A 16/17-14
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 8 February 2017 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 62 | - | Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications
Annual Report 2015/16 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education)
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| 2. | No. 63 | - | Vocational Training Council
Annual Report and Financial Report 2015/2016 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education)
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| 3. | No. 64 | - | Legal Aid Services Council
Annual Report 2015/2016 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
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| 4. | Report No. 10/16-17 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 Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
At present, the position of the Chairman of the Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority ("WKCDA") is concurrently held by the Chief Secretary for Administration. On 23 December last year, the former Chairman of the Board of WKCDA ("the Board") signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with the Director of the Palace Museum in Beijing on the development of the Hong Kong Palace Museum ("HKPM") in the West Kowloon Cultural District. WKCDA had not consulted the public nor this Council on the HKPM development project beforehand, and only afterwards did it launch a six-week Public Engagement ("PE") exercise on the project. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed if the practice that the former Board Chairman had not consulted the public before she signed the MOU is against the spirit of section 19 of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Ordinance, which stipulates that WKCDA shall, in relation to matters concerning the development or operation of arts and cultural facilities, related facilities, ancillary facilities, etc., consult the public at such time and in such manner as it considers appropriate; whether the Government will consider amending that provision to expressly provide that WKCDA must consult the public before making any decision on the development of its arts and cultural facilities; (2) given that some members of the public have regarded the prevailing PE exercise as a fake consultation, because the scope of views to be collected from the public and stakeholders in the exercise is limited to the design and operation of HKPM as well as the main focuses and directions of its exhibition and educational activities, whether it knows why views on "whether or not the development of HKPM is supported" are not included in the scope of views to be collected; whether WKCDA will shelve the MOU and conduct a comprehensive public consultation first on whether or not the development of HKPM is supported and on the relevant details of the project; and (3) given that while the former Board Chairman had set up a core team to examine the feasibility of the HKPM project in October 2015, and the WKCDA management had engaged a consultant in June 2016 for the provision of advance consultancy services, some members of the Board have indicated that they were not informed of the project until October or November last year, whether the Government knows why the WKCDA management did not report to members of the Board and the relevant subcommittee of this Council on the project at an earlier juncture; whether it has assessed if the Board has been sidelined by a few people, which has resulted in a lack of transparency and democracy in the making of its policy decisions; whether the Government will restructure the Board; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
2. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
According to a research report published at the end of last year, Singapore was ranked the second leading financial technology ("Fintech") hub in the world in 2016, while Hong Kong took the fifth place. The report also pointed out that Hong Kong fared worse than Singapore in terms of indicators such as government support, innovation culture, proximity to customers, proximity to expertise, regulation, and the ability to bring in other countries' startups. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has reviewed why Hong Kong fared worse than Singapore in terms of the Fintech hub ranking and the relevant indicators; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the measures taken by the authorities in the past three years to enhance Hong Kong's overall competitiveness as a Fintech hub; and (3) whether it has plans to formulate appropriate measures to promote the further development of Fintech in Hong Kong; if it has such plans, of the details and the quantitative indicators for measuring the effectiveness of such measures; if it does not have such plans, the reasons for that?
3. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
Some residents in Northwest New Territories ("NWNT") have relayed to me that while the population in the district has been increasing continuously in recent years, the transport infrastructure has failed to cope with the increased demand. For instance, the West Rail ("WR") and Light Rail ("LR") serve as the major external and internal modes of public transport for NWNT, but the services provided by them are acutely inadequate, making it difficult for passengers to get on board during peak hours. As for roads, since the rise of Tai Lam Tunnel tolls last month, a large number of private cars have shifted to the non-tolled Tuen Mun Road, thereby causing serious congestion on a number of roads in NWNT. Moreover, while the planning for a number of major trunk roads plying NWNT has been underway for several years, their completion dates have not been confirmed so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that while the loading during morning peak hours for critical links of WR already recorded an excess of 4% in 2015, the Government has merely indicated that the WR train frequency may be increased depending on the actual needs, of the reasons why the Government has not requested the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") to immediately increase WR train frequency during peak hours; whether the Government will consider building a new railway to ply between NWNT and urban areas; (2) given that some residents have relayed that MTRCL's deployment of single-set vehicles in place of coupled-set vehicles to run on certain LR routes during morning peak hours has increased the number of train frequencies but not the actual passenger capacity, how the Government monitors the actual LR service level, and whether it will request MTRCL to practically enhance the LR service; and (3) given that the rise of Tai Lam Tunnel tolls has aggravated the traffic load of the non-tolled Tuen Mun Road, of the measures the Government has put in place to improve the situation; the respective completion timetables for the Tuen Mun Western Bypass (which has been proposed to be built) and Route 11 (which will be taken forward), and how the Government ensures that the two roads will be completed on schedule?
