A 16/17-9
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 7 December 2016 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Port Control (Cargo Working Areas) (Amendment) Regulation 2016 | 180/2016 |
| 2. | News Agencies Registration (Amendment) Regulation 2016 | 181/2016 |
| 3. | Newspapers Registration and Distribution (Amendment) Regulation 2016 | 182/2016 |
| 4. | Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) (No. 3) Order 2016 | 183/2016 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 38 | - | Health Care and Promotion Fund
2015-16 Annual Report |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Food and Health)
| |||
| 2. | No. 39 | - | Director of Social Welfare Incorporated
Financial statements and Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 March 2016 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)
| |||
| 3. | No. 40 | - | Hong Kong Housing Authority
Annual Report 2015/16 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Transport and Housing)
| |||
| 4. | No. 41 | - | Hong Kong Housing Authority
Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2016 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Transport and Housing)
| |||
| 5. | No. 42 | - | Independent Police Complaints Council
Report 2015/16 |
| (to be presented by Hon CHAN Kin-por, Vice-Chairman of the above Council, who will address the Council)
| |||
| 6. | No. 43 | - | Ocean Park Hong Kong
Annual Report 2015-2016 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)
| |||
| 7. | Report No. 6/16-17 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Starry LEE, Chairman of the House Committee)
| |||
II. Questions
1. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
In the past few years, the bed occupancy rates of several public hospitals under the New Territories West Cluster ("NTW Cluster") were persistently above 90%. Among such hospitals, the wards in Tuen Mun Hospital ("TMH") were even persistently close to fully occupied. During the last peak season of influenza, the medical inpatient bed occupancy rate of TMH was as high as 128%. Some NTW residents have pointed out that the healthcare service needs of NTW residents have been neglected as shown by the facts that the NTW Cluster has been provided with less resources than other clusters, both in terms of the ratio of staff to beds and the ratio of population in the catchment districts to beds ("population-to-bed ratio"), and that there is no private hospitals in the catchment districts of the NTW Cluster. Although the Government indicated in reply to my question last month that there would be 500 additional beds in the NTW Cluster upon the service expansion of Pok Oi Hospital, the completion of the improvement works of TMH and the commissioning of Tin Shui Wai Hospital which is under construction, the population-to-bed ratio of the NTW Cluster by that time will still be far lower than the territory-wide overall ratio. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that TMH is the only general hospital in the NTW Cluster which provides comprehensive healthcare services, but the improvement works for that hospital do not include any addition of wards, whether the authorities will expand TMH with a view to increasing the population-to-bed ratio of the cluster to a level comparable to that of the territory-wide overall ratio; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and (2) whether it has projected the demand of Hong Kong people, particularly the NTW residents, for services of private hospitals in the coming five years; whether it has plans to set aside lands in NTW for constructing private hospitals; if it does, of the details, including the locations of the sites identified; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon CHU Hoi-dick to ask: (Translation)
With an estimated cost as high as $141.5 billion, the project to expand the Hong Kong International Airport into a three-runway system ("3RS project") is the ever most expensive single infrastructural project of Hong Kong. The construction works for the project are expected to commence in this financial year and be completed in 2023-2024. The Airport Authority ("AA") plans to raise funds for the 3RS project through three means, namely having the Government forego its dividends and optimizing revenues for 10 years (totalling about $47 billion as estimated), charging travellers an airport construction fee ("ACF"), and borrowing loans from the market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the study report published by the financial advisor of AA has revealed that the maximum debts estimated to be incurred by AA will be $84 billion, $104 billion and $141 billion respectively under three potential downside scenarios (i.e. a 2% increase in the cost of borrowing, a 15% decline in total revenues, and an overrun in project cost by 50%) upon completion of the 3RS project in 2023-2024, whether the Government knows the maximum amount of debt which AA may incur and the amount of interest payable in that year when the three potential downside scenarios occur concurrently; whether the Government will publicly make the pledges that it will make sure AA will not increase ACF, and that the Government will not apply to the Finance Committee of this Council for funding to cover the cost overruns of the 3RS project; (2) as the Chief Executive Officer of AA has indicated that "AA undertakes to bear all relevant responsibilities" and "the Hong Kong Government is not required to provide any form of financial guarantees or undertaking to AA", but it is stated in the aforesaid study report that "as of September 2015, AA's debt rating as published by Standard and Poor's ('S&P') is AAA which is equal to the rating of the Government, on the basis of S&P's expectation that 'AA will receive almost certain extraordinary support from the Government in the event of financial distress' ", whether the Government will ultimately bear the cost of the 3RS project; and (3) whether it knows how AA will repay the loans to be borrowed from the market to finance the 3RS project; whether the Government has any plan to continue foregoing its dividends from AA after the completion of the works in order to help AA repay the loans?
3. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
A study report published recently has revealed that among the 301 surveyed small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") from various trades encompassing retailing, trading, manufacturing industry, etc., only about one-fourth are ready to adopt digital technology, about half of them do not understand clearly how to apply digital technology to their business, and over 70% have no plans to apply digital technology. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as it has been pointed out in the aforesaid study report that the lack of knowledge and relevant expertise in digital technology, as well as uncertain return on digital investments are barriers for SMEs to adopt digital technology, of the authorities' measures to encourage SMEs to adopt digital technology; (2) given that the authorities have organized a series of events under "SMEs and ITs Business Matching" since 2014 to provide opportunities for small-scale information technology companies and SMEs to look for business collaboration partners, whether they know the number of successful matching cases in such events; whether they have assessed the effectiveness of such events and how to enhance the attractiveness of such kind of events; if they have assessed, of the details, and whether they will continue to organize the same type of events; if they will not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that the authorities launched the "SME Cloud Promotion Campaign" last year to promote the adoption of cloud computing services by SMEs, of the implementation situation of the Campaign so far; whether they will review the effectiveness of the Campaign; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Hong Kong Army Cadets Association ("HKACA"), established in January last year, was granted a vacant school premises by the Government on 21 June this year for use as its training venue, prevailing over two uniformed groups with long histories in the relevant application process. After being granted the school premises, HKACA submitted on the same day a voluminous proposal comprising as many as 60 pages to the Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries ("the Board"), applying for a donation of $30 million to subsidize the cost for renovation of the school premises. The application for donation was approved by the Board at its meeting on the 27th of the same month in the form of a special approval. Some members of the public have queried that while the said donation was of an amount as large as $30 million, which was even larger than the total amount of donations, i.e. $21 million, made by the Board in the whole year of 2014, it took the Board only six days after receipt of the application to give its approval, which has raised many eyebrows. Those members of the public have also pointed out that there is a conflict of roles for the Secretary for Home Affairs in the matter of vetting and approving the said donation as he is both the Chairman of the Board and an Honorary Adviser to HKACA. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of each donation approved by the Board in the past five years, including the name of the beneficiary organization, the post title(s) of the government official(s) (if any) who served as honorary adviser(s) to the organization, the year in which the donation was made, as well as the purpose and amount of the donation; (2) whether there were urgent reasons for vetting and approving HKACA's donation application; if so, of the details; why the Government made arrangements for the Board to approve the application in the form of a special approval; and (3) given that HKACA submitted to the Board a detailed proposal to apply for donation on the same day when it was granted the school premises, whether the authorities have investigated if any government official had tipped off HKACA in advance so that it could submit a donation application once it was granted the school premises; if they have, of the details?
5. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
At its Twenty-fourth Session held on the 7th of last month, the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress made an interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law ("the NPCSC Interpretation"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that Article 104 stipulates that the public officers specified therein, including Members of the Legislative Council ("LegCo"), must observe the following requirements when assuming office: swear to uphold the Basic Law ("BL") and swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") in accordance with law, and that the NPCSC Interpretation states that such requirements are the "legal requirements and preconditions" for standing for election to or taking up the public offices specified in the Article, whether the Government has examined, in the event that a candidate, who has advocated for Hong Kong's independence during a LegCo election and thereby has contravened such requirements, is elected, how the Chief Executive can carry out his function under Article 48(2) of BL, i.e. to be responsible for the implementation of BL (including Article 104 pursuant to the NPCSC Interpretation); (2) given that the NPCSC Interpretation states that a public officer, in taking an oath upon the assumption of office, must take it "before the person authorized by law to administer the oath", and section 19(a) of the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance provides that such an oath, "if taken at the first sitting of the session of LegCo immediately after a general election of all members of the Council and before the election of the President of the Council, shall be administered by the Clerk to the Council", whether the Government has examined if this provision shall be construed as follows: the oaths taken by LegCo Members at the first LegCo meeting held after a general election must be administered by the Clerk to the Council; whether the Government has explored if there are other legal provisions concerning who that person administering the taking of oaths by LegCo Members should be; and (3) as the NPCSC Interpretation states that "the person administering the oath has the duty to ensure that the oath is taken in a lawful manner", and the person administering the oath shall determine that an oath which is not taken in compliance with the NPCSC Interpretation and the requirements under the laws of HKSAR is invalid, whether the Government has examined if the existing laws have conferred the relevant powers and functions upon the Clerk to the Council to enable him to act in accordance with the NPCSC Interpretation; whether the Government will examine the enactment of legislation to the effect that the oath-taking arrangements for LegCo Members be amended as follows: upon the election of the President from among LegCo Members, the Member who has the highest precedence but has not been elected as the President shall administer the taking of oath by the President, to be followed by the President administering the taking of oaths by all other Members; if it will examine, of the procedures and timetable for amending the relevant arrangements?
6. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
In April this year, the media uncovered that the contractor managing the Pillar Point Valley Restored Landfill ("PPVRL") had, during the period between November last year and January this year, discharged into the sea leachate arising from PPVRL which had a total nitrogen concentration ("TNC") exceeding, by more than 50%, the limit stipulated in the licence granted to the contractor. The Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") confirmed after investigation that the contractor had contravened the relevant requirements and imposed penalties on the contractor. In October this year, it was reported that leachate with TNC exceeding the limit by 40% had been discharged into the sea by the contractor ("the second exceedance"). EPD had all along not made public the incident despite knowledge of it. On the other hand, the prolonged rainfall in August and September this year resulted in the increase in the leachate arising from PPVRL to a level exceeding the handling capacity of the contractor, causing EPD to activate the emergency mechanism under which untreated leachate was discharged into public sewers and then treated directly by the Pillar Point Sewage Treatment Works ("PPSTW"). EPD indicated last month that an investigation team had been set up to investigate the alleged malpractices of the contractor. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the volume of untreated leachate arising from the aforesaid landfill which was treated by PPSTW since the activation of the emergency mechanism; whether TNC of such leachate has exceeded the limit; whether EPD will, under the normal procedure, make any announcement upon the activation of the emergency mechanism; if EDP will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as the Secretary for the Environment indicated in May this year that EPD had stepped up its inspection and monitoring of the work the contractor, why the second exceedance still occurred; whether the Environment Bureau has reviewed the effectiveness of the relevant work; and (3) whether it will make public the contents of the contract signed with the contractor; when it will release the findings of the investigation team; whether such findings will have implications on the scores given by the Government to the contractor in future tendering exercises for contracts of the same type, and whether the Government will take up the management of restored landfills itself in future, instead of outsourcing the work?
