A 12/13-3
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 24 October 2012 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 4 | - | Report of changes made to the approved Estimates of Expenditure during the first quarter of 2012-13 Public Finance Ordinance: Section 8 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)
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| 2. | No. 5 | - | The Land Registry Trading Fund Hong Kong Annual Report 2011-12 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Development)
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| 3. | No. 6 | - | Customs and Excise Service Welfare Fund Audited financial statements and its summary, together with the Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 March 2012 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Security)
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| 4. | No. 7 | - | Customs and Excise Service Children's Education Trust Fund Report by the Trustee together with the Report of the Director of Audit and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2012 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Security)
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| 5. | No. 8 | - | Companies Registry Trading Fund Annual Report 2011-12 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)
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| 6. | No. 9 | - | The Government Minute in response to the Report of the Public Accounts Committee No. 58 of July 2012 |
| (to be presented by the Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council) | |||
II. Questions
1. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Some residents in the vicinity of Kowloon East, the Kai Tak Development area and the new cruise terminal have expressed to me their concern whether there will be adequate ancillary transport facilities carrying tourists disembarking at the cruise terminal, which will be commissioned next year, to and from tourist and shopping areas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the ancillary transport facilities under the latest plan for carrying tourists disembarking at the cruise terminal to various tourist and shopping areas; whether it has assessed if a large number of tourists disembarking and heading towards the various tourist and shopping areas at the same time will lead to traffic congestions in Kowloon East; if it has, of the assessment results; (b) whether it has studied the provision of transport services which are more efficient than the existing ones to connect the cruise terminal and Lei Yue Mun, so as to make it convenient for tourists, boost the local economy and create more employment opportunities; whether the various improvement and beautification works in Lei Yue Mun can be completed in time before the commissioning of the cruise terminal for the enjoyment of the tourists; and (c) whether it has studied the provision of water taxi services to enhance the accessibility of the Victoria Harbour by connecting the cruise terminal with the tourist spots as well as tourist and shopping areas on the two sides of the Victoria Harbour?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Secretary for Transport and Housing |
2. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Government has indicated earlier that there are currently over 2 100 hectares of land planned for "Residential" or "Commercial/Residential" land use in the Government's land reserve, including about 1 200 odd hectares of land zoned "Village Type Development". The objective of conducting the North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning (the "Planning") by the Government is to increase land supply. Some villagers of the Ma Shi Po Village affected by the Planning, including farmers whose families have engaged in farming for three generations, have relayed that ever since the Government had indicated more than a decade ago that it would develop North East New Territories, they have been under constant threat of land resumption and dispossession by real estate developers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) among the aforesaid 2 100-odd hectares of land, of the respective areas of land reserved for public housing and various private developments as well as sites which are already on the Application List, excluding "Village Type Development" sites and land which is not suitable for development; the specific locations of such land and estimated numbers of various types of housing units that may be built; as well as the locations of the 1 200-odd hectares of "Village Type Development" sites; (b) of the details of the household statistics, including the number of households, distribution of household size, household income profile, types of housing and number of households, in the three areas affected by the Planning, namely Kwu Tung North, Fanling North and Ping Che/Ta Kwu Ling, according to the demographic data in 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011, as well as the estimated population in the three areas at present; and (c) of the principles based on which the Government chooses to adopt the "public-private partnership" approach or the "Conventional New Town Approach" in developing a new area; as the aforesaid villagers have indicated that the Government had initially planned to develop North East New Territories under the "public-private partnership" approach, and many pieces of agricultural land within the three affected areas were acquired and damaged as a result, of the transaction details, including the lots, areas, acquisition parties, values and the years of transaction, of the land in these three areas since 1996?
3. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
In August this year, the Commissioner of Police ("CP") paid a duty visit to Beijing without prior announcement. After the matter was reported by the media, CP openly claimed that this was a usual practice. A journalist has pointed out that in the past, whenever a senior government official was to make a visit outside Hong Kong, an announcement must be made before the visit to safeguard the public's right to information and the media's right of reporting. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has assessed if the aforesaid remark made by CP was a blatant lie; if so, whether he will be subject to any disciplinary action; and if so, what the disciplinary action will be?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
4. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)
The Employee Choice Arrangement ("ECA") under the Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") Schemes, which is commonly known as "MPF Semi-Portability", will commence in November this year. Upon its commencement, employees may opt for transferring the accrued benefits derived from their MPF contributions to the MPF schemes of their choices. However, some members of the public have pointed out that there are numerous MPF schemes and portfolios in the market, and the MPF trustees' sales targets will increase considerably to about three million upon commencement of ECA; while employees will have more choices under the "MPF Semi-Portability", there may be an increase in malpractices in MPF sales. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) apart from putting in place a statutory regulatory regime for MPF intermediaries, what other measures the authorities have formulated to ensure that MPF trustees will conduct sales activities with transparency of information, and will recommend suitable schemes to employees according to their individual needs; if they have, of the details of the measures and the implementation; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether the authorities will establish an investigation team to conduct surprise random inspections of the sales practices, promotional materials and contents of MPF schemes of individual MPF trustees, and set up a designated department to directly receive employees' enquiries and complaints; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) concerning the effectiveness of ECA in lowering the fees and charges of MPF schemes, whether the Government will make an estimation before ECA's commencement and conduct a review thereafter; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
The Minimum Wage Ordinance provides that the Minimum Wage Commission ("MWC") is required to review the statutory minimum wage rate at least once in every two years. In conducting the review, MWC will take into account a basket of relevant data including social, economic and employment indicators in the past year. As such, MWC's recommendation about the minimum wage rate may be made with reference to the economic data three years ago and lags behind the actual economic situation by three years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will:
(a) conduct a comprehensive review of the Minimum Wage Ordinance; (b) shorten the period of review of the minimum wage rate from once every two years to once every year; and (c) formulate reference criteria which are more specific and objective, so as to minimize the contention among MWC members in reviewing the minimum wage rate and shorten the deliberation time?
6. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Chief Executive has indicated earlier that despite many people's mistaken belief that business in Hong Kong is always thriving and there is no need to worry, there has been a decline in the retail and tourism figures recently, showing that there are hidden worries in Hong Kong's economy. He hopes that he can reverse the economic situation of Hong Kong in the latter half of his term of office. Some members of the trade have pointed out that as "Made in Hong Kong" is an international brand name, many foreigners and mainlanders are very confident in the products made in Hong Kong. In order to enhance the inherent position of the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong, they have suggested that the Hong Kong Government should strive to develop diversification of industries and, in particular, develop Hong Kong into a "pharmaceutical centre", as well as attract world-renowned pharmaceutical manufacturers through the preferential policy under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Agreement to produce and manufacture pharmaceutical products in Hong Kong in order to enter the vast mainland market, and mainland pharmaceutical manufacturers may have their pharmaceutical products produced and tested in Hong Kong for export to various places in the world. As a result, more job opportunities will be created and the Gross Domestic Product of Hong Kong will increase significantly, which will allow the Government to formulate more measures that benefit the people. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the gross value of production and export figures of Hong Kong's pharmaceutical industry in the past three years; (b) of the total number of pharmaceutical manufacturers in Hong Kong at present; among such manufacturers, the number of those which have set up production plants in industrial estates, broken down by industrial estate; the percentages of such numbers in the total numbers of companies in the industrial estates concerned; whether it knows the difficulties faced by pharmaceutical manufacturers in the past 10-odd years; the progress made by the Government in developing the testing and certification industry and the medical services industry, which are among the six industries being developed by the Government; whether it has conducted extensive promotion and publicity campaigns; if it has, of the details; if not, how the Government will enhance the development of such industries; and (c) of the specific policies to be put in place in the future to facilitate the development of the pharmaceutical industry, so as to develop Hong Kong into the pharmaceutical centre of the Asia Pacific Region?