4. Dr Hon Junius HO to ask: (Translation)
In reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 2 March last year, the Government advised that during the "Occupation Movement" in 2014, a total of 1 003 persons were arrested by the Police for various alleged offences. As at 31 January last year, 216 persons (accounting for about 22% of the arrested persons) had to face judicial proceedings; 182 persons had their judicial proceedings completed, and amongst them, 116 persons (accounting for about 12% of the arrested persons) had to bear legal consequences. Of these 116 persons, 74 were convicted (accounting for about 34% of the persons who had to face judicial proceedings) and another 42 were bound over. There have been public comments that the prosecution work carried out by the Department of Justice ("DoJ") has been progressing slowly, and the relevant prosecution and conviction rates are also rather low. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether DoJ has encountered any difficulties in carrying out the aforesaid prosecution work; if DoJ has, of the details; of the measures which may expedite DoJ's prosecution work; whether DoJ has formulated a timetable for completing those remaining cases in respect of which prosecutions have not been instituted; if DoJ has, of the details; (2) of the latest prosecution and conviction rates pertaining to the aforesaid arrested persons; the latest number of convicted persons, with a breakdown by the category of the penalties imposed on them (including imprisonment and community service orders) and by the gravity of such penalties; and (3) of the progress of the prosecution work against the three initiators and other instigators of the Occupation Movement?
5. Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Last month, the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health reported the fourth case of human infection of avian influenza A (H7N9) in Hong Kong since the onset of this winter. On the other hand, the statistics released last month by the Hospital Authority ("HA") have shown that the medical inpatient bed occupancy rates of various public hospitals in this winter were close to or even beyond their capacities (e.g. such rates of the Prince of Wales Hospital and the United Christian Hospital were as high as 114% and 109% respectively). Regarding the prevention and control of epidemics, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the public expenditure on prevention of epidemics last year and, of such expenditure, the various types of expenses dedicated to the prevention and control of avian influenza epidemic (including expenses on virus testing and staffing); (2) whether it knows the measures taken by HA in this financial year to cope with influenza peak seasons, including the numbers of hospital beds and healthcare personnel added; how such measures compare with those taken during the same period of the last financial year; whether HA has assessed the effectiveness of such measures; if HA has, of the details; and (3) whether it knows the average distance between the beds in medical wards of public hospitals in this winter, and how such figure compares with international standards; of the additional measures put in place by HA to prevent an outbreak of epidemic in crowded wards?
6. Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask: (Translation)
At present, the standard rates under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme ("CSSA") to be received by various categories of CSSA recipients are based on the prices of a basket of goods and services assessed by the Social Welfare Department in 1996 to be the basic needs for the relevant category of recipients. The CSSA payments receivable by various categories of recipients are adjusted annually according to the Social Security Assistance Index of Prices. On the other hand, the Chief Executive proposed in the Policy Address delivered last month that the eligible age for elderly CSSA be raised from 60 to 65 to align with the direction of the population policy to extend retirement age. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that non-elderly able-bodied CSSA recipients are required to participate in the Integrated Employment Assistance Programme for Self-reliance with a view that they may find paid employment as early as possible, among those able-bodied CSSA recipients aged between 55 and 59 in each of the past five years, of the percentage of them who had successfully secured employment after participating in the Programme; and the current number of CSSA recipients in this age group; (2) whether it has plans to launch an extensive public consultation exercise before implementing the measure of raising the eligible age for elderly CSSA; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; given that CSSA standard rates for able-bodied adults are about $1,000 per month less than those for the elderly, and that the supplements and certain special grants (e.g. grants to cover costs of dental treatment and glasses) receivable by elderly persons are not applicable to able-bodied adults, of the Government's justifications to introduce the new measure, which will result in the CSSA recipients aged between 60 and 64 receiving less CSSA payments than before; and (3) given that some social workers have pointed out that the proportions and amounts of expenditure currently spent by CSSA recipients on various types of goods and services to meet their basic needs differ significantly from those of two decades ago, and that CSSA payments are no longer adequate for meeting various expenses on basic needs, whether the Government has plans to conduct a comprehensive review of the CSSA system, including reviewing the definition of basic needs and adjusting the composition and the relevant price levels of the basket of goods and services used for calculating CSSA standard rates; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*7. Hon POON Siu-ping to ask: (Translation)
