A 98/99-28(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda


Wednesday 3 March 1999 at 2:30 pm


I. Papers

Subsidiary LegislationL.N. No.
1. Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Republic of Mauritius Concerning Air Services) (Double Taxation) Order

43/99
2. Clubs (Safety of Premises) (Exclusion) (Amendment) Order 1999

45/99
3. Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance 1999 (6 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 1999

46/99
4. Air Pollution Control (Petrol Filling Stations) (Vapour Recovery) Regulation (L.N. 379 of 1998) (Commencement) Notice 1999

47/99
5. Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) (No. 2) Order 1999

48/99
6. Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) (No. 3) Order 1999

49/99
7. Designation of Museums (Amendment) Order 1999

50/99
8. Merchant Shipping (Safety) (High Speed Craft) Regulation (L.N. 111 of 1998) (Commencement) Notice 1999

51/99
9. Business Registration (Amendment) Regulation 1999

52/99
10. Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment) Regulation 1996 (L.N. 80 of 1996) (Commencement) Notice 1999

53/99
11. Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Ordinance (Cap. 1157) (Commencement) Notice 1999

54/99
12. Church Body of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Ordinance (Cap. 1158) (Commencement) Notice 1999

55/99
13. Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Foundation Ordinance (Cap. 1159) (Commencement) Notice 1999

56/99
14. Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (New Zealand) Order (L.N. 376 of 1998) (Commencement) Notice 1999

57/99

Sessional Papers

1. No.101-Consumer Council
Annual Report 1997-98
(to be presented by Secretary for Trade and Industry)

2. No.102 -Draft Estimates for the year ending 31 March 2000; Volume IA and Volume IB - General Revenue Account
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

3. No.103 -Draft Estimates for the year ending 31 March 2000; Volume II - Fund Accounts
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

II. Questions for Written Replies

1. Hon Edward HO to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has studied the feasibility of allowing the construction industry to submit the building plans to the relevant authorities for approval by electronic means; if so, the expected completion date of the study; if not, whether it has any plan to conduct such a study?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

2. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. in respect of each of the past three years:

    1. of the detection rates of reported rapes or indecent assaults;

    2. among such crimes, the percentages of cases in which the victims were aged 16 or below;

    3. among the rapes or indecent assaults cases, the percentages of cases which occurred in public housing estates; whether there has been an upward trend; and

  2. whether it has studied the relationship between the architectural design of public housing estates and rapes and indecent assaults which occurred in the public housing estates; if there is such a relationship, of the remedial measures to be taken by the authorities?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

3. Hon WONG Yung-kan to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the import of meat, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it knows if there are any international covenants prohibiting the transport of chilled pork and chicken from infected areas to other areas for sale; and

  2. there is any legislation in Hong Kong prohibiting the import of chilled pork and chicken from infected areas; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

4. Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that while 97% of the elderly living in residential care homes are suffering from various dental diseases, the outreaching dental service for the elderly, which commenced last year and was tentatively scheduled to last for one year, might have to terminate when the period expires later this year due to funding problem. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider providing outreaching dental service for the elderly on a permanent basis; if so, the specific details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

5. Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that many civil servants in the professional grades have applied for transfer to other departments because of their concern over the scheme to privatize or corporatize their departments. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of civil servants who have transferred from departments which are proposed for implementing such scheme (including the Housing Department and the Water Supplies Department) to other departments over the past two years, with a breakdown of the government departments and the ranks involved; whether it is aware of the reasons for applying for transfer;

  2. whether it has assessed the effects of such scheme on the duties of relevant posts and on the morale of serving civil servants; and

  3. whether the departments concerned will consult their staff on the implementation of such scheme; if so, the details of that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

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

Regarding the Government's procedures for procurement of stores and services through tenders and selection of project contractors, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the respective normal time required from preparing tender documents to selecting the suppliers, service providers or contractors; and

  2. whether the relevant procedures will be reviewed to improve efficiency; if so, the scheduled timing of such a review; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

7. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that charitable donations raised so far by the Community Chest this year have dropped significantly as compared to the same period last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it has assessed the effects of the drop in donations on the social welfare agencies which receive funding support from the Community Chest in terms of their revenue and service delivery; if so, the details of the effects; if not, the reasons for that; and

  2. it is necessary to provide additional subvention to such agencies; if so, the details of it?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

8. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

I have received complaints that the provisional municipal councils take a long time to process liquor licence applications from hotels. As a result, at least one hotel which is applying for the liquor licence needs to resort to giving out free alcoholic drinks to its customers or asking them to bring their own alcoholic drinks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it knows the reasons for the long processing time for liquor licence applications;

  2. it is aware if the delay has any adverse impacts on the operation of the hotels and on the reputation of the hotels and tourism industry in Hong Kong; if so, the details of them; and

  3. it has assessed if and when the processing time can be shortened?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

