(Translation)

(Letterhead of the Secretariat of Legislative Councillors of the Democratic Party)

15 September 1998

Ms LEUNG Siu-kum
CAS(1)2

Dear Ms LEUNG,

In preparation for the meeting of the LegCo Panel on Housing to be held on 5 October 1998, I would like to raise the following questions. Please refer them to the Housing Bureau and request an early reply in writing.

Issues arising from the commencement of the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance

1. How many bedspace apartments are there in Hong Kong which comply with the statutory requirements since the implementation of the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance (the Ordinance)? What is the total number of lodgers involved? How many of them are on the Waiting List?

2. What are the reasons for the Home Affairs Department to issue temporary bedspace apartment licences to some cage home operators after 1 July, as the Government has never indicated that it would issue such temporary licences. How many temporary licences have been issued so far? What is the total number of lodgers involved? Which provisions of the Ordinance have the bedspace apartments concerned failed to comply with?

3. Please provide information on the location, number of lodging spaces, expected completion date, and the design and layout (such as the availability of partitions for each lodging space) of singleton hostels which are under construction or planned to be built by the Government.

4. How many single persons aged 60 or above are on the Waiting List in 1997-98 (as at 31 March 1998)? How many of them have been offered public housing?

5. Please specify the respective numbers of new one-person and two-person units to be provided by the Housing Authority in the next five years.

6. How many bedspace apartments which have been in operation before the implementation of the Ordinance are not issued with licences after the Ordinance has come into operation in July this year? How many lodgers are affected? What is the current progress in rehousing the affected lodgers?

7. At present, the Ordinance only applies to bedspace apartments with more than 11 tenancies while there is no control on those partitioned into cubicles which are equally crowded and do not conform with safety standards. Does the Government have any plan to regulate the safety of such apartments?

(signed)

LAM Pui-yee
for Hon LEE Wing-tat
Chairman, LegCo Panel on Housing