The Air Pollution Control (Ocean Going Vessels) (Fuel at Berth) Regulation (Cap. 311 sub. leg. AA)("the Regulation"), which has come into operation since 1 July 2015, provides that ocean-going vessels ("OGVs") must use compliant fuel for combustion purposes for operating any of the specified machinery while at berth in Hong Kong (except during the first hour and the last hour of the berthing period), and compliant fuel means low sulphur marine fuel (i.e. marine fuel with sulphur content not exceeding 0.5% by weight), liquefied natural gas or any other fuel approved by the air pollution control authority. On the other hand, vessels plying exclusively within river trade limits do not fall within the ambit of the Regulation. Regarding the enforcement of the Regulation, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of inspections conducted by the authorities' personnel at different locations of the harbour, the number of prosecutions instituted in respect of non-compliant cases, as well as the number of persons convicted and the penalties imposed on them, since the implementation of the Regulation; (2) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the Regulation in improving coastal air quality; if it has assessed, of the outcome; (3) whether the authorities will, in order to further improve coastal air quality and safeguard the health of employees at cargo terminals, tighten the requirements of the Regulation so that OGVs during the first hour and the last hour of the berthing period and vessels plying within river trade limits will no longer be exempted from the requirement of using compliant fuel; and (4) given that some members from the shipping industry have relayed that, in response to their enquiries, both the Marine Department and the Environmental Protection Department have indicated that the responsibility to enforce the Regulation lies with the other party, of the respective roles of the two departments in enforcing the Regulation; if both departments have a role to play, whether the authorities will consider designating one single department to enforce the Regulation?
*8. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The MTR Kwun Tong Line Extension ("KTE"), which includes Ho Man Tin Station and Whampoa Station, was commissioned on 23 October last year. According to the information provided by the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL"), the average daily number of person-times travelling to and from the two new stations in the first five weeks after the commissioning of KTE was around 107 000. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that Ho Man Tin Station has been built on hillside and consists of as many as eight levels, passengers travelling from the station entrance at Chung Hau Street (i.e. Exit A3) to the platform on the lowest level have to take five lifts or walk down 562 steps, and the journey takes as long as 20 minutes, whether the authorities will request MTRCL to take measures (e.g. increasing the current fare discount of $0.5 for passengers interchanging with the green minibus feeder route No. 8M, or installing MTR Fare Savers, which offer a $2 concessionary fare, at the Oi Man Shopping Centre adjacent to Oi Man Estate and Chun Man Court) to attract residents near the station to travel on MTR; (2) as some residents have pointed out that some of the footbridges and passageways connecting to Ho Man Tin Station (e.g. the footbridge at Chung Yee Street and Fat Kwong Street, the podium floor of Po Man House) are not covered or lack barrier-free access facilities (e.g. guiding paths for the blind), whether the authorities will retrofit covers and provide barrier-free access facilities for such pedestrian facilities and passageways to avoid passengers being tormented by the elements and facilitate persons with disabilities to travel on MTR; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as some Whampoa residents have relayed that the reinstatement works for traffic lanes and footpaths being carried out in the vicinity of Whampoa Station have caused inconvenience to residents, and odours emitted from the works sites have caused physical discomfort to the passers-by, whether the authorities will urge MTRCL to complete the works expeditiously; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Many members of the catering industry have relayed to me that the majority of eateries are operating with great difficulties. They have pointed out that the introduction of the Statutory Minimum Wage ("SMW") in 2011 and its two subsequent upward adjustments, as well as high shop rents have resulted in the operating costs of the catering industry rising incessantly, and difficulties in recruitment have led to a continuous decline in the service standards of the industry. In face of manpower shortage, some restaurants have to shift to operate in less labour-intensive modes, such as takeaway or customer self-service. Those members have also pointed out that the authorities should step up their efforts in collecting data and conducting relevant studies on the catering industry so as to gain an accurate understanding of the business environment of the industry, thereby avoiding the formulation of policies and measures that would increase the burden on the industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the ripple effect on the pay hierarchy of the catering industry in the past six years brought about by the introduction and upward adjustments of SMW; if it has, of (i) the percentage of the number of employees affected by the effect in the total number of employees in the catering industry, (ii) the rate of increase in the average wage of employees affected by the effect, and (iii) the rate of increase in the median wage of employees in the catering industry, in each of the years; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will conduct such an assessment each year in future; (2) of the respective numbers of employed persons, vacancies and average numbers of ranks in respect of