*7. Hon HUI Chi-fung to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that an organization made video records at five children's playgrounds ("playgrounds") under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") on four clear and bright days from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm during the summer vacation last year in order to gauge the usage of the playgrounds. The result revealed that for about a quarter of the time, no children used any play equipment in the playgrounds. Regarding the planning of playgrounds as well as the types and safety standards of play equipment, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the types and numbers of the existing play equipment in various playgrounds under LCSD (set out the relevant information by District Council ("DC") district); (2) whether LCSD has compiled statistics on the average usage rate, in the past five years, of the play equipment in playgrounds located in each DC district; if LCSD has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the number of complaints concerning play equipment in playgrounds received by LCSD in each of the past five years, together with a breakdown by the content of the complaints; (4) of the number of casualties, known to LCSD in each of the past five years, which were caused by using play equipment in playgrounds, together with a breakdown by DC district; whether LCSD has formulated any safety standards for such play equipment; if LCSD has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether LCSD has formulated guidelines and criteria for the planning of playgrounds and for the types of play equipment to be selected; if LCSD has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) as the authorities pointed out, in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 24 February this year, that they would consult the organizations and DCs concerned on the designs of playgrounds and the play equipment provided there, of the details of the consultation that have been conducted by the authorities; (7) whether LCSD will make reference to the relevant overseas experience in planning play equipment in playgrounds, such as the introduction of more creative and challenging play equipment, so as to foster the sensory development of children; if LCSD will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (8) whether LCSD has any plan to improve or renovate the play equipment in playgrounds and conduct a study for this purpose; if LCSD has such plan, of the details, including the estimated expenses; if not, the reasons for that, and whether LCSD will take forward such a plan; and (9) whether LCSD has considered providing in playgrounds additional play equipment that facilitate use by children with disabilities; if LCSD has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon Martin LIAO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that as shown by the findings of a survey, Hong Kong had the highest occurrence of cyber security incidents in the Asia-Pacific region last year. Also, as many as 71% of the surveyed Hong Kong enterprises indicated that cyber security incidents had occurred in their companies last year. In January last year, the Hong Kong Police Force upgraded the Technology Crime Division to the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau ("CSTCB") to step up efforts to prevent and combat technology crimes and cope with cyber security incidents. In June this year, the Government proposed to the Establishment Subcommittee ("ESC") of the last Legislative Council ("LegCo") the creation of a permanent post of Chief Superintendent of Police to head CSTCB, but the proposal had not been dealt with before the prorogation of the previous term of LegCo. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(1) the authorities are acquainted with the findings of the aforesaid survey; if so, whether they have taken follow-up actions; if they have, of the details; if they have not, how the authorities reduce the occurrence of cyber security incidents among Hong Kong enterprises; (2) the authorities conducted any investigation in the past five years in respect of the cyber security situations faced by Hong Kong enterprises (especially for small and medium enterprises) and how such enterprises had handled the cyber security incidents; if they did, of the details; if not, how the authorities offer appropriate support to enterprises in light of the actual circumstances; (3) the authorities will consider putting under one single department, all the cyber security work currently taken up respectively by CSTCB, the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre under the Hong Kong Productivity Council, and the Government Computer Emergency Response Team under the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, so as to pool resources on coordinating and handling cyber security issues; (4) it has compiled statistics on the respective average time taken, from the occurrence of cyber security incidents to the issue of alerts, by the three work units mentioned in (3), in each of the past five years; whether the authorities have set relevant performance indicators for the three work units; and (5) it has assessed the impact on the work of the Police on preventing and combating technology crimes and coping with cyber security incidents, made by the situation that the aforesaid post of Chief Superintendent of Police has not been created so far; of the arrangements by the Government for submitting to this Council again the proposal to create the post, as well as the details of the work plans drawn up for the post?