*7. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
On 17 August, staff of my office made an enquiry with the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") on the eligibility for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme ("CSSA"). An officer from the Social Security Field Unit said, "The loan borrowed by a CSSA applicant will not be counted as income as long as the applicant can prove that the loan has to be repaid within a certain period." I am given to know that staff of SWD have said that the loans made to students under the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-Secondary Students ("FASPSS") managed by the Student Financial Assistance Agency ("SFAA") are grants in nature and are regarded as income, and therefore such students are disqualified from applying for CSSA. However, SFAA papers show that FASPSS comprises grants and/or loans, and the loans under the scheme are government loans. The students have to start repaying the living expenses loans, together with interests at the rate of 1% per annum, upon their graduation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) why government loans are regarded as income since loans are not regarded as income, according to the above-mentioned SWD staff; (b) of the loans which are regarded respectively as loans, grants and income according to the policies and previous practice of SWD; (c) given that the loans made to students under FASPSS have to be repaid by instalments upon graduation of the students concerned, whether such loans are counted as loans or grants by SWD; (d) whether the authorities will continue to make CSSA payments to post-secondary students from CSSA recipient families so that they need not live on loans; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities will immediately reinstate the eligibility of those post-secondary students with disabilities from CSSA recipient families to apply for CSSA; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (e) whether, the authorities will repay the loans on behalf of post-secondary students from CSSA recipient families who have borrowed loans under FASPSS, when they are unable to do so upon graduation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (f) whether it has assessed if the disqualification of post-secondary students by SWD from applying for CSSA will defeat the purpose of setting up CSSA?
*8. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
According to The Ombudsman's report ("the Report") on a recent direct investigation into the booking and use of sports facilities of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD"), LCSD's venue booking system has loopholes which give rise to problems like touting activities and difficulties in booking facilities. On the other hand, according to LCSD's 2010-2011 Annual Report, while the usage rates of most LCSD's sports centres and courts reached almost 80%, the usage rates for some of its recreational and sports facilities, such as bowling greens (30.6%), squash courts (53.7%) and tennis courts (56.5%), were relatively low. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of complaints about the booking and use of venues received by LCSD in the past two years, and how these cases had been handled; (b) given that the Report has pointed out that, in monitoring the use of venues, many staff members of LCSD have failed to follow strictly the procedure for verification of identity documents when users sign in, and confirmation from LCSD about the availability of the sessions selected by organizations often comes very late, whether the Government will, apart from improving LCSD's venue booking arrangements, put in place other measures to improve LCSD's service culture, so as to address these two issues effectively; (c) given that the Report has pointed out that some national sports associations ("NSAs") had relayed to The Ombudsman that confirmation from LCSD about the availability of their selected sessions often came very late, causing difficulties for them in organizing activities, whether the Government has any plan to provide more convenience for organizations, such as NSAs, in venue booking, so as to allow more sufficient time for these organizations to plan various types of sports activities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (d) of the measures for boosting the usage rates of those recreational and sports facilities which have relatively low usage rates; and (e) whether it has any plan to enhance the role of District Councils in monitoring the use of LCSD's sports facilities, so as to increase the usage rates of those cultural and sports facilities which have relatively lower usage rates; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Following the replacement of the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau in 2007, the information technology ("IT") sector has been calling for the establishment of a technology bureau responsible for policy issues on IT, innovation and technology, and broadcasting. In May this year, the Government of the previous term put forward, at the suggestion of the Chief Executive-elect, a proposal on re-organization of the Government Secretariat ("re-organization proposal") which included the proposal of setting up a Technology and Communications Bureau ("TCB"). However, the re-organization proposal had not been dealt with before the prorogation of the previous term of the Legislative Council. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the specific measures to be taken by the authorities to solicit and incorporate views from both the IT sector and the public, so that the work of the future TCB will meet not only the needs of the industry but also the expectation of the public; and (b) whether it has assessed if the proposal of setting up TCB is relatively less controversial among various proposals in the re-organization proposal mentioned above; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, whether the authorities will deal with this proposal separately and submit it to this Council first; if it will, of the details and the timetable; if it will not, the reasons for that?