each type of eateries in each of the past six years; (3) of the (i) total income, (ii) total expenditure, (iii) profit margin, (iv) total rent and the percentage of the total income it represented, and (v) total expenditure on employee salaries and the percentage of the total income it represented, in respect of each type of eateries in each of the past six years; (4) of the respective numbers of eatery licences that were newly issued and cancelled/expired without renewal in respect of each type of eateries in each of the past six years; (5) whether it has assessed the impacts of the introduction and upward adjustments of SMW, high shop rents and difficulties in recruitment on the service quality and operating mode of the catering industry; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct such an assessment; and (6) whether the authorities will introduce targeted policies and measures to alleviate the operating difficulties encountered by the catering industry; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*10. Hon YUNG Hoi-yan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that a male patient each in Kowloon Hospital ("KH") and United Christian Hospital ("UCH") were allegedly sexually assaulted by other male patients in the psychiatric wards therein. Those incidents have aroused public concern about the security of public hospital wards and the safety of inpatients. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that KH has set up an expert group to follow up on the issue, whether the Government knows (i) the size and composition, work schedule and terms of reference of the group, and (ii) if the report to be submitted by the group will be made public; if the report will be made public, when it will be submitted; (2) whether it knows if UCH will set up an expert group to follow up on the issue; if UCH will not, of the reasons for that and how the hospital follows up on the issue; if UCH will, (i) the size and composition, work schedule and terms of reference of the group, and (ii) if the report to be submitted by the group will be made public; if the report will be made public, when it will be submitted; (3) as the Secretary for Food and Health said that the Hospital Authority ("HA") would call urgent meetings to discuss the implementation of short and long term measures, in terms of facilities, procedures, guidelines and manpower, in public hospitals to enhance the protection for psychiatric patients who lack the ability to care for themselves, whether the Government knows if HA has formulated such measures; if HA has, of the details and the additional manpower and expenditure involved; (4) whether it knows the number of cases received by HA in each of the past three years about alleged sexual assaults of patients; the details of each case, including (i) the date and location of the incident, (ii) the age and mental health condition of the victim, (iii) the type to which the alleged offender belonged (a patient, a healthcare worker or others), (iv) the time taken to complete the handling of the case, and (v) the follow-up measures taken by HA; (5) given that sexual assault is one of the reportable incidents under the Advanced Incident Reporting System implemented by HA since 2007, whether the Government knows if HA has conducted a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of the system; if HA has, of the date and results of the last review, and whether follow-up and improvement measures have been formulated; if HA has not conducted such a review, whether and when HA will conduct such a review; and (6) whether it knows if HA will conduct a comprehensive review of (i) the adequacy of the current operating procedures and security measures in public hospital wards for safeguarding the safety of patients, and (ii) the adequacy of the manpower for implementing such security measures; if HA will, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority ("WKCDA") has decided to develop a Hong Kong Palace Museum ("HKPM") in the West Kowloon Cultural District, with a view to showcasing collections loaned by the Palace Museum in Beijing on a long-term basis. WKCDA has been offered a donation of $3.5 billion from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to pay for the construction cost of HKPM. It is anticipated that the construction works of HKPM will commence at the end of 2017 and be completed by 2022. Some members of the public and members of the tourism industry have pointed out that upon its commissioning, HKPM will not only help strengthen public understanding of Chinese culture and history, but also enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's tourism industry, and they therefore eagerly look forward to the expeditious commissioning of HKPM. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows if WKCDA has conducted any study on the feasibility of accelerating the construction works of HKPM; if WKCDA has conducted such a study, of the details; if not, whether WKCDA will consider expeditiously conducting such a study; (2) given that the Palace Museum will not be involved in the daily operation and management of HKPM, and there are comments that the Palace Museum has a leading position in Asia with regard to heritage conservation, cultural publication, educational promotion, cultural and creative product design, etc., whether it knows if WKCDA will establish regular communication channels with the Palace Museum as well as strengthen mutual cooperation and exchange of experience, to facilitate the operation and management of HKPM; if WKCDA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it knows if WKCDA will operate HKPM on a self-financing basis; if WKCDA will, of the criteria to be adopted by WKCDA for determining the level of HKPM's admission fees, as well as the income other than admission fees that will be generated from HKPM as anticipated by WKCDA; if WKCDA will not, the reasons for that, and which party will bear the operating losses (if any) incurred by HKPM?