*9. Dr Hon YIU Chung-yim to ask: (Translation)
This Council enacted on 26 May this year the Property Management Services Ordinance, which aimed at putting in place a legislative framework for the regulatory regime for property management services, and the establishment of the Property Management Services Authority ("PMSA") to be responsible for enforcing the respective mandatory licensing regimes for the relevant companies and practitioners. Regarding the composition of PMSA, licensee discipline and the enactment of subsidiary legislation, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Ordinance provides that PMSA consists of a Chairperson, a Vice-chairperson and not more than 18 members who must be appointed by the Chief Executive ("CE") from the following categories of individuals: (i) individuals who are engaged in property management services, (ii) individuals who have experience in the fields related to property management services, general administration or consumer affairs, and (iii) other individuals who are considered by CE to be suitable for appointment as PMSA members, and CE made the relevant appointments on the 25th of last month, whether the authorities know the criteria adopted by CE for making such appointments; (2) given that PMSA may set up a standing committee for conducting disciplinary hearings on the misconduct of licensees, and the Secretary for Home Affairs must appoint an appeal panel for handling appeals lodged by those persons who are aggrieved by the decisions of PMSA, of the respective composition of the said committee and panel; whether the authorities will appoint representatives from the relevant organizations in the property management services sector to be members of such committee and panel; if they will, of the relevant appointment criteria; and (3) given that the Government must enact subsidiary legislation on the licensing criteria for the companies and practitioners related to property management services, the information and documents required in an application for a licence, the levels of licence fees and levies, and the exemption of any persons from the payment of levies, etc., whether the authorities will consult the members of the property management services sector before introducing the subsidiary legislation concerned, and set up a consultation committee for this purpose; if such a consultation committee will be set up, of its composition and whether the authorities will appoint representatives from organizations in the property management services sector to be members of the consultation committee, if they will, of the relevant appointment criteria?
*10. Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Some people who are concerned with public healthcare services have pointed out that due to the growth and ageing of Hong Kong's population, the demand for public healthcare services has been increasing in recent years, but the total recurrent funding provided by the Government to the Hospital Authority ("HA") for the same period has not increased correspondingly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the guidelines and factors based on which the Government determines the total recurrent funding to be provided to HA; (2) of the total recurrent funding provided to HA by the Government in each year between 2003-2004 and 2016-2017 (set out in a table); (3) of (i) the total number of acute beds in public acute hospitals and, in respect of each public hospital, (ii) the respective attendances of specialist and general outpatient clinics, as well as (iii) the respective numbers of newly recruited full-time doctors of various ranks, and (iv) among these newly recruited doctors, the number of those who were appointed on a non-short-term contract basis, in each of the past five years (set out in a table); and (4) of (i) the respective numbers of usual residents and mobile residents, (ii) the population growth, (iii) the sex ratios for various age groups, and (iv) the respective percentages of persons aged under 15 and those aged 65 or above in the population, of Hong Kong in each of the past five years (set out in a table)?
*11. Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask: (Translation)
At present, applications for Compassionate Rehousing ("CR") in respect of which (i) referrals must first have been made, after comprehensive assessment, by social workers or approved persons and (ii) recommendations must then have been made, after vetting and approval, by the District Social Welfare Officers ("DSWOs") in the District Social Welfare Offices under the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") before the Housing Department ("HD") will consider approving allocation of public rental housing ("PRH") units to the applicants. The "Conditional Tenancy ('CT') scheme" under the CR scheme has been set up for application by those who have no place to live while awaiting a divorce decree. Some social workers have pointed out that although the rents for private housing have continued to rise and the waiting time for PRH has become increasingly longer in recent years, the respective numbers of CT application and CR application (not including the former) ("CT/CR applications") recommended by DSWOs have dropped year after year, from 385 and 2 103 in 2011-2012 to 111 and 986 in 2015-2016 respectively (as at December 2015). Those social workers have also pointed out that they are under tremendous stress in handling such applications, the criteria adopted by DSWOs for vetting and approving applications are inconsistent and the relevant mechanism lacks transparency. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether SWD has tightened the criteria for making recommendations on CT/CR applications in recent years; if SWD has not, whether the authorities will study the reasons for the progressive decrease in recent years in the numbers of such applications which were recommended by DSWOs; (2) of the respective numbers of CT/CR applications (i) in respect of which referrals were received by various DSWOs, (ii) in respect of which recommendations were made by various DSWOs, and (iii) approved by HD, in each of the past five years (with a tabulated breakdown by District Social Welfare Office); (3) of the current mechanism for ensuring that various DSWOs adopt consistent criteria in considering CT/CR applications; (4) whether SWD will make reference to the "Standardized Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services" and establish a standardized mechanism for vetting and approving CT/CR applications; and (5) of the plan in place to assist social workers in relieving the stress facing them when handling CT/CR applications?
*12. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)
Over the years, Mainland residents who wish to come to Hong Kong for settlement must apply for Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao, commonly known as "One-way Permits" ("OWPs"), from the respective exit and entry administration departments of the public security authorities at the places of their household registration. The acceptance as well as the vetting and approval of OWP applications, and the issuance of OWPs, are entirely in the control of the Mainland departments. On the other hand, the media uncovered earlier that some Mainland officials had abused their office by selling OWPs at HK$1.5 million to HK$2 million each. Some members of the public have pointed out that the procedure adopted by the Mainland departments for vetting and approving OWP applications is tantamount to black box operation, which has aroused concerns that some Mainland residents have obtained OWPs for settlement in Hong Kong through fraudulent means. Such members of the public opine that the procedure for vetting and approving OWP applications should be more stringent in order to eradicate bogus immigrants from the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) although the authorities said, in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council earlier, that the case information provided by the Mainland departments in the past to the Immigration Department ("ImmD") did not involve Mainland officials selling OWPs, whether the Government will, in view of the aforesaid media report, establish an independent mechanism to inspect whether the information provided by the Mainland departments is accurate; if it will, of the details; if not, how it avoids giving members of the public the impression that the Hong Kong Government simply accepts all the information provided by the Mainland departments without questioning; (2) whether it has studied the inclusion, in the existing procedure for vetting and approving OWP applications, of the administrative arrangements whereby the relevant information is inspected by the Hong Kong Government, so as to ensure full compliance by applicants with the legal requirements of both places before they are issued with OWPs for settlement in Hong Kong; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as the authorities have stated that if an OWP holder is found to have obtained, by furnishing false information or making a false statement, approval for coming to Hong Kong for settlement, regardless of the years of residence in Hong Kong of the person involved in the case, ImmD has the power to remove such person from Hong Kong, and that there were 66 OWP holders in the past three years who had their Hong Kong identity cards declared invalid by ImmD on such grounds, whether ImmD has set up a dedicated investigation team to conduct random inspections from time to time of the information pertaining to persons who have come to Hong Kong for settlement on OWPs and take law enforcement actions as appropriate?