*10. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of organizations for persons with disabilities ("PWDs") have relayed to me that PWDs at present encounter great difficulties in seeking jobs. In respect of the employment situation of PWDs, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the statistics on the employment of PWDs by government departments from 2009 to September 2012 (please list the relevant figures according to the types of disabilities set out in the table below);
Type of Disability 2009 2010 2011 2012
(as at September)(1) Mobility restrictions
(2) Visual impairment
(3) Hearing impairment
(4) Speech impairment
(5) Mental illness/emotional disorder
(6) Autism
(7) Specific learning difficulties
(8) Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(9) Intellectual disabilities
Total
Percentage of PWDs in the total number of government employees
(b) of the statistics on PWDs with employment arranged through the employment services provided by the Labour Department from 2009 to September 2012 (please list the relevant figures according to the types of disabilities set out in the table below);
Type of Disabilities 2009 2010 2011 2012
(as at September)(1) Mobility restrictions
(2) Visual impairment
(3) Hearing impairment
(4) Speech impairment
(5) Mental illness/emotional disorder
(6) Autism
(7) Specific learning difficulties
(8) Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(9) Intellectual disabilities
Total
(c) whether any new measures to facilitate or promote employment of PWDs by government departments and public and private organizations are being studied; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) whether it will consider afresh the introduction of a "quota system for employing PWDs" to require enterprises to employ a specified percentage of PWDs by legislation; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
In his election manifesto, the Chief Executive ("CE") promised to increase the manpower to conduct a comprehensive survey on sub-divisions of flat units (commonly known as "sub-divided units"), bedspace apartments (commonly known as "caged homes") and cubicle apartments, set appropriate safety and hygiene standards as well as formulate long-term policies to solve the problem comprehensively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has adopted definitions for sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments; if it has, of the respective definitions; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether the current numbers of unauthorized sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments in Hong Kong, as well as the numbers of households living in these three categories of residential units, are available; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) of the respective numbers of law enforcement actions (including those completed or otherwise) taken by the authorities against owners of unauthorized sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by type of law enforcement actions, including issuing removal orders and instituting prosecution; (d) of the time the authorities had allowed owners for rectifying unauthorized building works in the cases in (c), with a breakdown by type of law enforcement actions, and whether plans are in place to shorten such time so as to eliminate expeditiously the risks brought about by unauthorized building works; (e) among the cases in (c), of the numbers of cases in which problems with unauthorized building works had not been resolved upon expiry of the specific deadlines, with a breakdown by type of law enforcement actions, including issuing removal orders and instituting prosecution; (f) of the respective numbers of cases in which warning letters regarding unauthorized sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments had been registered by the authorities at the Land Registry (commonly known as "imposing an encumbrance") in each of the past five years; (g) whether plans are in place to increase the penalty against property owners of unauthorized sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments and people who rent out such properties; if so, of the details, if not, the reasons for that; (h) how the authorities will conduct a comprehensive survey on the living conditions in sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments, etc.; (i) of the new measures and plans the authorities have in place to improve the fire safety, hygiene and law and order of sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments; (j) given that the Buildings Department has started inspection actions targeting at safety problems of sub-divided units since April 2011, of the total number of sub-divided units inspected so far, with a breakdown by district and type of buildings; (k) of the respective numbers of reports of accidents or incidents received by the authorities in relation to sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments in each of the past five years, and the respective statistics on the casualties and loss of property involved, with a breakdown by type of accidents or incidents; (l) of the details of the appropriate safety and hygiene standards mentioned by CE; (m) of the time to start and finish drawing up the appropriate safety and hygiene standards, as well as setting long-term policies to solve the problem comprehensively; and (n) whether any work indicators, objectives and timeframe have been drawn up for tackling the problem of unauthorized sub-divided units, caged homes and cubicle apartments; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*12. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
The MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") has launched the "Tung Chung - Hong Kong Monthly Pass" ("the Pass") since October. Passengers holding the Pass may make unlimited journeys between Tung Chung Line stations and Hong Kong Station/Central Station, but they have to pay additional fares for journeys to and from other stations. Quite a number of Tung Chung residents have reflected to me that the sum of the additional fares paid by them and the value of the Pass is much higher than the fares paid with the Octopus card by a passenger not holding the Pass. Therefore, the Pass cannot alleviate the burden of travelling expenses on them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(a) the number of Passes sold by MTRCL since the Pass was launched; (b) how the fares paid with the Octopus card by a passenger not holding the Pass for journeys from Tung Chung Station to various stations not on the Tung Chung Line compare with the total fares for the same journeys paid by a passenger holding the Pass who makes 50 trips on the Tung Chung Line each month (set out in a table); (c) the number of Tung Chung residents who work outside Tung Chung and among them, the estimated number who benefit from the Pass (set out in a table by District Council districts); and (d) the reasons why MTRCL requires passengers holding the Pass to pay additional fares for journeys to stations not on the Tung Chung Line; whether the authorities will request MTRCL to cancel such a requirement; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that, since 2010, the Government has commenced works relating to the cycle track network in the New Territories ("NT") to joint individual sections of the existing cycle tracks in the NT (including the sections from Ma On Shan to Sheung Shui, and from Sheung Shui to Yuen Long and Tuen Mun) so that cycling enthusiasts can ride bicycles travelling between the NT East and the NT West more safely. On the other hand, quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that the cycle tracks in the NT are intermittent, causing great inconvenience to the users. This, coupled with the faulty designs of quite a number of these cycle tracks, has resulted in accidents of different scale. They hope that the aforesaid cycle track network can enhance the safety of these cycle tracks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the specific progress of the aforesaid works to date, and the anticipated completion dates for the works of individual sections; whether there have been any delays in the works; if so, of the situation and reasons for such delays; (b) of the improvement measures to be implemented by the Government to tackle the design problems of the existing cycle tracks, such as "long downhill roads", sharp bends and uneven surfaces, etc.; whether the aforesaid works have included works for tackling these problems; if so, of the details; (c) of the respective numbers of bicycle accidents and resultant causalities in various districts in the past three years, broken down by District Council districts; whether it will consider according priority to implementing the improvement measures mentioned in (b) at those sections of the cycle tracks where the numbers of bicycle accidents are higher; and (d) whether it will make reference to the practices of overseas cities in introducing a self-service bicycle hiring system in the cycle track network so that cyclists can hire and return bicycles at various points along the cycle tracks; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Motor Vehicle Idling (Fixed Penalty) Ordinance (Cap. 611) ("the Ordinance") came into operation in December of last year. In recent months, some members of the public have complained to me that in many places in Hong Kong (such as school districts, tourist spots and loading/unloading areas), motorists often do not switch off idling engines of their vehicles. Furthermore, some environmental groups have pointed out that the authorities have been too lenient in law enforcement, thus limiting the deterrent effect of the Ordinance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the idling engines black spots throughout the territory (set out in table form); since the Ordinance came into operation, (i) the number of publicity activities and law enforcement actions conducted against motorists at these black spots, (ii) the number of verbal warnings given and fixed penalty notices issued by law enforcement officers to motorists who did not switch off idling engines, together with a breakdown by vehicle class, and whether government vehicles were involved; (b) whether the authorities have conducted any reviews and surveys on issues such as the enforcement and effectiveness of the Ordinance, including the practicability of the provisions on idling engines, enforcement practices, enforcement difficulties, the actual effect on improving roadside air quality, as well as the changes of motorists in their awareness of the relevant provisions and their attitude towards switching off idling engines; if they have, of the results, including whether any improvement measures have been suggested; and (c) whether the authorities will strengthen support to the development and application of new technologies, such as developing an air-conditioning system which can still operate after the vehicle engine has been switched off, promoting the popularization of electric vehicles, and expediting the retirement of franchised buses of old models or diesel commercial vehicles, so as to improve roadside air quality, thus complementing with the measure of switching off idling engines?
