic) or pass through Kwun Tong town centre for access to other districts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective reserve capacities of the relevant road junctions (including the junctions of Sau Mau Ping Road/Tsueng Kwan O Road, Tsueng Kwan O Road/Lei Yue Mun Road, New Clear Water Bay Road/Clear Water Bay Road and Hong Ning Road/Kwun Tong Road, etc.) in Kwun Tong (North) in the past three years;

    (b)whether the authorities have assessed the traffic flows of the roads in the Development Area and the road junctions in (a); if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)apart from constructing the Central Kowloon Route, whether the authorities have rolled out any new road planning for the Development Area so as to alleviate the additional traffic pressure on Kwun Tong (North)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

14. Hon IP Wai-ming to ask: (Translation)

A Number 3 alarm fire which was caused by repair works on underground water mains broke out inside the Lion Rock Tunnel ("the Tunnel") on 8 March this year. The incident has not just necessitated a two-week closure of the Tunnel for emergency repairs, but has also aroused public concern about issues of safety and means of escape in respect of the tunnels built in early days. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have drawn up and updated the measures and equipment for safety management, emergency contingency plans for incidents inside tunnel tubes, and conducted regular training and drills for the road tunnels and cross-harbour tunnels built in different periods in Hong Kong; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the drencher system installed inside the tubes of the Tunnel was activated when the aforesaid fire broke out; if not, of the reasons for that; whether the drenchers functioned normally whenever a fire broke out or a drill was conducted inside the tubes of the Tunnel in the past three years; if not, of the number of failures and the details;

    (c)whether it knows, apart from the Tunnel, if the design of at-grade vehicular traffic with underground piping for public utilities is currently adopted for any road tunnel, cross-harbour tunnel or rail tunnel in Hong Kong; if so, the details of the tunnels concerned and the public utilities for which piping has been laid; how the authorities ensure the industrial safety of the workers who carry out repairs and maintenance for the tunnels and such underground facilities (including whether they will brief the workers on the escape facilities before commencement of the works); and

    (d)whether it knows, in addition to the Tunnel, which tunnels in Hong Kong are not equipped with escape doors or tubes, and rely only on tunnel exits as emergency exits; whether the authorities have considered adding a pedestrian escape tube inside the Tunnel and such tunnels in order to ensure the safety of tunnel users and other people concerned; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

15. Dr Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)

According to the latest statistics released by the Hong Kong Cancer Registry of the Hospital Authority ("HA"), the number of cancer patients in 2009 has increased by about 22% as compared to that in 2000. It is learnt that 90% of the cancer patients receive chemotherapy and electrotherapy in public hospitals, but the worsening turnover of radiographers in HA in recent years had rendered HA unable to meet its performance pledge of providing cancer patients with electrotherapy within four weeks upon confirmation of their cases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
    (a)the numbers of radiographers (including diagnostic radiographers and radiotherapists) needed under HA's establishment in each of the past three years, and how such numbers compare with the actual numbers, with a breakdown by the hospital to which they belong and their rank;

    (b)the respective numbers of diagnostic radiographers and radiotherapists who resigned, retired and were newly recruited in each of the past three years; and whether HA could fill all such vacancies; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether HA has assessed if the existing manpower of diagnostic radiographers and radiotherapists is sufficient to cope with the service demand, so as to meet its performance pledge of providing patients with electrotherapy within four weeks upon confirmation of their cases; if it has, the details; if not, whether it will consider conducting such an assessment; and

    (d)whether HA has conducted any planning for the supply of and demand for diagnostic radiographers and radiotherapists in the next five years; if it has, the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

16. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)