*13. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
At present, the facilities of quite a number of public-sector primary and secondary school premises built in different eras in accordance with the standards prevalent at their time of construction are inferior to those of the school premises built in accordance with the "Year 2000 design" promulgated by the authorities in 1998. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective latest standard facilities applicable to school premises of different numbers of classrooms at present and, under such standards, the numbers and areas of various facilities as well as whether air-conditioning installation is required (set out in a table); (2) of the respective numbers of school premises which are now not provided with an assembly hall, a music room, a library, a computer room, a language room, a counselling room, a medical inspection room, a visual arts room, a basketball court, a student activity centre, an open space (2 square metres per student), a staff common room and a conference room (with a tabulated breakdown by school district under the Education Bureau ("EDB")("school district")); (3) of the existing number of school premises the fire safety installations in which have not yet met the requirements equivalent to those stipulated in the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap. 572) or the Fire Services Department's Code of Practice for Minimum Fire Service Installations and Equipment, with a breakdown by school district and year of age of the school premises; the relevant reasons and which party is to bear the liabilities involved; (4) of the existing number of school premises which require the installation of additional barrier-free facilities (such as lifts) in order to provide a barrier-free physical environment for persons with disabilities; (5) of the existing number of premises of whole-day schools not provided with a student canteen; (6) given that the facilities of quite a number of school premises built in the early years have not yet met the standards of the "Year 2000 design", whether EDB has plans to upgrade the facilities of such premises to the latest standards; if EDB does, of the implementation timetable and the contents of the plans; if not, the reasons for that; and (7) whether EDB will, by drawing reference to the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme implemented by the Buildings Department and the Comprehensive Structural Investigation Programme implemented by the Housing Department, implement the School Improvement Programme afresh to renovate and repair substandard school premises in a comprehensive and orderly manner, so as to ensure that such school premises are structurally safe and can tie in with the needs of education development?
*14. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
A thematic household survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department on information technology usage and penetration has revealed that online shopping has become increasingly popular. In 2014, the number of persons aged 15 and over who used online purchasing services during the 12 months before enumeration was 1 415 600, representing an increase of about 2.4 times when compared to the figure of 410 600 persons in 2004. Moreover, the number of organizations in Hong Kong engaged in e-commerce sales was estimated at about 22 000 in 2015. On the other hand, in a telephone survey conducted by a political party on online consumption activities in 2014, 60% of the respondents indicated that they had the experience of purchasing products online not matching their sales descriptions and 15% of the respondents indicated that they had the experience of non-delivery after payment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the numbers of complaints received in each of the past five years by relevant government departments and organizations about online transactions and, among such complaints, the respective numbers of those (ii) the processing of which were completed, and (iii) which could not be processed (together with a breakdown by reason); (2) of a breakdown, set out in Table 1, of the numbers in (1) by product/service category (reservation of government sports venues; ticket reservation; travel arrangement; purchase of restaurant coupons; purchase of books, newspapers and magazines; purchase of daily necessities, clothes and footwear; purchase of accessories; purchase of electronic appliances and AV products; purchase of toys and gifts; purchase of digital goods and others);
Table 1
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) Reservation of government sports venues …… (3) of a breakdown, set out in Table 2, of the numbers in (1) by transaction amount (less than $200, $200 to $499, $500 to $999, $1,000 to $1,999, $2,000 to $4,999, $5,000 to $9,999, $10,000 to $19,999 and $20,000 or above);
Table 2
(HK$) 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) Less than $200 …… (4) of a breakdown, set out in Table 3, of the numbers in (1) by nature of complaints (sales practices, price/charge disputes, late delivery/lost packages, repair/maintenance services, quality of goods, quality of services, quantity issues, installation issues, hygiene issues, contract termination/variation, sales of suspected counterfeit goods, disputes on expiry date, safety issues, wrong models, closing down of online shops and others);
Table 3
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) Sales practices …… (5) as online transactions involve commercial arrangements among online shopping platforms, product or service providers, delivery companies and cross-border payment service providers, and such companies may not necessarily be incorporated in Hong Kong, whether the authorities have assessed if the existing legislation (including the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486), Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362), Sale of Goods Ordinance (Cap. 26) and Supply of Services (Implied Terms) Ordinance (Cap. 457)) can effectively protect the rights and interests of Hong Kong consumers; (6) whether it has plans to enact legislation or formulate codes of practice (including the imposition of cooling-off periods) specifically for the regulation of online transactions so as to protect the rights and interests of consumers; whether it will, by making reference to relevant overseas experience, examine the development of a dispute resolution mechanism for domestic and cross-border online transactions; and (7) of the expenditures incurred in the past five years by the authorities on, and the achievements of, the promotional and educational work to draw the attention of the public to the matters to note for online transactions?