*12. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that the places of the swimming training courses offered by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") have been persistently in short supply. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the numbers of places and (ii) the numbers of times by which the application figures exceeded the numbers of training places, in respect of the swimming training courses offered by LCSD at various public swimming pool complexes respectively for different categories of persons in each of the past three financial years (set out such information in tables of the same format as Table 1);
Table 1
Financial Year:
Public swimming pool complexes Swimming training courses offered for
the following categories of persons:Adults Children or youth Elderly Persons with disabilities (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (2) of (i) the numbers of places and (ii) the numbers of times by which the application figures exceeded the numbers of training places, in respect of the swimming training courses offered by LCSD respectively at the regular swimming pools and heated swimming pools of various public swimming pool complexes in each of the past three financial years (set out such information in tables of the same format as Table 2);
Table 2
Financial Year:
Public swimming pool complexes Swimming training courses offered at: regular
swimming poolsheated
swimming pools(i) (ii) (i) (ii) (3) of the criteria used by LCSD for determining the respective numbers of swimming training courses offered in summer time (April to October) and winter time (November to March); (4) whether LCSD will consider offering more swimming training courses in winter by utilizing the heated swimming pools at public swimming pool complexes; if LCSD will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether LCSD will consider offering more swimming training courses for the elderly and persons with disabilities; if LCSD will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) of the criteria used by LCSD for selecting coaches of swimming training courses; whether LCSD has drawn up a list of qualified coaches; if LCSD has, how frequent the list is updated; if not, the reasons for that; and (7) of the number of swimming training courses cancelled by LCSD in each of the past three financial years and the reasons for cancellation; whether LCSD paid coach fees or other compensation to those coaches who had reserved time for teaching such training courses?
*13. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, the Government has been fostering a "bicycle-friendly environment" in new towns and new development areas by providing facilities such as cycle tracks and cycle parking spaces. However, some members of the public have criticized the Government for failing to implement a similar policy in urban areas, rendering them unable to use bicycles as a mode of transport in urban areas. The Government has all along indicated that urban areas are generally having heavier traffic with limited land and many vehicles, it is therefore difficult to find suitable land for providing such facilities in urban areas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether any legislation is currently in place to affirm and safeguard the right of cyclists to use the roads; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will consider enacting the relevant legislation; (2) of the number of cycle parking spaces currently available across the territory and their locations (and set out the figures by District Council district); if such information is unavailable, of the reasons for that; (3) as some cyclists have pointed out that the conditions such as potholes, cracks or unevenness that have been found on quite a number of road surfaces have posed danger to them and other road users, of the authorities' policy or measures in place for inspecting and repairing road surfaces on a regular basis; (4) whether the authorities will step up publicity and education to remind motorists to respect cyclists' right to the shared use of roads (except on expressways or in tunnel areas); if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether the authorities will incorporate the driving skills and safety knowledge required for the shared use of roads with cyclists into the contents of the examination for driving licences; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether the authorities will conduct a feasibility study on constructing cycle tracks and priority roads for bicycles in urban areas; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) whether the authorities will require the Urban Renewal Authority to reserve space for providing cycle parking spaces and expanding roads for constructing cycle tracks when carrying out district-based redevelopment projects; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (8) as the authorities have indicated for several times in recent years that they would control the number of vehicles (especially that of private vehicles) in order to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality, whether the authorities will promote bicycles as a mode of transport at the same time when controlling the growth of the number of vehicles; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that rooftopping has become increasingly popular in overseas countries in recent years, and that last month, five youngsters who were enthusiastic about such activities made a free climb without any safety equipment to the top of the main cables on the Tsing Ma Bridge, which had an altitude exceeding 200 metres, to take photos. The incident has aroused public concern over whether there are loopholes in the security arrangements for the Tsing Ma Control Area and Tsing Sha Control Area. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of persons prosecuted in the past five years for entering without approval or permission the zones within the two aforesaid Control Areas that the public are prohibited to enter ("prohibited zones"); and among them, (i) the number of persons convicted as well as the penalties imposed on them, and (ii) the number of persons not prosecuted as well as the reasons why they were not prosecuted; (2) of the standards stipulated by the authorities in respect of the security measures and installations for the two Control Areas; those security measures or installations for the two Control Areas which fail to meet the standards at present; (3) whether the authorities have reviewed if the existing security measures and installations for the two Control Areas are sufficient to prevent persons without approval or permission from entering the prohibited zones; if they have reviewed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the authorities will (i) step up patrols of the prohibited zones, so as to prevent entry by persons without approval or permission, and (ii) increase the penalty for the relevant offences to enhance the deterrent effect; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