At present, the public charges for public healthcare services in Hong Kong are divided into two categories based on Eligible Persons and Non-eligible Persons ("NEPs"). As the local public healthcare system mainly serves Hong Kong residents, it is currently stipulated that only holders of Hong Kong Identity Cards or children under 11 years of age who are Hong Kong residents are entitled to use healthcare services at heavily government-subsidized rates. NEPs (including mainland residents) receiving public healthcare services are required to pay for service charges which are determined on a cost-recovery basis. According to the 2012-2013 Budget, in public hospitals, the cost per accident and emergency ("A&E") attendance is about $930 and the cost per specialist outpatient attendance is about $1,090, and the cost per patient day for general inpatient services is about $4,250. However, at present, the Hospital Authority ("HA") only charges NEPs $570 per attendance, $700 per attendance, and $3,300 per day respectively for A&E services, specialist outpatient services and general inpatient services received in public hospitals, which are much lower than their service costs. In 2010-2011, the respective numbers of attendance of NEPs for A&E services and specialist outpatient services in public hospitals were 25 161 and 32 678, while the number of bed days for general inpatient services in public hospitals received by NEPs was 49 316. On the basis of the aforesaid differences, the annual amount of subsidy on these three kinds of public hospital services for NEPs paid by the Government is nearly $70 million, or $700 million if calculated on a 10-year basis. The service charges paid by NEPs were last adjusted in 2003 and local taxpayers have in effect been subsidizing NEPs heavily over the years in receiving public healthcare services in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the aggregate amount of subsidies paid by local taxpayers for NEPs receiving public healthcare services in each of the past 10 years;

    (b)given that while it is clearly shown in the government budget every year that the annual cost of services of public hospitals has been rising, public hospitals are required to collect charges in accordance with the List of Charges published in the Gazette and it has been nearly 10 years since the charges for NEPs were last published in the Gazette, of the reasons why so far such charges have not been updated to comply with the principle of cost recovery; whether the authorities will establish a regular mechanism to review the charges annually; and

    (c)for the purpose of relieving the pressure on the public healthcare system in Hong Kong (including the problem of excessively long waiting time for patients), apart from recovering service costs from NEPs for using public hospital services, whether the authorities will consider introducing a quota system for certain specialist services that register a very long waiting time for patients, in a way similar to the quota system for provision of obstetric services to non-local residents, in order to ensure that Hong Kong residents can be accorded priority in receiving proper and adequate healthcare services?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

17. Dr Hon PAN Pey-chyou to ask: (Translation)

A security guard was killed in an incident which occurred in Choi Yuen Estate in Sheung Shui earlier involving a person with mental illness assaulting a security guard of the estate. The incident caused quite a number of frontline security guards to worry that in the absence of adequate defensive gear and training, they might be subject to assaults anytime at work. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Labour Department ("LD") had implemented relevant measures and organized activities in the past five years to increase the awareness of security guards about their personal and occupational safety at work, especially when dealing with violence and entering premises or properties to handle complaints, etc.; if it had, of the details, including the specific contents and the numbers of participants of the activities; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of the respective numbers of cases involving security guards of buildings being assaulted at work received by the Police and LD in the past five years, as well as the casualties of security guards in such cases;

    (c)given that security guards have to face unexpected and even life-threatening incidents at work, whether the authorities will consider, when issuing licences to security companies engaged in security work type I (i.e. provision of security guarding services), requiring them to make available adequate defensive gear, including batons and shields, etc., at workplaces for security guards to bring with them such gear when entering premises or properties to handle incidents and patrolling, so that they can protect themselves in case of emergency; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (d)whether it knows if the topic of the handling of emergencies is included in all existing basic training and courses provided to security guards or people who wish to join the trade; if it is included, of the number of hours of the relevant sessions, and whether it covers the handling of violence and crises in life-threatening situations;

    (e)whether it knows if the current trade test for security guards recognized by the Security and Guarding Services Industry Authority assesses the applicants' ability to deal with incidents involving violence and people with mental illness, or their strategy in facing threats to their lives; if so, of the weighting for such assessment in the test; if not, whether the authorities will consider making it mandatory to include the relevant assessment contents in the test so as to conduct a thorough assessment on security guards; and

    (f)of the plans the authorities have in the future to enhance the occupational safety of frontline security guards, particularly in respect of their safety and response during emergencies such as incidents involving violence and people with mental illness?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

18. Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO to ask: (Translation)

In Hong Kong, quite a number of patients with organ failure need to wait for organ transplant in order to live on. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of registrants on the Centralized Organ Donation Register in each of the past two years;

    (b)whether it knows the number of patients who passed away in each of the past five years while waiting for the right organ match for transplant; and

    (c)whether it knows if there were Hong Kong residents seeking treatment from public hospitals in each of the past five years for clinical problems arising from the organ transplant operations they received in other places; if there were, the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

19. Hon Paul CHAN to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the appointment of government representatives to serve on the councils or boards of some professional bodies with a view to enhancing the transparency of their operation, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the current number and names of professional bodies the councils or boards of which comprise appointed government representatives; the ordinances based on which the Government decides from which of the policy bureaux or government departments the representative to serve on the councils or boards of these professional bodies are to be appointed as well as on the ranks and numbers of such government representatives;

    (b)of the attendance rates of appointed government representatives at the council or board meetings of the professional bodies mentioned in (a) in the past five years; whether the authorities have assessed their performance in the capacity as appointed government representatives; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it has regularly reviewed the effectiveness of the arrangement of appointing government representatives in enhancing the transparency of the operation of the professional bodies, and reviewed if such arrangement can serve other purposes; if it has, of the details and findings of the reviews; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

20. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

In May 2009, the Planning Department completed the study on the Area Improvement Plan for the Shopping Areas of Mong Kok ("Area Improvement Plan"), which identified four streams of improvement initiatives and recommended 22 projects (including the Sai Yee Street redevelopment project, etc.). Besides, to enhance the shopping areas and pedestrian experience in Mong Kok, the Transport Department ("TD") and the Urban Renewal Authority ("URA") have also launched various related projects in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the progress of the 22 improvement projects in the Area Improvement Plan, including details of the completed projects, work progress and anticipated completion dates of the uncompleted projects, as well as the commencement dates and anticipated completion dates of the projects which have not yet commenced;

    (b)of the work progress of the reprovisioning of the New Territories West Regional Office of the Water Supplies Department and the neighbouring Food and Environmental Hygiene Department depot in the Sai Yee Street redevelopment project; when it will conduct traffic assessment and preliminary work and commence public consultation on the project of developing the Sai Yee Street redevelopment site into a public transport interchange;

    (c)of the progress of the plan proposed by TD last year on widening the pedestrian crossing at the junction of Argyle Street and Nathan Road, and when such plan is expected to be implemented; and

    (d)whether it knows the progress of the plan launched by URA in 2008 on the revitalization of the tenement buildings at Prince Edward Road West and Shanghai Street, and when such plan is expected to be implemented and completed?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

III. Bills

First Reading

Residential Properties (First-hand Sales) Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Residential Properties (First-hand Sales) Bill:Secretary for Transport and Housing

Second Reading (Debate to resume)

Appropriation Bill 2012:The Financial Secretary

IV. Members' Motions

Proposed resolution under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance

Hon LEE Wing-tat to move the following motion:

That the Panel on Constitutional Affairs be authorized under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of the Ordinance for the purpose of inquiring into the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Mr Donald TSANG's travels to Macao, Japan and Phuket of Thailand with friends between October 2009 and February 2012 involving private passages as well as the accommodation arrangements in such places, and related issues; his renting a penthouse at East Pacific Garden in Futian District in Shenzhen, and related issues; and whether there was any connection between his acceptance of such travel arrangements as well as renting the penthouse at East Pacific Garden and the policies which he had taken part in their formulation and decisions which he had made pursuant to such policies in the capacity as Chief Executive that had given rise to any potential or actual conflict of interest, as well as related issues.

Amendment to the motion
Hon Cyd HO to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "the Panel on Constitutional Affairs" after "That" and substitute with "this Council appoints a select committee and that the committee"; and to delete "between October 2009 and February 2012" after "with friends".

Public Officers to attend:The Chief Secretary for Administration
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

Clerk to the Legislative Council