Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by the Hon Yiu Pak-leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (May 8):
 
Question:
 
     The Government successively launched the Labour Importation Scheme for the Transport Sector – Aviation Industry and the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) last year to alleviate the manpower shortage across different sectors. However, members of various sectors have relayed to me that these two schemes, which have been implemented for more than half a year, are not as effective as expected and have failed to help them alleviate the imminent manpower shortage. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the number of imported workers who have arrived to work in Hong Kong since the implementation of the Labour Importation Scheme for the Transport Sector – Aviation Industry, with a breakdown by the 10 job types under the scheme;
 
(2) of the respective numbers of applications received and approved by the authorities and the number of workers involved since the implementation of the ESLS, and whether the authorities will compile statistics on/estimate the number of workers who have arrived to work in Hong Kong; of the aforesaid information on the 26 job categories normally excluded from the Supplementary Labour Scheme;
 
(3) of the respective numbers of applications from the hotel, guesthouse and travel agent industries received, being processed, approved and rejected by the authorities and the job types involved since the implementation of the ESLS; whether the authorities will compile statistics on/estimate the number of workers who have arrived to work in Hong Kong; and
 
(4) as members of the industry generally consider that the progress of processing applications under the ESLS has been slow, making it difficult to alleviate the imminent frontline manpower constraints facing the industry, and the Government indicated in the reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on the 10th of last month that new measures will be introduced shortly to further improve the workflow of processing relevant applications, of the anticipated reduction in the average time taken to process each application following the implementation of the new measures?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     To cope with the challenges brought by manpower shortage, the Government has enhanced the mechanism for importation of workers on the premise of safeguarding the employment priority for local workers. On July 17, 2023, the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) launched the Labour Importation Scheme for the Transport Sector – Aviation Industry (Aviation Scheme). The Labour Department (LD) has also implemented the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) since September 4, 2023 to enhance the coverage and operation of the Supplementary Labour Scheme, including suspending the general exclusion of the 26 job categories as well as unskilled/low-skilled posts from labour importation for two years.
 
     In consultation with the TLB, my reply to the Member’s question is as follows:

(i) The Aviation Scheme allows aviation-related companies with direct contractual relationships with the Airport Authority Hong Kong to suitably import workers on the prerequisite of safeguarding the employment priority of local workers, with a quota ceiling of 6 300.
 
     In the first round of application from July to August 2023, the TLB approved the applications from 28 eligible companies with a total of 2 841 quotas covering all 10 job types under the Aviation Scheme. As at April 2024, 1 450 imported workers had arrived to work in Hong Kong and their distribution with a breakdown by job type is at Annex 1.
 
     The second round of application under the Aviation Scheme was conducted from March to April 2024. The TLB approved the applications from 27 eligible companies with a total of 2 982 quotas also covering all job types. The employers concerned have already started recruiting imported workers and those approved in the second round are expected to arrive to work in Hong Kong starting from June to July 2024.

(2) and (3) From September 4, 2023 to April 30, 2024, 4 239 applications seeking to import 41 470 workers were received under the ESLS. Of these applications, 31 574 imported workers intended to take up posts which were generally excluded from labour importation before (21 662 and 9 912 respectively for the 26 job categories and the unskilled/low-skilled posts). During the same period, 1 277 applications seeking to import 8 586 imported workers were approved under the ESLS, including 4 929 workers approved to take up posts which were generally excluded from labour importation in the past (3 910 and 1 019 respectively for the 26 job categories and the unskilled/low-skilled posts). A breakdown of the numbers of imported workers applied for and approved by the 26 job categories is at Annex 2.
 
     In addition, apart from the approved applications, as at April 30, 2024, 1 028 applications in respect of those received after the launch of the ESLS had started or completed the local recruitment exercise, seeking to import 11 313 workers. The LD expects that the vetting of most of these applications will be completed in the second quarter of this year. The exact number approved will depend on the results of local recruitment and the application details of the cases.
 
     As at April 30, 2024, the major posts related to the accommodation services industry (including the hotel and boarding house sectors) received under the ESLS included room attendant, waiter/waitress and receptionist, etc. A breakdown of the numbers of applications received, under processing, approved and refused relating to the accommodation services industry is at Annex 3. The LD does not maintain a breakdown on the travel agency sector.
 