At present, different pay scales are applicable to the Police Force, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and other disciplined services. On the premise that firemen often carry out duties under urgent and dangerous situations, the staff associations of the Fire Services Department ("FSD") have been fighting for years for the reinstatement of FSD as an emergency service, which is better remunerated. It is learnt that following the deaths on duty of two firemen during firefighting in June of last year, more members of the public approve of such a demand. On the other hand, some disciplined services staff members have relayed to me that the current salary structures can no longer reflect the increasingly heavy workload of their jobs and the rising public expectations on their performance in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of staff members at various ranks in various disciplined services who resigned in each of the past five years; whether it has studied the relationship between the remuneration packages for various disciplined services and the resignation rates of them; if it has studied, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has studied the changes in the job nature and duties of various disciplined services in the past 10 years; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will consider conducting the relevant studies; and (3) given that it has been nine years since the last review of the salary structures of disciplined services was conducted by the authorities, whether the authorities have plans to comprehensively review and improve the salary structures of disciplined services, in the light of the fact that the job nature and duties of disciplined services staff have changed in recent years and in response to the demands of disciplined services staff members; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Dr Hon YIU Chung-yim to ask: (Translation)
Currently, brownfield sites cover many different land uses and in general refer to deserted or damaged agricultural land in the rural New Territories that have been converted to other uses. It was reported in the press in October last year that the Government would, by making reference to the practice of conducting territory-wide surveys on squatter structures in 1982, conduct a freezing survey on the current use of brownfield sites, and formulate a set of policies on land resumption, compensation, resettlement, etc. The then Secretary for Development said in November last year that the Government would conduct a territory-wide survey on brownfield sites. Although it is mentioned in paragraph 121 of the Policy Address delivered last month that "[m]oreover, the Planning Department will conduct a survey on the distribution and use of all brownfield sites in Hong Kong this year", the Government has so far not announced when the survey on brownfield sites would commence, nor has it taken any measures to freeze the areas of brownfield sites. There are comments that the Government being all talk and no action on the conduct of the survey on brownfield sites has allowed owners of agricultural lands time to turn their agricultural lands into brownfield sites before such survey commences, in the hope of receiving higher compensation calculated on the basis of brownfield sites, when the Government resumes the lands in future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the timetable for conducting the territory-wide survey on brownfield sites; (2) when it will freeze the areas of brownfield sites; and (3) of the policies in place to prevent owners of agricultural lands from turning their agricultural lands into brownfield sites in the hope of receiving higher compensation in future, thereby causing damages to the ecological environment of such lands?
*17. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
At present, the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service ("BTS") is responsible for collecting the blood donated by members of the public for use by public and private hospitals during surgery or emergency procedures. It is learnt that in recent years, the number of Mainlanders undergoing surgery (including delivery by caesarean section) at private hospitals in Hong Kong has risen persistently, but the number of Hong Kong young people donating blood has shown a downward trend, leading to a tight supply of blood from time to time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(1) the following in the past three years, (i) the relative ratios and monthly quantities of blood provided by BTS to public and private hospitals respectively, and (ii) the monthly numbers of blood donations made by members of the public; (2) the respective numbers of blood transfusion received by patients in public and private hospitals in the past three years, with a breakdown by (i) patients' age, (ii) whether they were Hong Kong residents, and (iii) the specialties that provided treatments to them; and (3) whether BTS has formulated special measures to make young people more enthusiastic about donating blood; if BTS has, of the details?
*18. Hon Alvin YEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Recently, many members of the public have relayed to me that the collections of the Hong Kong Public Libraries ("HKPL") contain a large number of Mainland-published books printed in simplified Chinese characters. They have pointed out that among those books, some have strong political tints, which may instill in children biased thinking, while some contain a lot of Mainland expressions which easily give rise to confusion among children in their learning of Chinese vocabularies. On the other hand, in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council in respect of the Estimates of Expenditure 2016-2017, the authorities pointed out that the estimated expenditures for HKPL to purchase locally published Chinese and English books were about $13 million and $1 million respectively (with the former being 13 times of the latter), and the estimated annual total expenditure for purchase of books for HKPL was about $52 million. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective percentages of the expenditures incurred by HKPL on purchasing the following books in the relevant total expenditures in each of the past five years: (i) books recommended for purchase by the public (with a breakdown by type of books), (ii) Chinese-translated books, (iii) English books and (iv) Chinese books; (2) whether the authorities have drawn up criteria or guidelines for purchasing Chinese-translated children's books by HKPL; if they have, of the details, including the criteria adopted by the authorities for determining whether Chinese-translated children's books printed in traditional Chinese characters or those printed in simplified Chinese characters are to be purchased; (3) of the quantity of Mainland-published books purchased by HKPL in each of the past five years, and the names of the suppliers or publishers; and (4) of the following information on the books in HKPL's collections which are listed in the table below: (i) the current stock, (ii) year of first purchase and (iii) number of loans in each of the past three years?
Titles (i) (ii) (iii) 2014 2015 2016 國旗，我們心中的旗/徐長貴, 家誠編寫；
韓勇, 趙潔繪圖.
Publication 濟南:明天, 1993.