*15. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
The Government plans to allocate over $1 billion annually in the next few years to implement a new policy to provide a "universally accessible environment" ("the new policy") under which lifts will be installed at footbridges, subways and elevated walkways in 232 locations. It has been reported that so far, the installation of lifts has been finalized in 10 locations only; while planning studies are being undertaken for most of the remaining locations, studies have yet to be commenced for 58 locations (i.e. 25% of the total number). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) among the aforesaid locations for which planning studies are being undertaken and have yet to be commenced respectively, of the number of those which are within the hillside housing estates in the districts of Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin; (b) whether, prior to the implementation of the new policy, it has consulted the various District Councils on the demands for barrier-free facilities in the districts, so as to formulate a timetable for the provision of such facilities; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether such a consultation can be held expeditiously; (c) given that many residents in Kowloon East have pointed out that apart from developing Kowloon East into a core business district, the "Energizing Kowloon East" project should also focus on enhancing the accessibility of areas such as various hillside housing estates, Sau Mau Ping and the Anderson area under development, etc., which are far away from MTR stations, as well as strive to connect various hillside housing estates, business districts and the Kwun Tong Promenade together, whether the Government will accept the views of the residents in Kowloon East and expand the scope of the new policy to construct barrier-free access connecting such areas and MTR stations; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) given that some residents in Kwun Tong have pointed out that there have long been vehicle-pedestrian conflicts along streets in the district such as Hoi Yuen Road and Kwun Tong Road, causing much inconvenience to the elderly, persons with disabilities and pregnant women, whether the Government has studied the construction of elevated walkways with lifts on road sections in Kwun Tong and across the territory with the most serious vehicle-pedestrian conflicts under the new policy, so as to minimize on-street pedestrian flow, ease traffic congestion and reduce the exposure of pedestrians to vehicle emissions; if it has, of the outcome of the study; if not, whether such a study can be conducted expeditiously?
*16. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
The Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) (Amount of Insurance Cover) Notice, made under the Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) (Compulsory Third Party Risks Insurance) Regulation (Cap. 548 sub. leg. H), stipulates that the amounts of minimum liability cover for a local vessel carrying more than 12 or up to 12 fare-paying passengers are HK$5 million and HK$1 million respectively. On the other hand, the minimum amount of insurance cover against third party risks required for a vehicle is $100 million. Following the maritime disaster on 1 October this year in which 39 people died, there are concerns among members of the community about whether the coverage for a vessel is sufficient to settle the claims in the event of a major maritime disaster. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will review the risks of maritime traffic incidents and raise the amounts of minimum liability cover for different classes of vessels, with a view to providing more comprehensive protection to passengers on vessels; if it will, of the factors to be taken into consideration, and the expected time by which it can put forward a new minimum liability cover?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*17. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
The Government launched in the middle of this year the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales ("the Fund") with a commitment of $1 billion and the Fund is open for application for a period of five years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective total numbers of applications received, since the launch of the Fund, for the Enterprise Support Programme and the Organization Support Programme established under the Fund, with a breakdown of the applications by category (please set out the numbers in table form); (b) of the average amount of subsidy for the applications approved, and the amount of subsidy granted in each case in tabular form; the number of applications rejected and the reasons for that; (c) given that the Fund has been launched for several months, whether the authorities have reviewed the operation of the Fund and gathered the views from the industry; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) when the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review of the Fund in order to understand its effectiveness?