     Employers approved to import workers under the ESLS are required to sign a standard employment contract with each of its prospective imported worker. They shall arrange their prospective imported workers to submit visa/entry permit applications to the Immigration Department within the period specified in the approval-in-principle letter (generally within six months from the issue date of the said letter). The arrival time of the imported workers depends on the progress of the employers’ handling of the relevant procedures. The LD does not maintain the number of imported workers arriving and working in Hong Kong under the ESLS.

(4) The time required for the LD to process each application under the ESLS is affected by a number of factors, including whether the applicant employer has provided sufficient information or has requested changes to the application details during processing. If the job vacancies involves novel job titles or special skills, the LD will need more time to seek advice from relevant bureaux and/or departments, training bodies, professional bodies, etc., to set the reasonable wages, entry requirements, scope of duties, etc.
 
     The LD has uploaded to the ESLS dedicated website the “List of Common Posts” covering the median monthly wage, working hours, entry requirements and duties of 156 common posts in different industries for employers’ reference. To further enhance the workflow of processing applications, the LD on May 2, 2024, introduced a series of new measures, striving to complete the processing of newly-received applications for common posts within around three months. The new measures include:

(i) introducing an application form for common posts and assigning designated teams to process these applications to expedite the preliminary screening process for commencement of the four-week local open recruitment;

(ii) deploying staff designated to vet applications submitted by employers. The LD will remind the employers as soon as possible in case the information on the application forms is incomplete or the required supporting documents are missing;

(iii) exercising flexibility in the handling of recruitment advertisements placed by employers during local recruitment, and avoiding to extend the four-week local recruitment period as far as possible; and expediting the process of following up on interview results;

(iv) organising briefings for employment agencies involved in labour importation matters to explain the application arrangements of the ESLS to facilitate employment agencies to assist employers on the handling of applications; and

(v) increasing the frequency of circulating the recommendations on the applications of the ESLS to the Labour Advisory Board.

     The LD will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the ESLS, safeguard the employment priority for local workers and improve the processing of applications. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Lam So-wai and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (May 8):
 
Question:
 
     Regarding the handling of styrofoam waste, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the current daily amount of styrofoam waste being sent to landfills;
 
(2) as it is learnt that styrofoam is widely used as a packaging material for some household electrical appliances (e.g. air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and televisions), whether the Government has compiled statistics on the amount of styrofoam waste generated from the packaging materials of household electrical appliances in each of the past three years and, among such waste, the amount that was sent to landfills;
 
(3) as there are views that the economic benefits of styrofoam recycling are relatively low, how the Government assists the recycling industry in handling large volumes of styrofoam waste when alternatives that can completely replace styrofoam have not yet emerged;
 
(4) whether it has assessed if the problem of styrofoam waste can be fully resolved when I·PARK1, a modern waste-to-energy incinerator for treating municipal solid waste, becomes operational in 2025; and
 
(5) whether the Government currently has plans to fully resolve the problem of styrofoam waste?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Given styrofoam being lightweight but bulky in volume, even when a large amount of styrofoam is recovered and processed, only a small amount of raw plastics will be produced. The costs on transportation and recycling are high. Coupled with the fact that most of the waste styrofoam is either contaminated or mixed with impurities, the recycling efficiency of styrofoam is comparatively low. Hence, the Government has put forward various strategies on handling styrofoam waste: (i) reducing use at source, such as banning the sale or supply of styrofoam tableware, and encouraging electrical appliances suppliers to reduce the use of styrofoam packaging materials; (ii) encouraging reuse, such as styrofoam boxes used for storage of vegetables and fruits; and (iii) providing outlets for recycling, such as recycling of styrofoam products at the GREEN@COMMUNITY facilities. As regards styrofoam that cannot be reused or recycled, to reduce the amount of such waste to be transferred to landfills for handling, the Government is constructing the Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase 1 (I·PARK1), with a view to transforming waste into energy with advanced technology.
 
     The consolidated reply to various parts of the question raised by the Hon Lam So-wai is as follows:
 
     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has not compiled the breakdown of statistics on the quantity of waste styrofoam generated and disposed of.
 
     As mentioned in the Government’s overall strategies in the preamble, in respect of styrofoam tableware, the Government has implemented the new regulation on disposable plastic tableware and other plastic products on April 22 this year. Restaurants and retail stores are not allowed to sell or supply all styrofoam tableware (including plates, food containers and cups), thereby directly and significantly reducing the use of styrofoam at source.
 