9. Hon LEE Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)

On 28 January this year, an explosion occurred when a container truck driver opened the door of a container carrying polystyrene (commonly known as "foam plastic"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has investigated the cause of this incident; if it has, the findings of the investigation;

  2. of the measures in place to prevent inflammable chemicals from exploding in the course of conveyance; and

  3. whether it has any plan to review the relevant legislation and tighten up the control over the conveyance of combustible goods under category 9A prescribed in the Dangerous Goods (Application and Exemption) Regulations (Cap. 295 sub. leg.); if so, the details of it; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

10. Hon Mrs Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that the use of cellular telephones within petrol filling stations may cause explosion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it has assessed the possibility of an explosion caused by the use of cellular telephones, microwave ovens and other electrical appliances within petrol filling stations; if so, the details of the assessment; and

  2. it will consider introducing legislation to prohibit the use of electrical appliances which may cause explosion within petrol filling stations?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

11. Dr Hon TANG Siu-tong to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of the public funded items, apart from the civil service and subvented organizations and consultancy services contracted out, which use the civil service pay as the benchmark for calculating their staff costs, and the total staff expenses involved in such items in the past three years?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

12. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the distribution and safe use of liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") in cylinders, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of distributors of LPG in cylinders each LPG supply company in the territory has;

  2. of the number of registered gas contractors in the territory, and the number among them who are also distributors of LPG in cylinders;

  3. of the measures adopted by the authorities in monitoring distributors of LPG in cylinders and registered gas contractors;

  4. given that some distributors of LPG in cylinders are not registered gas contractors, how the authorities can ensure that the LPG installations and appliances used by such distributors' customers will be checked at regular intervals and comply with safety standards; and

  5. whether the authorities will consider amending the relevant legislation to require that all distributors of LPG in cylinders shall be registered gas contractors, so as to safeguard public safety?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

13. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)

A few years ago, the Government terminated the short-term tenancies of a certain area of waters at Yam O, Lantau Island, which was then used for the storage of logs (commonly known as "log pond"), in order to make way for the development of the Lantau Link. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the progress of discussions with the affected parties in identifying alternative sites suitable for log pond purposes;

  2. the plan in place to assist the timber trade to increase the total size of log ponds; and

  3. the established policy in place to facilitate the development of the timber trade?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

14. Hon Eric LI to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that according to a survey conducted recently by the Hong Kong University Social Sciences Alumni Association Limited, only 18% of community leaders supported the concept that innovation and technology should be the main emphasis in the territory's future economic development. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the specific plans in place to make the public recognize the importance of innovation and technology for the economic development of the territory?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

15. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

The number of reported crimes in 1998 rose by 6.8% as compared to 1997, especially in criminal intimidation cases relating to debt-collecting malpractices and quick-cash crimes such as pickpocketing and snatching. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the plans it has in place to deter such crimes?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

16. Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the details of the English language training programmes currently provided for serving English teachers;

  2. of the number of English teachers who took various in-service training programmes in each of the past three years, and the proportion of these teachers to the total number of English teachers;

  3. of the expenses incurred in providing training for serving English teachers in each of the past three years; and

  4. when it plans to launch English language training programmes to assist serving English teachers in attaining the standards set by the language benchmarks?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

In connection with preventing the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") Scheme from being abused, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of cases reported since the authorities set up a hotline last August for the public to report suspected abuse cases; the follow-up actions taken against these reported cases; and the number of cases among them proved to be abusing the CSSA Scheme; and

  2. whether the authorities will consider resuming the conducting of visits to the dwelling of each CSSA applicant when dealing with the application?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

18. Hon Emily LAU to ask:

In connection with the working hours of judges of the Court of Final Appeal, High Court and District Courts and magistrates of the magistracies in Hong Kong, and the waiting times for cases to be heard in these courts, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they know:

  1. the average number of working hours and court hours of judges and magistrates of each tier of courts; and

  2. the average waiting times for cases to be heard in each tier of courts in the past 12 months and how these figures compare with the targets set?

Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

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

It is learnt that in 1997, the number of river trade vessels operating between Hong Kong and the ports in the Pearl River Delta increased by 60% as compared to 1993, and the number of cargo vessels operating between Hong Kong and other mainland ports increased by 49%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has provided additional working berths to meet the growing demand of such freight; if so, the number of additional working berths brought into operation in each of the past three years and their respective locations; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will consider increasing the number of working berths?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

20. Hon LEE Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)

On 3 February this year, while being left unattended by its driver who had got out to collect refuse, a refuse collection vehicle careered down a slope and injured a pedestrian. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the details of this incident; and

  2. the measures in place to enhance the operational safety of refuse collection vehicles in the course of collecting refuse on the streets?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

III . Bills

First Reading

Appropriation Bill 1999

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Appropriation Bill 1999 : Financial Secretary


Clerk to the Legislative Council