Call Number 571.182 2875我愛中國共產黨/金本編著.
Publication 北京:中國少年兒童, 2001.
Call Number 576.2409 8050哈利波特.神秘的魔法石/羅琳著；
彭倩文譯.羅林(Rowling, J. K.) 1967-
Publication 台北:皇冠文化, 2000.
Call Number 889 7057哈利．波特與魔法石=Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone/[英]J.K.羅琳著;蘇農譯.
羅林(Rowling, J. K.) 1967-
Publication 北京:人民文學, 2000.
Call Number 889 7057然後呢，然後呢....../谷川俊太郎文；
柚木沙弥郎圖；林真美譯.
谷川俊太郎 1931-
Publication 台北市:遠流出版事業股份有限公司2010.
Call Number JJ 8224猜猜我有多愛你．最喜歡的地方/山姆.麥克布雷尼文；安妮塔．婕朗圖；劉清彥譯.
麥布拉特尼(McBratney, Sam.)
Publication 台北:上誼文化, 2014.
Call Number JJ 8217挪威的森林.下/村上春樹著；賴明珠譯.
村上春樹 1949-
Publication 台北:時報文化, 2003.
Edition 2nd.
Call Number 889 4254
*19. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
As pointed out in Report No. 65 of the Director of Audit, as at 30 April 2015, there were 234 vacant school premises ("VSPs") in Hong Kong and, among them, 105 (45%) were not being used, 102 (44%) were being used and 27 (11%) had been demolished or pending demolition for housing or other development uses. In addition, the physical possession of 71 VSPs had not been delivered to the Government. At the Council meeting of 25 May last year, the then Chief Secretary for Administration indicated in the Government Minute in response to the said Report that the Education Bureau ("EDB") had improved and updated the VSP database to clarify what constituted a VSP that needed to be handled, in order that EDB may take appropriate follow-up actions on VSPs in a more focused manner. Regarding the handling of VSPs, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current number of VSPs and, among them, the respective numbers of those (i) the way of handling for which has yet to be decided and (ii) the physical possession of which has yet to be delivered to the Government; (2) of the following information regarding each existing VSP: (i) the name and type of the school which had used the premises before the latter became vacant, and the year of closure of the school, (ii) the detailed address and the District Council district to which it belonged, (iii) the land area, (iv) the government department currently responsible for managing the property, (v) the name of the organization currently using the school premises, and (vi) whether the authorities received applications from any organizations for using the school premises in the past three years and the outcome of the vetting and approval of such applications (set out such information in a table); (3) of the authorities' long-term plans for the VSP the way of handling for which has yet to be decided; whether the authorities will conduct public consultation before deciding to change the uses of those VSPs; if they will, of the details; (4) of the mechanism put in place and criteria adopted by the authorities for vetting and approving the applications for using VSPs, and the conditions which must be met by the applicants; how the authorities ensure that the vetting and approval process complies with the principles of openness, fairness and impartiality; and (5) whether the authorities will publish online an updated list of VSPs available for application for use, with a view to enhancing the transparency of the vetting and approval process, and facilitating organizations in making applications; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
*20. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-kwan to ask: (Translation)
The Office of The Ombudsman ("the Office") pointed out in a Direct Investigation Report published in December last year that the application fees charged by some kindergartens had far exceeded the approved ceiling of $40 set by the Education Bureau ("EDB") ("above-the-ceiling application fees"), and a kindergarten even charged an application fee as high as $3,700. The Office also pointed out that EDB's regulation of the collection of above-the-ceiling application fees by kindergartens was very lax and EDB had failed in its duty as a gatekeeper, as kindergartens were allowed to charge high application fees by exaggerating their expenses, and consistent criteria for vetting and approving such fees were lacking; there was a dire need to address the situation that the interests of parents were being ignored. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of kindergartens charging above-the-ceiling application fees in each of the three school years from 2014 to 2017, as well as (i) the names of those kindergartens, (ii) the districts in which those kindergartens were located and (iii) the application fees charged by them (set out in descending order); (2) given that kindergartens are required to seek prior approval of EDB before charging above-the-ceiling application fees, whether EDB has capped such above-the-ceiling application fees; if EDB has not, whether EDB will consider imposing such a cap so as to prevent some kindergartens from making profits from the admission procedure; if EDB will not consider, of the reasons for that; (3) as some parents have pointed out that some kindergartens have charged exorbitant application fees in an unrestrained manner because once kindergartens have obtained approval from EDB to charge above-the-ceiling application fees, they are allowed to do so in each subsequent year and they are not required to submit any application again, whether EDB will, in future, stipulate that such an approval is valid for one school year only; if EDB will not, of the reasons for that; (4) given that at present, there is no statutory requirement for privately-run kindergartens not receiving subsidies from the Government to make public their financial positions, which renders it impossible for the parents to know whether such kindergartens have charged exorbitant application fees for profits, whether EDB will examine introducing legislation to require all kindergartens which have obtained an approval to charge above-the-ceiling application fees to make public the breakdowns of all expenditure items that are related to the admission of students; (5) of the following in the past five years: (i) the number of inspections conducted by EDB to see if kindergartens had charged application fees pursuant to the requirements, (ii) the number of non-compliant cases uncovered by EDB during such inspections, and the respective numbers of non-compliant cases in which (iii) advices were given, (iv) warnings were issued, and (v) prosecutions were instituted (set out the information by District Council district in a table); and (6) of the frequency of the reviews on the amount of the approved ceiling of application fees for kindergartens conducted by EDB and when the next review will be conducted; whether EDB has, since setting the approved ceiling at $40 three years ago, assessed if such amount is sufficient to cover the basic expenses of student admission procedure in kindergartens; whether EDB has plans to increase such amount in the coming school year?