     In respect of packaging materials for household electrical appliances, the EPD conducted a survey on packaging materials for the trade of electrical and electronic appliances suppliers in 2022 and encouraged them to reduce the amount of styrofoam packaging materials as much as possible. Among the replies from electrical appliances suppliers, more than 50 respondents (about 60 per cent) stated that they had actively reduced the use of styrofoam in the packaging of electrical and electronic products, and, when practicable, even ceased using styrofoam altogether. According to the responses of these electrical appliances suppliers, the use of styrofoam for packaging in most of their small household appliances have been reduced or ceased. To commend companies with outstanding performance, the EPD presented awards to several electrical and electronic appliances suppliers who have reduced the use of styrofoam packaging in at least 60 per cent of their products, including  Gilman Group Limited, Arçelik Hitachi Home Appliances Sales Hong Kong Limited, Shun Hing Electric Works and Engineering Company Limited, Midea Electric (Hong Kong) Limited and German Pool (Hong Kong) Limited, at the opening ceremony of the “GREEN@COMMUNITY Recycling Month” in November 2022. Through this event, we had also appealed to more suppliers of different products to reduce the use of packaging material (including styrofoam). In addition, the EPD published the “Practical Guides on Packaging Reduction and Management” (Guides) for the electrical and electronic appliances sector on May 2 this year and issued letters to electrical appliances suppliers to encourage them to make reference to the Guides and use recyclable packaging materials in place of styrofoam.
 
     To facilitate different sectors in kick-starting their journey on packaging reduction and management, apart from the electrical and electronic appliances sector, the EPD is also developing a set of Guides for specific sectors to provide practical tips and experience sharing on how to avoid and reduce packaging consumption (including styrofoam containers) so as to achieve sustainable packaging management in their daily operations. For details about the Guides, please visit the following website:
www.wastereduction.gov.hk/en-hk/resources-centre/packaging-reduction-tips-different-sectors.
 
     In respect of styrofoam boxes used for vegetables and fruits, those used for transporting vegetables and fruits supplied to Hong Kong from the Mainland are mainly returned to the Mainland for reuse. With the resumption of normal travel between the Mainland and Hong Kong since January 2023, the arrangement has been running smoothly. In addition, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, and the Fish Marketing Organisation have installed cold-press machines in the overhauled markets and wholesale markets respectively and arranged local recyclers to recover and recycle styrofoam boxes that cannot be reused due to damage or other reasons on the spot.
 
     From the perspective of environmental benefits, reusing styrofoam boxes is better than recycling. However, styrofoam also has unfavourable characteristics, such as poor strength, brittleness and low degradability. Balancing the cost-effectiveness and the long-term development of the industries, we will continue to maintain dialogue with the food and recycling industries, encourage the food industry to switch to stackable, durable and easy-to-clean plastic boxes for transportation of goods in the long-run as far as practicable.
 
     In terms of recycling styrofoam, all GREEN@COMMUNITY facilities accept styrofoam items generated from households for passing on to downstream recyclers approved by the EPD for proper treatment and turning them into resources. Each Recycling Stations and Recycling Stores under GREEN@COMMUNTIY has a workshop for temporary storage of recyclables. If members of the public need to hand over styrofoam that is relatively bulky in size to GREEN@COMMUNITY, they are advised to contact the relevant facility to make prior arrangements.
 
     Meanwhile, the EPD is working at full steam on constructing I·PARK1 near Shek Kwu Chau, which is the first modern waste-to-energy incineration project in Hong Kong, with an expected handling capacity of 3 000 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day. I·PARK1 will mainly receive MSW, including styrofoam waste, transported by sea from the West Kowloon Transfer Station and turn the waste into energy. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Judy Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, in the Legislative Council today (May 8): Question:      â€‹From 2019 to … read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Frankie Yick and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (May 8):
 
Question:
 
     According to the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Fund Annual Report for the year from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023, both the rate of application for Traffic Accident Victims Assistance and the total amount of assistance paid in the year had increased as compared with those in 2021-2022, and among which, the victims of nearly 90 per cent of the cases sustained slight injuries. There are views pointing out that the increased amount of assistance paid is due to the abuse of the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Fund (the Fund). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the following information on the applications made to the Fund in 2022-2023 in respect of the aforesaid slight injury cases:
 
(i) the respective numbers of applications in which the victims were drivers, passengers and pedestrians;
 
(ii) whether it has categorised the severity of the injuries under “slight injury”; if so, set out the respective numbers of applications in which the victims were drivers, passengers and pedestrians with a breakdown by such categories;
 
(iii) the respective numbers of applications submitted with injury certificates issued by doctors in public and private healthcare institutions;
 
