The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, will depart for Macao tomorrow (March 28) to attend the 2019 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition (MIECF) and the launching ceremony for the Hong Kong/Macao Special Report under the Fourth National Assessment Report on Climate Change. He will also meet with officials responsible for environmental protection and energy policy of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) to exchange views about their respective work.

     Mr Wong will jointly officiate at the MIECF opening ceremony with government officials of the Macao SAR and other officiating guests in the morning. He will also have a courtesy meeting with the Secretary for Transport and Public Works of the Macao SAR, Mr Raimundo Arrais do Rosário.

      In the afternoon, Mr Wong will attend the launching ceremony for the Hong Kong/Macao Special Report under the Fourth National Assessment Report on Climate Change, and will deliver a speech at the Green Forum of the MIECF. He will also pay a visit to the Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau and the Office for the Development of the Energy Sector of the Macao SAR.

      Mr Wong will return to Hong Kong tomorrow evening.

     Following is a question by the Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, in the Legislative Council today (March 27):
 
Question:

     It is learnt that since 2014, Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Link REIT) has sold one after another its car parks located within or near public housing estates and housing courts. Some acquirers have in turn divided up and sold the parking spaces of the car parks concerned to individuals. On the other hand, it has been stipulated in the land leases for some of the car parks that the relevant parking spaces are for parking only by vehicles of the residents, occupiers or bona fide visitors of the housing estates or courts concerned (user restriction). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it knows the following information about each of the car parks which are owned and which have been sold by Link REIT (set out in a table):
(i) the name of the housing estate/court concerned;
(ii) the number of parking spaces provided; and
(iii) a breakdown of the number of parking spaces by type of their owners (i.e. Link REIT, other companies and individuals), type of vehicles that may be parked thereat, and whether any user restriction is currently in force;
 
(2) whether it knows, in respect of the three types of parking spaces currently owned by Link REIT, other companies and individuals respectively, the number of those parking spaces the land lease of which contains user restriction clauses; among such parking spaces, the number of those the owners of which have been granted by the Lands Department waivers for complying with such clauses, and a breakdown of the average waiver fees by type of vehicles that may be parked at such parking spaces;
 
(3) of the measures put in place to ensure compliance by individual owners of the parking spaces with the land lease conditions (in particular the user restriction clauses); whether, in the past three years, it instituted prosecutions against or imposed punishments on those persons who had violated the relevant land lease conditions of the parking spaces; if so, of the details and the number of such cases; and

(4) whether it has measures in place to ensure that the prospective buyers of individual parking spaces know if the land leases concerned contain user restriction clauses, e.g. by making public whether individual parking spaces in such car parks are subject to such clauses?
 
Reply:
 
President,

     Having consulted the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB), my consolidated reply to various parts of the question is as follows.
 
(1) Based on the information provided by the THB, the details of the relevant car parks are at Annex I.
 
(2) In 2005, the Hong Kong Housing Authority divested commercial and car parking properties to LINK, including 178 car parks. The lease conditions for 176 of these car parks contain restrictions on the user of parking spaces. Should waiver applications be made by the owners for waiving the relevant restrictions on user of car parks under leases, the Lands Department (LandsD) would process these applications in accordance with the established procedures, which include consulting the District Offices concerned, the Planning Department, the Transport Department, the Housing Department, and other relevant policy bureaux/government departments. Based on LandsD's currently available information, as at end-August 2018, LandsD has approved 20 temporary waivers permitting the use of relevant car parks by users other than those specified under leases, which involve a total of 261 parking spaces in 20 car parks. The details of these 20 waivers are at Annex II.

     The waiver fee is assessed on the basis of the increase in rental value of the premises with the user permitted after the issuance of the waiver letter. As the waiver fee assessment for different housing estates/courts is subject to different effective dates, locations, and other restrictions, etc., it would not be appropriate to draw any general comparisons merely based on the average waiver fee.
 
(3) A land lease is a private contract signed between the Government and a land owner. Lease enforcement actions are undertaken by LandsD in its capacity as the landlord in accordance with the lease conditions, and do not involve law enforcement or prosecution measures.
 
     In respect of lease enforcement, as with other private properties, LandsD mainly acts on complaints and referrals about breaches of the leases, by conducting inspections and taking follow-up actions in accordance with the existing procedures. Depending on the circumstances, LandsD will also consult the relevant policy bureaux/government departments and seek legal advice. If breaches of the lease conditions are confirmed, LandsD will take appropriate lease enforcement action.
 