*15. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
A Food Waste and Yard Waste Plan for Hong Kong (2014-2022) ("the 2014 Food Waste Plan"), published by the Environment Bureau ("ENB") in February 2014, sets out a target of reducing food waste disposal at landfills by 40% by 2022 (using 2011 as the base year), a proposal of establishing five to six organic waste treatment facilities ("OWTFs") between 2014 and 2024 in phases, as well as the implementation of a Food Wise Hong Kong Campaign. On the other hand, in his report published in October last year on the work of ENB and the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") in respect of the reduction and recycling of food waste ("the Report"), the Director of Audit pointed out that the commissioning of OWTF Phase 1, originally scheduled for 2013, had been postponed by at least four years, resulting in the authorities not being able to reduce food waste disposal at landfills. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the quantity of food waste disposed of at landfills in each year from January 2014 to November 2016; (2) of the latest works progress and the expected commissioning date of OWTF Phase 1; regarding OWTF Phases 2 and 3, their respective (i) latest planning progress, (ii) timetables for tender invitations, and (iii) commissioning dates; (3) as the Report has pointed out that EPD advised in 2010 that 43% of the food waste to be treated in OWTF Phase 1 would be collected from the 25 wet markets managed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") and the remaining 57% would come from commercial and industrial establishments ("CIs"), but FEHD advised in 2011 that only food waste from five wet markets would be delivered to this OWTF, of the latest plan on food waste collection for this OWTF and how the authorities will ensure this OWTF, upon commissioning, will receive an adequate quantity of food waste for treatment; the logistic arrangements for collecting food waste from CIs and delivering the food waste to this OWTF, as well as the CIs which have already indicated their wish to participate and those which are considering participation in, the food waste recycling programme; (4) since the two-year "Food Waste Recycling Projects in Housing Estates" was launched in 2011, of (i) the implementation date, (ii) the completion date/progress, (iii) the household participation rate and (iv) the average daily quantity of food waste collected, in respect of each participating project (set out in a table by the name of the private housing estate); whether plans are in place to encourage more private housing estates and households to participate in such projects; and (5) of the effectiveness of the Food Wise Hong Kong Campaign since its launch, including its contribution to reaching the target of reducing 360 tonnes of food waste per day, as set out in the 2014 Food Waste Plan?
*16. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, more and more services for making payments and peer-to-peer money transfers via smartphones ("mobile payment services") have come onto the market. While such kind of services bring convenience to members of the public, they create new security and privacy problems, which is a cause for concern. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have measures in place to safeguard the rights and interests of members of the public when using mobile payment services, and to prevent service providers from misusing customers' personal data which they have obtained; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as the development of technology is rapidly advancing and changing, whether the authorities have, since the Clearing and Settlement Systems (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 came into operation on 13 November last year, reviewed if the existing legislation is adequate to regulate mobile payment services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the authorities have plans to launch publicity programmes next year to educate and remind members of the public of the issues to note when using such mobile payment services, especially about ways to protect their own rights, interests and privacy; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
The Government launched the Low-income Working Family Allowance Scheme ("LIFA Scheme") in May this year, with a view to relieving the financial burden of working poor families. Applicants may apply for allowances for periods (from November 2015 onwards) each covering six calendar months in the past. If any member of a recipient family is away from Hong Kong (other than for paid work) for more than 30 days within a claim period ("limit on period of absence from Hong Kong"), the family will be granted LIFA only in respect of the months in which no member is away from Hong Kong for more than five days. Some members of the public have relayed to me that the limit on period of absence from Hong Kong under the LIFA Scheme is overly stringent, and they hope that the authorities will relax the time limit. The Government announced yesterday the abolishment of the limit on period of absence from Hong Kong with immediate effect. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of those families (i) which have applied for LIFA, (ii) which have been granted LIFA and (iii) which were denied LIFA or whose LIFA have been reduced due to the aforesaid time limit, of the respective average numbers of days of absence from Hong Kong per person within each claim period in respect of those family members belonging to the age groups listed in the table below (set out in the table below);
Age group (i) (ii) (iii) 0 to under 3 3 to under 6 6 to under 12 12 to 18 60 to under 65 65 or above (2) of the authorities' justifications for setting the limit on period of absence from Hong Kong at the current level; whether they compiled statistics or conducted studies in the past three years regarding the patterns of members of low-income working families being absent from Hong Kong; if so, of the outcome; and (3) whether it has assessed if the limit on period of absence from Hong Kong under the LIFA Scheme is more stringent than that under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme (under which recipients must not be away from Hong Kong for more than 60 days in any payment year); if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the reasons for that?
*18. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
The local market for fixed telecommunications network ("fixed network") services has been fully liberalized since 2003. On the basis of conforming to the licence conditions, operators are free to provide various types of fixed network broadband Internet access services ("broadband services"), having regard to their own commercial considerations, operational directions and the situation of market competition. In addition, the Government is progressively expanding the coverage of Wi-Fi.HK by doubling the number of hotspots to 34 000 to provide free Wi-Fi services to members of the public at public places with high patronage, including markets and parks, across the territory. With regard to the building of fibre-based fixed networks in remote areas, the Government indicated in April this year that at least three operators were actively building fibre-based fixed networks in those areas. Nevertheless, over the years, there have all along been residents in remote areas relaying to me that broadband services in those areas are provided at speeds lower than those claimed by operators and there are frequent disconnections during unsettled weather, causing great nuisances to the work and daily lives of the residents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will review the licensing regime for fixed network services with a view to incorporating, in such type of licences when they are renewed or newly granted, a service obligation clause requiring that the broadband services provided by operators in remote areas shall not be inferior in quality to those in urban areas; if it will not, of the reasons for that; (2) whether it will consider taking the actual needs of residents as one of the considerations for installing Wi-Fi.HK hotspots by the Government so that remote areas with poor quality broadband services may be considered by the authorities for installation of Wi-Fi hotspots; if it will not, of the reasons for that; (3) whether it has provided incentives to encourage broadband service operators to build fibre-based fixed networks in remote areas for providing fibre Internet access services for the residents; if it has, of the details, including the effectiveness of such incentives; (4) whether it will consider building fibre-based fixed networks in remote areas on its own for leasing to operators so that remote areas can be covered by fibre-based fixed networks earlier; if it will not, of the reasons for that; and (5) given that the Government of the United Kingdom ("UK") put forward a bill in July this year with the main objective to provide fast-speed (with a speed of 10 megabits per second) and high quality broadband services so as to give residents, no matter whether they live in urban or remote areas, the same right to request the Government to provide broadband services of a certain speed and the related infrastructure, whether the authorities will make reference to the UK practice and enact relevant legislation to protect the right of residents in remote areas to enjoy high quality broadband services; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
*19. Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask: (Translation)
The results of a survey released in June this year showed that quite a number of responding tenants were residing in sub-divisions of flat units (commonly known as "sub-divided units"), and the landlords of half of the responding tenants overcharged them for use of electricity, of amounts 60% to 80% higher than the electricity charges billed by the power companies. Quite a number of concern groups have requested the Government to eradicate the landlords' practice of overcharging tenants of sub-divided units for use of electricity so as to alleviate the tenants' financial burden. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the surveys on "housing conditions of sub-divided units in Hong Kong" conducted regularly by the Census and Statistics Department collect data on tenants of sub-divided units being overcharged for use of electricity, including the number of tenants concerned and the average monthly amount each tenant was overcharged; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether the Census and Statistics Department will include such statistical items when the next round of the relevant survey is conducted; (2) whether it has considered amending the Electricity Ordinance (Cap. 406) to stipulate that electricity users must not resell electricity to a third party for profits and to set relevant penalties, in order to eradicate the practice of landlords overcharging tenants of sub-divided units for use of electricity; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the number of tenants of sub-divided units assisted by the two power companies since January 2015 in installing separate electricity meters; and (4) whether it will launch short-term measures (e.g. providing subsidies on electricity charges to tenants of sub-divided units) next year to alleviate their financial pressure; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon Steven HO to ask: (Translation)
Some farmers have relayed to me that in recent years, the Government has undertaken a number of development plans which involve a large quantity of agricultural land, farms and relevant ancillary facilities, and have serious impacts on the agriculture industry. They have also pointed out that the local agriculture industry plays an important role in safeguarding food safety, maintaining food supply and stabilizing imported inflation. Regarding the sustainable development of the agriculture industry, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective total areas of agricultural land and agricultural land under active farming in Hong Kong in each of the past two years; (2) of the following information on the development plans commenced in the past five years (set out in the table below): (i) the anticipated commencement dates and completion dates of the works involved in the implementation of the plans, (ii) the area of land within the planning scope, (iii) the area of land within the planning scope that will be (will continue to be) used for agricultural purposes, (iv) the area of the green belt within the planning scope that will be (will continue to be) used for agricultural purposes, (v) the total area of agricultural land rezoned to non-agricultural uses, (vi) the area of agricultural land under active farming rezoned to non-agricultural uses (including the area of green belt that can be used for agricultural purposes), (vii) the area of land occupied by the vegetable marketing co-operative societies/vegetable depots within the planning scope, (viii) the number and locations of pig farms on agricultural land rezoned to non-agricultural uses, (ix) the number and locations of chicken farms on agricultural land rezoned to non-agricultural uses, and (x) the number of farmers who need/needed to relocate their farms or change occupation due to rezoning of their agricultural land to non-agricultural uses;
Development plan (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) (x) Kwu Tung North and Fanling North New Development Areas Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area Yuen Long South The West Rail site and three adjacent public housing sites in Kam Tin South Other areas in New Territories North Tung Chung New Town Extension Others (3) of the new plans in place to assist farmers affected by the development plans mentioned in (2) in identifying lands for relocation and agricultural rehabilitation, as well as the total area of the agricultural land involved under such plans; (4) whether it will designate land within the scopes of the development plans mentioned in (2) and in other suitable locations for the development of the agriculture industry, so as to assist the affected farmers in agricultural rehabilitation and promote the sustainable development of the agriculture industry; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) as quite a number of farmers who are not owners of agricultural land have indicated that they were affected by the development plans but have not been given any compensation by the Government, of the details of the current mechanism for screening whether farmers are affected or not; what improvement measures are in place to enable all farmers who are genuinely affected to receive appropriate assistance; (6) as some farmers have pointed out that the development plans often dampen agricultural development, and the requirement which disallows the provision of commercial facilities on farms is also not conducive to the development of leisure farming, whether the authorities will adopt a new regulatory framework and amend the relevant legislation to remove the barriers for the agriculture industry (including introducing vertical farming and vertical farms, exploring the feasibility of constructing multi-storey buildings for the purposes of crop production, livestock keeping, operation of food premises and retail markets for agricultural products, as well as relaxing the restrictions to allow the provision, as appropriate, of commercial facilities on leisure farms), in order to reduce the conflicts between development plans and the agriculture industry as well as to promote the development of leisure farming; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) given the requirement that a farmer who wishes to construct agricultural structures with a height exceeding 4.57 metres or comprising more than one storey must submit a building plan to the Buildings Department for approval, whether the authorities will relax this requirement or enhance the support for farmers in their submission of such applications, so as to facilitate the introduction of vertical farming and Singapore's Sky Greens Farm to Hong Kong, with a view to easing the conflicts between development plans and the agriculture industry and promoting the diversified development of the agriculture industry; (8) as some members of the livestock industry have relayed that owing to the requirements under the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Licensing of Livestock Keeping) Regulation (Cap. 139 sub. leg. L), it is usually very difficult for them to identify land for the relocation and continuation of their livestock farms, and the Government commissioned a consultant in 2015 to study the future of the live poultry trade in Hong Kong, of the respective progress of the reviews of the relocation requirements for chicken farms and pig farms; (9) of the direction that the study on fresh food wholesale markets ("wholesale markets") currently conducted by the authorities is heading; given that the wholesale markets involve the survival of the relevant trades, logistics and food safety, whether the authorities will work with the relevant trades to explore the appropriate (i) sites for relocation, (ii) scale of markets and (iii) management model, so that the wholesale markets can promote the development of the agriculture industry; and (10) of the latest progress and details of the authorities' work on implementing the new agriculture policy, including the setting up of an Agriculture Park, Agriculture Priority Areas and a Sustainable Agricultural Development Fund; when the relevant initiatives are expected to be implemented?
*21. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
The Youth Quality of Life Index Report, published by the Centre for Quality of Life at The Chinese University of Hong Kong on 1 September this year, has shown that the Youth Quality of Life Indices in 2015-2016 for four domains (namely Society, Economics, Politics and Overall Well-being) were lower than those of the previous year, and the index for the youth's perceived impact on policy has also dropped by 10.19%. Some analyses have pointed out that the aforesaid results are reflective of the powerlessness felt by the youth in seeking to influence the implementation of government policies, it is therefore necessary for the Government to enhance consultations with the youth to gauge their views on public policies and to incorporate the youth's views in formulating the relevant policies. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of youth participants in the most recent three Youth Summits and Youth Exchange Sessions; the officials from policy bureaux who attended these meetings; whether the authorities organized other large-scale activities in the past three years to gauge the youth's views on public policies; if they did, of the names of these activities and the respective numbers of youth participants; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether the Government will formulate a more comprehensive youth policy and youth development visions, and require various policy bureaux to consider the youth's views when formulating policies and to review and assess the youth policy in a timely manner; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that a number of policy areas (e.g. education, employment, housing and constitutional development) of great concern to the youth are now under the portfolios of different policy bureaux, whether the policy bureaux concerned held inter-departmental meetings in the past three years to gauge the youth's views on these policy areas; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and how the Government will address the concerns and aspirations of the youth; whether it will establish a dedicated government department to handle youth affairs; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
In order to meet the public housing production targets set out in the Long Term Housing Strategy, the Government has, in recent years, been actively identifying lands in various districts for housing production. Some members of the public have noticed that not only does the Government build single-block public rental housing buildings by making use of every single small site, it also plans to rezone a number of open space sites (such as the open space site at Tsing Hung Road, Tsing Yi) for public housing development use. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) for those public housing projects in the four districts of Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long in respect of which the authorities are currently conducting or will conduct district consultation by the financial year 2020-2021, of the details of such projects including, for each project, (i) the project name, (ii) the location, (iii) the respective numbers of various types of public housing units proposed to be built, (iv) the areas of the sites currently designated for open space use within the project area, (v) the planned population, (vi) the intake year for the first-batch residential units, and (vii) the current land use of the site concerned (set out in a table); (2) given that some residents are of the opinion that the rezoning of the open space site at Tsing Hung Road, Tsing Yi for the development of public housing will reduce the area of open space in the district and result in the disappearance of a buffer between the residential area and Container Terminal Number 9 ("CT9"), thereby subjecting the relevant residents to the light and noise pollution generated by the operation of CT9, how the Government will, when implementing that project, make up for the loss of the open space area in the district and alleviate the impacts of light and noise pollution on the residents; whether the Government will conduct district consultation afresh regarding that project; if it will, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it has any plan to redevelop Cheung Ching Estate; if it does, of the details, including the timetable for conducting district consultation and the sites identified for in-situ re-provisioning; whether the site for the public housing project at Tsing Hung Road is one of the sites identified; if so, of the details and justifications?
* For written reply