(iv) among the applications with injury certificates issued by doctors in private healthcare institutions, (a) the number of applications involving an re-assessment of the injury certificates and (b) whether it has found cases involving injury certificates mostly issued by a small number of private doctors; and
 
(v) the respective numbers of applications in which injury grant and interim maintenance grant were granted, together with a breakdown by the number of days of sick leave for the victims (i.e. less than one month, one month to less than three months, and three months to six months) as certified by doctors;
 
(2) the number of reports on fraud of the Fund received by the Government in the past three years; whether it will step up measures to encourage the public to report suspected cases; and
 
(3) given that the amount of assistance disbursed from the Fund in 2020-2021 was substantially higher than that in 2019-2020, and the Fund recorded deficits in the past three years, whether the authorities will consider tightening the Fund’s eligibility criteria as well as the vetting and approval of applications, such as by tightening the requirements on sick leave certificates or shortening the time limit for the submission of an application after the accident, so as to eradicate fraud and abuse of the Fund by lawbreakers and reduce the financial pressure on the Fund; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Traffic Accident Victims Assistance (TAVA) Scheme is administered by the Social Welfare Department (SWD). The objective of the TAVA Scheme is to provide speedy financial assistance to road traffic accident victims or the surviving dependents of deceased traffic accident victims on a non-means-tested basis, regardless of the element of fault leading to the occurrence of the accident.
 
     In response to the question raised, my reply is as follows:
 
(1) To achieve the objective of the TAVA Scheme to support traffic accident victims, financial assistance is provided on a non-means-tested basis, regardless of the element of fault leading to the occurrence of the accident. However, an applicant must meet the following conditions to be eligible for assistance payment, including (a) the accident must have been reported to the Police and determined by the Police as a road traffic accident; and (b) the victim is injured or killed in the accident. In case of injury, the injured victim must be certified by a registered doctor that such injury requires hospitalisation of no less than three days or issued with proof for medical leave of no less than three days.
 
(i) and (ii) In 2022-23, the number of cases by the recipient’s level of injury and role in the accident is tabulated below:
 

Level of injury	Number of cases (Note 1)			Total
	Role of recipient in the accident
	Driver	Passenger	Pedestrian
Slight injury	5 061	1 706	692	7 459
Serious injury	664	161	173	998
Fatal	16	7	28	51
Total	5 741	1 874	893	8 508 (Note 2)

(iii) In 2022-23, the number of cases involving sick leave certificates issued by the public hospitals and/or private hospitals/clinics are tabulated below:
 

Medical institutions issuing the sick leave certificates	Number of cases (Note 1)
Public hospitals	3 900
Private hospitals/clinics	585
Involving both public and private hospitals/clinics	3 977
Total	8 462 (Note 2)

(iv) The SWD does not maintain statistics on re-assessment of injuries by doctors of private hospitals/clinics and the information on private doctors.

(v) In 2022-23, the number of cases receiving Injury Grant and Interim Maintenance Grant by number of sick leave days granted are tabulated below:
 

Number of sick leave days granted	Number of cases (Note 1) receiving Injury Grant	Number of cases (Note 1) receiving Interim Maintenance Grant
30 days or below	2 745	513
31 – 90 days	1 696	539
91 – 180 days	4 021	1 577
Total	8 462	2 629

Note 1: The figures are based on the date of application of the cases.
Note 2: As some recipients passed away or passed away after applying for sick leave, the number of cases involving sick leave certificates and the total number of cases under the TAVA Scheme could vary.

(2) When processing applications, the SWD will clearly explain to the applicant that obtaining assistance payment by deception is a criminal offence. Apart from losing the eligibility for assistance, the applicant may be prosecuted under the Theft Ordinance (Cap. 210) and be liable on conviction to imprisonment of a maximum of 14 years. The number of the suspected fraud cases reported by the public in the past three years are tabulated below:
 

Year	Number of suspected fraud cases reported
2021-22	28
2022-23	74
2023-24	16
Total	118

(3) The SWD has been strictly verifying every TAVA application, including seeking written confirmation from the Police on whether a traffic accident is involved, maintaining close liaison with the Hospital Authority and the Department of Health to ensure the injuries sustained by the applicants are related to the traffic accidents concerned, strengthening the procedures of vetting income proof, and verifying whether the applicants have made any claim for damages or compensation through other means for the same traffic accident as well as informing insurance companies in writing on the disbursement of payment in a timely manner to avoid double compensation. 