     Generally speaking, land leases do not require the owners to pay punitive damages in breach of lease conditions. If breaches of the lease conditions are substantiated, LandsD will handle the cases based on individual circumstances, including demanding the owners to rectify the breaches. Where the breaches have not been rectified, LandsD will consider taking further actions, including registering warning letters at the Land Registry (commonly known as "imposing an encumbrance"), and re-entry of land or vesting the relevant interests in The Financial Secretary Incorporated by invoking the provisions of the Government Rights (Re-entry and Vesting Remedies) Ordinance (Cap. 126).

     Over the past three years, with regard to the relevant car parks divested in 2005, LandsD received complaints concerning the alleged breaches of user restriction by the owners of 13 car parks, and conducted 22 site inspections and issued 24 follow-up letters in accordance with existing procedures. After conducting investigations and seeking legal advice, no breach of the relevant lease conditions have been substantiated.
 
(4) The transaction of parking spaces is no different from that of other properties. Prospective purchasers should pay attention to the contents of important documents, such as the conditions of relevant land lease, deed of the property, and deed of mutual covenant, etc., and seek independent professional advice.

     With regard to the conditions of individual leases, including any restrictions on the user of parking spaces and their specific details, prospective purchasers may inspect the relevant leases at the Land Registry.

     Following is a question by the Hon Chung Kwok-pan and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, in the Legislative Council today (March 27):
 
Question:
 
     This Council passed in March last year the amendments to the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161) to reform the composition of the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK), its mechanisms for complaint investigation and disciplinary inquiry, etc., including allowing MCHK to set up more than one Preliminary Investigation Committee (PIC) and inquiry panels. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it knows the number of complaints received by MCHK in each of the past three years and, among such cases, the respective numbers of those (i) determined by PICs of MCHK as having a prima-facie case and (ii) found to be substantiated by the inquiry panels of MCHK; the current number of complaints pending handling, and the estimated time needed to finish handling those cases;
 
(2) whether it knows (i) the progress of the follow-up actions undertaken by MCHK on the aforesaid legislative amendments and (ii) how the number of complaints handled and the handling time taken (including the time spent on inquiry proceedings) after Cap. 161 was amended compare with the relevant figures prior to that; and
 
(3) whether the Government has, since March last year, conducted reviews to see if (i) MCHK's progress in handling complaints is satisfactory, (ii) the administrative measures implemented by MCHK are effective, and (iii) any new measures can be put in place to expedite the clearing of the backlog; if it has conducted reviews, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     My reply to the question raised by the Hon Chung Kwok-pan is as follows:
 
(1) The figures for complaints received by the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) in the past three years are set out below.
 
(i) Complaints received by the MCHK from 2016 to 2018
 

 
(ii) Disciplinary inquiries handled by the MCHK (Note 1)
 

Note 1: including cases referred by the Preliminary Investigation Committee (PIC) for disciplinary inquiry in or before the year
Note 2: one of the cases involved two doctors
 
     As at the end of 2018, there were 546, 527 and 103 complaint cases pending handling by the MCHK at Pre-PIC, PIC and inquiry stages respectively.
 
(2) and (3) Since the passage of the Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill 2017 (the Bill) in March 2018, the Government has been closely liaising and held a number of meetings with the MCHK Secretariat to follow up on various relevant issues, including exploring ways to improve the complaint and inquiry mechanism (the mechanism). Upon the passage of the Bill, the MCHK set up a task force to, amongst others, look into how to improve the mechanism. The task force convened its first meeting in May 2018 to discuss ways to improve the mechanism and made recommendations to the MCHK. In July 2018, the MCHK endorsed the task force's recommendations, including the setting up of an additional Inquiry Panel and an additional PIC in the third and the fourth quarters of 2018 respectively.
 
     The new PIC has convened four meetings since its establishment. As at March 2019, it discussed a total of 199 cases, while the deemed PIC continued to process backlog cases as usual, discussing about 35 cases on average each month. As each complaint case varies in nature, type and complexity, the MCHK, in considering a case, often requires the complainants or relevant institutions to provide further information. Where necessary, the MCHK will also seek opinions from independent experts and legal advice to ensure that the case is considered in a comprehensive, objective and impartial manner. The new PIC is still at the early stage of establishment, and an accurate estimation of the time it takes to process cases cannot be made at the moment. Nevertheless, the MCHK expects that the backlog of cases can be cleared in three years.
 
     The task force will convene its second meeting shortly to continue reviewing the progress and effectiveness of the work on complaint handling. The MCHK expects that the majority of the cases that require inquiry can be concluded within two years after the existing backlog has been cleared.

     Following is a question by the Hon Jimmy Ng and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, in the Legislative Council today (March 27):

Question:

     Since February of last year, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Hong Kong has remained at 2.8 per cent, which is a record low since 1998.  Operators of quite a number of industries have relayed that as they have encountered difficulties in staff recruitment, they hope that the Government will relax the criteria for vetting and approval of applications for importation of labour under the Supplementary Labour Scheme (the Scheme).  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that from 2015 to 2017, the success rates of applications for labour importation under the Scheme for the (i) transport, storage and communications industries and (ii) financing, insurance, real estate and business services industries were lower than those for other industries, whether the Government has looked into the causes for that; if so, of the outcome; whether it will review the Scheme, with a view to raising the success rates of applications for importation of labour for those industries;

(2) whether it will (i) consider afresh setting industry-specific quotas for labour importation, and (ii) relax the manpower ratio requirement of two full-time local workers to one imported worker under the Scheme; and

(3) as the Chief Executive stated in last year's Policy Address that the Government would consider allowing a greater flexibility for subsidised elderly service and rehabilitation service units to import carers, of the details and progress of the relevant work; whether the Government will examine allowing a greater flexibility also for other industries to import labour; if so, of the details?

Reply:

President,

     My reply to the Member's question is as follows: 

(1) and (2) The Government operates different schemes for employers to apply for importation of labour on account of their actual operational circumstances so as to supplement skills not readily available in the local labour market and sustain the competitiveness and development needs of Hong Kong. Depending on the skill levels and/or educational requirements of the job vacancies concerned, employers may apply to the Immigration Department for admission of professionals or to the Labour Department (LD) for importation of workers at technician level or below under the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS).

     SLS has not prescribed a quota ceiling of imported workers for the labour market as a whole or for individual sectors. Each application is considered on its actual merits, such as whether the employer has a genuine need for importation of labour, the number of local employees, and the employer's business and financial situation. Besides, in vetting applications, except for specific posts such as farm workers, LD normally requires a specific manning ratio, e.g., employers shall employ two full-time local workers for bringing in one imported worker from other places (i.e. 2:1), with a view to safeguarding the employment opportunities of local workers. The Government at this stage has no plan to adjust the above manning ratio.

(3) Relevant government bureaux and departments will closely monitor the manpower supply and demand of different sectors, as well as enhance training and attract new recruits. The Government appreciates that the elderly care service sector has manpower shortage problems. The Chief Executive's 2017 Policy Address announced that, on the premise of safeguarding local workers' priority for employment, consideration might be given to allowing greater flexibility for subsidised elderly service and rehabilitation service units to import carers. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) conducted a survey on subsidised elderly and rehabilitation service units in 2017 to understand the manpower situation of frontline care staff. The results of the survey showed that the vacancy rate of the relevant posts reached 18 per cent.

     To help the sector recruit and retain frontline care staff, the Government has since 2018 allocated additional resources to subvented welfare service units to enhance the remuneration of frontline care staff. In this connection, LD staged a "Job Expo for Elderly and Rehabilitation Services" in July 2018 to help social welfare organisations recruit the staff required. SWD is currently conducting another survey on subsidised elderly and rehabilitation service units to gauge if additional resources to increase the remuneration for these organisations have changed the manpower situation of frontline care staff. The relevant data analysis is expected to be completed by mid-2019. The Government will study the relevant statistics in planning the way forward.

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Chun-ying and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, in the Legislative Council today (March 27):
 
Question:
 
     In 2016, Hong Kong had 1.9 doctors and 7.1 nurses per 1 000 persons, and such ratios were lower than those of Singapore and Japan. In addition, as the population of Hong Kong will continue to grow and age in the coming two decades (with the elderly population in 2036 rising by more than one million compared with that of 2016), it is expected that the shortage of medical and nursing manpower will aggravate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it will set target ratios of (i) doctor to population and (ii) nurse to population; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) as the Report of Strategic Review on Healthcare Manpower Planning and Professional Development of 2017 projects that the shortfalls in medical and nursing manpower will continue to aggravate (with the shortfalls rising to 1 007 doctors and 1 669 general nurses respectively in 2030), whether the Government has introduced new measures to reduce such shortfalls and assessed the effectiveness of such measures; and
 
(3) given that the retirement age for those doctors and nurses recruited by the Hospital Authority (HA) since June 2015 has been raised from 60 to 65, whether it knows if HA will raise the retirement age to 65 across the board for doctors and nurses recruited before June 2015; the measures put in place by HA to attract more retired doctors and nurses to accept rehiring offers?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     My reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Chun-ying is as follows:
 
(1) The Government has not set any target doctors/nurses-to-population ratio. Regarding the Hospital Authority (HA), different types and levels of services are provided to patients having regard to the conditions and needs of each patient. Therefore the HA does not prescribe any doctors/nurses-to-patients ratio. Nevertheless, the HA has established a mechanism for assessing manpower needs and conducting manpower planning to ensure that there is sufficient doctors/nurses to meet the service demand. The HA will continue to keep in view the manpower situation and make appropriate arrangements in manpower planning to cope with the growing demand for healthcare services.
 
(2) Over the past decade, the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded medical and nursing training places have been increased substantially from 250 and about 520 in the 2005/06 academic year to 470 and 630 in the 2016/17 academic year respectively. In the 2019/20 to 2021/22 UGC triennium, the Government will further increase the numbers of UGC-funded medical and nursing training places both by 60 each year. The Government will also subsidise 1 160 students to pursue self-financing undergraduate programmes in nursing under the Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors in the 2019/20 academic year, representing an increase of about 400 places compared with that of the 2018/19 academic year. We expect that increasing the number of training places will alleviate the manpower shortage of healthcare staff in the medium to long term.
 
     The HA will employ all qualified locally trained medical graduates and provide them with relevant specialist training. It is expected that there will be a total of over 2 000 medical graduates becoming registered doctors in the coming five years. The HA will also employ all fresh graduate nurses and non-fresh graduate nurses who are willing to work in the HA.
 
     In addition, the HA will continue to proactively implement the following human resources measures to retain professionals and alleviate the shortage of manpower:
 
(a) The HA will actively recruit non-locally trained doctors under limited registration, part-time and temporary healthcare staff, as well as agency nurses and supporting staff. Further to the establishment of the Locum Office, the HA launched the Locum Recruitment Website in November 2018 to expedite the process of recruiting part-time staff. To alleviate the manpower shortage and assist in knowledge transfer, the HA also implemented the Special Retired and Rehire Scheme to hire retiring doctors, nurses and supporting staff to continue to perform clinical duties on a full-time basis.
 
(b) To retain doctors, the HA set up the centrally co-ordinated additional Associate Consultant Promotion Mechanism in 2011-12 to create more promotion opportunities. HA will also provide its doctors with more training courses and overseas training opportunities.
 
(c) To retain frontline nursing staff, the HA reinstated the annual increment mechanism in April 2018 to boost staff morale. On training and promotion of nursing staff, the HA created the post of Nurse Consultant in 2008-09 to enhance the development prospects of the nursing profession. A total of 1 476 nurses were promoted in the past three years. Besides, the HA provides subsidies each year for over 100 experienced nurses to undergo further studies and training overseas. To enhance preceptorship support for newly recruited nurses, the HA recruits experienced nurses under the Preceptorship Programme to serve as preceptors and provide guidance for newly recruited nurses in the actual clinical setting. This also helps alleviate the work pressure of experienced nursing staff in coaching new nurses.

     The HA will continue to introduce medium to long-term measures, including actively considering providing more flexible options in work arrangements to retain staff, such as allowing frontline professionals who are temporarily unable to work full-time due to special needs or for health or family reasons to work on a part-time basis under special work arrangements.
 
(3) The HA has implemented the Special Retired and Rehire Scheme since 2015-16 to rehire suitable healthcare professionals after their retirement, so as to retain professionals to provide training, impart knowledge and alleviate the manpower shortage in the HA. For the time being, the HA has no plan to raise the retirement age to 65 across the board for doctors and nurses recruited before June 2015.