*18. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
According to an estimate by the Department of Health, in Hong Kong, more than 60 000 elderly suffering from dementia lived in the community in 2010, and the number was on the rise. Some practitioners in the social welfare sector have told me that, among the users of services provided by residential care homes for the elderly and day care centres for the elderly, the proportion of persons with dementia is also rising. As patients with dementia need a higher level of care, service units have to increase manpower in order to cope with the demand for services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of elderly suffering from dementia at the end of each year in the past five years; (b) of the respective numbers of demented persons receiving services in subvented residential care homes for the elderly and day care centres for the elderly in the past five years (set out in the table below);
Subvented residential care homes for the elderly Day care centres for the elderly 2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2012
(c) of the total amount of dementia supplement ("DS") provided by the authorities to subvented residential care homes for the elderly, as well as day care centres for the elderly, for taking care of demented persons, and of the total number of demented persons benefiting from DS in the past five years (set out in the table below); and
Subvented residential care homes for the elderly Day care centres for the elderly Total amount of DS Number of beneficiaries Total amount of DS Number of beneficiaries 2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2012
(d) given that some members in the sector have relayed to me that the current amount of DS is not adequate to pay for the wages of additional staff hired to take care of demented persons, whether the authorities will review the arrangement of DS; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*19. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
The concessionary fare scheme ("the scheme") put forward by the Government of the last term for elderly people aged 65 or above and eligible persons with disabilities which enables them to travel on trains, buses and ferries at a concessionary fare of $2 per trip was launched on 28 June this year. The scheme initially covered MTR's domestic services and was extended to the bus services provided by four franchised bus companies on 5 August; it is expected to extend to the services of the Lantau buses and over 20 ferry lines early next year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the daily average number of person-trips benefitting from the scheme and the daily average amount of subsidies provided to the various public transport operators since the implementation of the scheme, with a breakdown by mode of transportation from Monday to Sunday; the expected annual number of person-trips benefitting from the scheme and the amount of public expenditure incurred annually; (b) whether an initial review has been conducted on the implementation of the scheme; if so, of the result; as it has been reported that some elderly people have complained that after the implementation of the scheme they have to pay more for the fares, whether the authorities have received related complaints and looked into such situation; whether the situation involves the scheme's failure to dovetail with the existing interchange concession schemes; whether any public transport operators have, after the implementation of the scheme, cancelled the interchange concessions and other concessions previously provided, resulting in the elderly people having to pay more for the fares, and taken advantage of the opportunity to obtain more government subsidies; how the authorities will follow up such situation; and (c) whether the authorities will consider afresh extending the scheme to cover more target beneficiaries (e.g. covering people with a lower degree of disabilities and disabled children aged below 12) and more modes of transportation (e.g. green mini-bus); if so, of the lead time required, according to the estimation of the authorities, for applying the technologies, as well as putting in place the data management and settlement platform involved, and the expected time for implementing the extended scheme at the earliest?
*20. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the Kai Tak Development project involves the construction of a multi-purpose main stadium with a capacity for 50 000 spectators, a secondary stadium and an indoor sports arena. The Financial Secretary and the Secretary for Home Affairs ("SHA") said respectively in August and July this year that the Government had commissioned a consultancy study on the construction and financing arrangements for the above venues. On the other hand, after the Government's funding bid for hosting the 2023 Asian Games was voted down by this Council last year, SHA had indicated that the authorities would actively pursue the construction of those venues under planning while enhancing the existing venues in districts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the progress of the aforesaid consultancy study and its conclusion so far; of the timetable for the planning and construction of the sports venues concerned according to the present progress, and whether the works will commence in 2014 and be completed in 2019 as scheduled; if not, the reasons for that; (b) the measures that the Government will implement to consult the sports sector and other stakeholders in the process of planning and designing the sports venues in Kai Tak, so as to ensure that the facilities will meet the needs of the sports sector and the community; and (c) the locations of the new venues planned to be built and the existing venues planned to be renovated in districts; the details of related plans and progress and the timetable for submitting the relevant projects to the Legislative Council for discussion?
* For written reply