     The SWD will continue to monitor the implementation of the TAVA Scheme, review all aspects of work to enhance workflow of processing applications and step up inspections to strictly combat any abuses or frauds of TAVA. If any case is suspected to involve criminal elements, the SWD will handle it seriously and refer the case to law enforcements agencies for investigation.
  read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Luk Chung-hung and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (May 8):
 
Question:
 
     Fee-paying electric vehicle (EV) charging services (fee-paying charging services) in government car parks have been implemented progressively since December last year, with charging fees ranging from $19 to $21 per hour. However, there are views that the fees payable for fee-paying charging services are excessively high while the charging efficiency is unsatisfactory, and the arrangement of charging the fees on a time basis is also unreasonable. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the implementation timetable of fee-paying charging services in various government car parks that have yet to implement the services;
 
(2) of the monthly utilization rate of the EV charging facilities in government car parks having implemented the fee-paying charging services since December last year;
 
(3) of the following information on the EV charging facilities in government car parks at present:
(i) the types and numbers of chargers of different charging speeds; and
(ii) the monthly basic operating expenses of each EV charging facility; and
 
(4) as there are views pointing out that the fees charged by EV charging stations in the market vary according to the power output of different chargers and are mostly calculated on the basis of power consumption while the fees charged by EV charging facilities in government car parks are based on the charging time, which are excessively high as a result, of the Government’s pricing mechanism for fee-paying charging services; whether the Government will, by drawing reference from the market practice, consider adopting the mode of charging the fees based on the chargers’ power output and power consumption; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Government launched the Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in 2021, setting out the target to marketise the EV charging services by starting to impose a fee on the EV charging services provided in government carparks from around 2025, with a view to promoting the sustainable development of the services in the long run. To expedite the process of marketisation, the Government has advanced the completion of the tendering and progressively proceeded with the marketisation of EV charging services in government carparks starting from the end of 2023.
 
     My reply to the question raised by Hon Luk Chung-hung is as follows:
 
(1) Currently, various government departments (including the Environmental Protection Department (EPD)) are responsible for the management and operation of a total of 2 550 public EV chargers. Starting from the end of 2023, the EPD has progressively implemented fee-paying EV charging services for its over 1 600 medium chargers of seven kilowatt (kW) (involving 74 government carparks). As at the end of March 2024, the fee-paying EV charging services have been implemented in 54 government carparks, covering over 1 000 EV chargers. It is anticipated that the plan to marketise EV charging services in the remaining 20 government carparks will be completed by mid-2024.
 
     Other relevant government departments are responsible for the management and operation of over 900 public EV chargers, and are in the process of or considering marketising their EV charging services progressively.
 
(2) The utilisation rates of chargers in government carparks are affected by various factors, such as the location and occupancy of carparks, the number of EVs, and the fee levels, etc. According to the data from the charging service operators, as in March 2024, the average utilisation rate of EV chargers in those government carparks where fee-paying EV charging services have been implemented is about seven per cent. As the marketisation of the EV charging services has just commenced, some of the government carparks have yet to implement fee-charging for their EV charging services. Together with the fact that the EV drivers are still adapting to the changes brought about by the marketisation of the EV charging services, the data collected at this stage merely reflects the short-term utilisation rates of the relevant charging facilities. The actual usage can only be reflected numerically after the implementation of the fee-paying EV charging services for a period of time.
 
(3)(i) Currently, various government departments (including the EPD) are responsible for the management and operation of a total of 2 550 public EV chargers, including 560 standard chargers, 1 986 medium chargers and four quick chargers.

(ii)The major operating expenditure incurred by the public EV chargers provided by the Government is electricity tariff. In 2023, over 1 600 EV public chargers were operated by the EPD, and their total electricity tariff of the year was around $21.7 million. The average monthly electricity tariff per each EV charger was around $1,100.
 
(4) Currently, commercially operated EV charging stations in the markets have adopted different modes of charging based on their own business considerations, including time-based charging and energy-based charging. The fee-charging level also varies depending on factors such as the location and the time period of using the charging services, etc.
 
     The marketisation of EV charging services in the government carparks has commenced since the end of 2023. Currently, a time-based charging is being adopted with the hourly rates ranging from $19 to $21, which were determined by the operators taking into account the prevailing market rates of EV medium charging services in the same district. If the operators propose other charging modes in the future taking into account their business considerations and actual operations, the EPD will remain open to discuss with them the feasible modes of charging. read more