*21. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
At present, civil servants and eligible persons ("CSEPs") are entitled to free medical and dental services provided by the Hospital Authority ("HA") or the Department of Health ("DH"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the respective numbers of attendances of CSEPs for the various medical and dental services under HA and DH, as well as (ii) the respective public expenditure incurred for providing such services, in each of the past five years (set out the information in Table 1);
Table 1
Medical and dental services 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) General outpatient clinic services Specialist outpatient clinic services Accident and emergency services Inpatient services Families clinic services Dental services Others Total： (2) of the total expenses, which were reimbursed to CSEPs in each of the past five years, for purchasing items from HA or outside required for medical treatment ; (3) whether it knows the total daily number of discs issued by the general outpatient clinics under HA and, among them, the number of priority discs reserved for serving civil servants ("priority disc"); the annual average usage rate of priority discs in the past five years; (4) of the annual (i) consultation quota of and (ii) patient attendance at each of the five families clinics under DH in the past five years (set out the information in Table 2); whether the authorities will consider reallocating the unused quotas for use by the general public; if they will, of the specific arrangements; if not, the reasons for that;
Table 2
Name of families clinic 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) 1. Chai Wan Families Clinic … Total： (5) of the annual (i) consultation quota of and (ii) attendance at each of the 40 dental clinics under DH in the past five years (set out the information in Table 3); whether the authorities will consider reallocating the unused quotas for use by the general public; if they will, of the specific arrangements; if not, the reasons for that; and
Table 3
Name of dental clinic 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) 1. Aberdeen Jockey Club Dental Clinic … Total： (6) given that, among the dental clinics mentioned in (5), 11 clinics also provide dental general public sessions ("GP sessions") for use by the public, of the respective daily consultation quotas for (i) CSEPs and (ii) GP sessions, as well as (iii) the ratio of these two types of quotas at present for each of those clinics (set out the information in Table 4)?
Table 4
Name of dental clinic with GP Sessions Consultation quotas (i) (ii) (iii) 1. Kennedy Town Community Complex Dental Clinic … Total：
*22. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)
In order to cool down the overheated property market, the Government implemented on 4 November last year a new round of demand-side management measures targeting the residential property market ("new measures"), under which an ad valorem stamp duty ("AVD") at a flat rate of 15% chargeable on residential property transactions has been introduced. The new measures will continue to adopt the exemptions provided under the existing doubled ad valorem stamp duty ("DSD") regime, which include (i) allowing buyers to pay AVD at the basic rates (i.e. AVD rates at Scale 2) if they are Hong Kong permanent residents ("HKPRs") and do not own any other residential property in Hong Kong at the time of acquisition of the residential property, and (ii) setting a six-month time frame for HKPR-buyers having acquired a new residential property to dispose of their original property. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) since the implementation of the new measures, (i) how the transaction volume and average prices of residential properties of each month compare with the relevant figures in the preceding three months, and (ii) of the additional stamp duty revenue brought about by the new measures each month; (2) whether it will review the new measures on a regular basis (say quarterly); whether it will examine formulating quantitative indicators for relaxation or abolition of the new measures; if it will examine, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) if it will conduct a review on whether there is room for relaxing the six-month time frame for disposing of the original property; if it will, of the details?
* For written reply
III. Government Bills
| First Reading | |||
| 1. | Apology Bill | ||
| 2. | Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2017 | ||
| Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | |||
| 1. | Apology Bill | : | Secretary for Justice |
| 2. | Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing |