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 early 2021, the Transport Department (TD) decluttered non-‍essential traffic signs and pedestrian railings in the pilot areas of Central and Sham Shui Po. To tie in with the overall walkability strategy for Hong Kong, TD will extend the decluttering works to other suitable locations progressively. However, some members of the public have relayed that at present, many narrow footpaths on Hong Kong Island are still cluttered with non-essential traffic signs, causing much inconvenience to pedestrians. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of (i) the number of non-essential traffic signs and (ii) the length of non-essential pedestrian railings removed each year since the completion of the pilot scheme, together with a breakdown by District Council (DC) district;

(2) of the existing mechanism adopted by the authorities to identify non-‍essential traffic signs and pedestrian railings for removal; whether they will consider establishing a channel for DC members and members of the public to formally put forward proposals for removal of non-essential traffic signs and pedestrian railings; and

(3) of the specific plans in future to achieve respectively the four objectives of "make it connected", "make it safe", "make it enjoyable" and "make it smart" under the overall walkability strategy for Hong Kong, so as to create a more comfortable walking environment for members of the public?

Reply:

President,

     â€‹To promote "Walk in HK" and encourage the public to walk more, the Transport Department (TD) fosters a pedestrian-friendly environment and promotes walking as a form of sustainable urban mobility along four pillars, namely "make it connected", "make it safe", "make it enjoyable" and "make it smart". My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Judy Chan is as follows:
 
(1) The TD has commenced the work to declutter non-essential traffic signs at suitable locations in various districts across the city since August 2021. As at the end of 2023, the numbers of non-essential traffic signs decluttered in various districts are as follows:
 

     The TD has also commenced the work to declutter non-essential pedestrian railings at suitable locations in various districts across the city since October 2020. As at the end of 2023, the lengths (in metres) of non-essential pedestrian railings decluttered in various districts are as follows:
 

(2) The TD has all along been committed to fostering a pedestrian-friendly environment. Regarding traffic signs, on the premise of not compromising road safety and traffic management, the TD declutters non-essential traffic signs in various districts across the city according to the Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Regulations (Cap. 374G), whilst taking into account factors such as public opinions and planning for traffic improvement works. For instance, when a traffic sign contains the same message as that of a road marking, the TD will consider decluttering it, such as removing a "24-hour No-stopping Restriction" traffic sign when "double yellow lines" have already been painted on the road.
 
     The provision of pedestrian railings is meant to guide pedestrians to cross the roads and prevent them from inadvertently moving away from footpaths onto carriageways, thereby ensuring road safety and achieving traffic management. Pedestrian railings are mainly erected at road junctions, pedestrian crossings, transport interchanges, school entrances/exits, central reserves and pedestrian refuge islands, etc. Currently, the TD adopts a "minimal approach" in the provision of pedestrian railings, which aims at stripping away excessive railings that are not bringing value to the implementation of the policy of enhancing walkability of the pedestrian environment and reducing street cluttering, with a view to releasing more road space for pedestrians on footpaths.
 
     The TD will continue to conduct regular reviews of traffic signs and pedestrian railings under its purview to determine whether they should be maintained, removed or replaced, taking into account the functions of the traffic signs and railings, prevailing guidelines, accident records of the locations concerned, public views, etc. On matters relating to the decluttering of traffic signs and pedestrian railings, the TD consults local stakeholders through District Offices as and when necessary and also welcomes views from the general public.

(3) Under the overall strategy of "Walk in HK", apart from its continued efforts to declutter non-essential traffic signs and pedestrian railings in various districts, the TD also proceeds with various walkability enhancement measures, which include footpath widening, provision of more pedestrian crossings, expanding pedestrian crossing build-outs, setting up of wayfinding signage, provision of raised crossings and setting up of low speed limit zones, etc. Moreover, the Government has commenced projects of providing covers for walkways across the 18 districts, of which 11 projects have been completed while the works of the remaining seven projects are in progress. The Government is also taking forward projects of providing covers for walkways connecting public hospitals. The TD will continue to keep in view the results and effectiveness of the various measures to enhance the pedestrian environment and extend them to cover suitable locations, taking into account technical conditions and public views. The TD will also strive to take forward walkability enhancement measures in other suitable locations across the city, with new development areas and suitable urban redevelopment areas selected for adopting the pedestrian planning framework to formulate and implement appropriate pedestrian facility measures.

     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:
 

(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:
 

(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:
 

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:
 

(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.
 

     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.

     â€‹Following is a question by the Hon Dennis Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, in the Legislative Council today (May 8):
 
Question:
 
     Some trade unions have relayed that there has been a persistent shortage of Traffic Wardens (TWs) and the wastage rate of new recruits is high. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of (a) the staff establishment and (b) the strength of (i) Senior Traffic Wardens (STWs) and (ii) TWs in each year from 2019 to 2024 (set out in Table 1);
Table 1

(2) of (i) the target number of recruits, (ii) the number of applicants and (iii) the number of people recruited in the TW recruitment exercises conducted in 2021 and 2023 (set out in Table 2);
Table 2

(3) whether it has plans to launch a new round of TW recruitment exercise; if so, when it will be conducted, and of the target number of recruits of (i) STWs and (ii) TWs (set out in Table 3);
Table 3

(4) of the number of (i) STWs and (ii) TWs who left the service in each year from 2019 to 2024 (set out in Table 4), and the reasons for their departure;
Table 4

(5) whether it has estimated the number of (i) STWs and (ii) TWs who will reach their retirement age in each year from 2024 to 2026 (set out in Table 5); and
Table 5

(6) of (a) the lower quartile, (b) the median and (c) the upper quartile of the length of service of (i) STWs and (ii) TWs in each year from 2019 to 2024 (set out in Table 6)?
Table 6

 
Reply: 
 
President,

             Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) have been monitoring the manpower situation of Traffic Wardens (TWs) and recruiting TWs as and when necessary. Having consulted the HKPF in respect of the Hon Dennis Leung's questions on the establishment, recruitment and the turnover situation of TWs, my reply is as follows:
 
(1) The establishment and strength of Senior Traffic Wardens (STWs) and TWs from 2019 to end of March 2024 

 
(2) TW recruitment exercises conducted in 2021 and 2023 
 

*Note: Including the number of vacancy to be filled and waiting list.
 
(3) The 2023 TW recruitment exercise will be completed soon. The HKPF has no plan for another TW recruitment exercise at this moment. If there are vacancies to be filled in the near future, HKPF will recruit suitable candidates from the waiting list of previous recruitment exercise. Besides, STW is a promotional rank for TW and vacancies will be filled by promotion. 

(4) Number of STWs and TWs who left the service from 2019 to end of March 2024 

#Note: Including those who were transferred to other government departments or resigned.
 
(5) Number of STWs and TWs who will reach their retirement age in each year from 2024 to 2026 

 
(6) Length of service of STWs and TWs in each year from 2019 to 2024 

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hoi-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (May 8):
 
Question:
 
     The Government will implement the Municipal Solid Waste Charging (MSW charging) on August 1 this year. However, some members of the catering industry have indicated that the current food waste recycling supporting facilities for eateries are still insufficient. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the current average daily quantity of food waste recovered in each of the 18 districts across the territory;
 
(2) of the current number of the following premises participating in the Pilot Scheme on Food Waste Collection in Hong Kong: (i) food processing factories, (ii) public markets, (iii) cooked food centres, (iv) wholesale markets, (v) hospitals, (vi) government facilities, (vii) tertiary institutions, (viii) hotels, (ix) club houses, (x) restaurants, (xi) public housing estates, and (xii) private housing courts (with a tabulated breakdown by District Council district);
 
(3) of the current average daily quantity of food waste recovered at (i) each food waste recycling point at refuse collection points and (ii) each food waste recycling spot in Hong Kong, with a tabulated breakdown by District Council district;
 
(4) of the maximum handling capacity of each food waste treatment facility of the Government; the total quantity of food waste from the industrial and commercial sectors recovered by each food waste treatment facility in each of the past three years, and the percentage of such quantity in the maximum handling capacity of the facilities;
 
(5) whether it has assessed if the quantity of food waste to be recovered will increase after the implementation of MSW charging; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, whether it has assessed if the current food waste treatment facilities of the Government can cope with the increasing quantity of food waste to be recovered; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the negative, of the corresponding measures to be put in place;
 
(6) of the authorities' specific means to further encourage the industrial and commercial sectors to reduce food waste at source, such as whether they will consider subsidising the catering industry to set up sorting and recycling facilities, or encouraging the industry to participate in food recovery and donation activities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(7) whether the authorities will introduce measures to facilitate the development of the downstream food waste recycling industry, so as to improve the food waste recycling industry chain; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Currently, about 11 100 tonnes of municipal solid waste are generated in Hong Kong per day, of which around 30 per cent is food waste. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is actively implementing various food waste collection initiatives, including support to the collection of food waste from commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors and households, so as to encourage the whole community and the general public to participate in food waste recycling. The reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Hoi-yan is as follows:
 
(1) to (3) The EPD extended the Pilot Scheme on Food Waste Collection in 2021 to progressively provide point-to-point food waste collection services for public and private premises which generate larger quantities of food waste. Currently, there are approximately 900 collection points across the territory, such as food processing factories, public markets, cooked food centres, wholesale markets, hospitals, government facilities, tertiary institutions, school lunchbox suppliers, hotels and shopping malls, etc. From the current term of the Government on, the EPD is expanding the food waste recycling services to all public rental housing (PRH) estates at full steam with an aim to completing the installation of more than 700 food waste smart recycling bins (FWSRBs) in all of the 213 PRH estates (a total of approximately 1 500 blocks) across the territory by August this year, covering about one-third of the population in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, we have subsidised the installation of FWSRBs in private residential buildings and rural villages through the Recycling Fund and the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF), and in collaboration with the Environmental Campaign Committee. At present, the amount of food waste recovered from various local sources is gradually increasing, with an average daily collection of around 230 tonnes in March this year.
 
     To promote the participation of restaurants in food waste recycling, the EPD has set up food waste collection points at 71 refuse collection points (RCPs) under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, and the number will increase to nearly 100 in July this year. Nearby restaurants and residents can also use these food waste collection points. The EPD has also proactively approached restaurants in the vicinity of the food waste collection points and provided relevant information and appropriate assistance to them. At present, a total of around 500 restaurants have registered in this scheme, and the average daily food waste collected at the aforementioned 71 food waste collection points is around 3.2 tonnes. In addition, the EPD has progressively set up Food Waste Recycling Spots, using mobile booths or trucks, at "food and beverage (F&B) clusters" concentrated with restaurants in Tai Po, Yuen Long, Tuen Mun and Sha Tin to collect food waste since April 2023 and has extended the services to Hong Kong Island and Kowloon during March and April this year. We have also set up 76 Food Waste Recycling Spots in 15 districts for collecting food waste from restaurants, with an average daily collection of around 2.1 tonnes.
 
     The daily average quantity of food waste recovered in various districts, the number of venues participating in food waste recycling, and the locations of food waste collection points at RCPs and Food Waste Recycling Spots, along with their respective daily average quantity of food waste recovered, are tabulated in Table 1 to Table 4 of the Annex respectively.
 
(4) and (5) From 2021 to 2022, the total treatment capacity of food waste treatment facilities was 250 tonnes per day, including 200 tonnes per day of Organic Resources Recovery Centre Phase 1 (O‧PARK1) and 50 tonnes per day of the Food Waste, Sewage Sludge Anaerobic Co-digestion Trial Scheme at Tai Po Sewage Treatment Works. With the commencement of operation of the Food Waste, Sewage Sludge Anaerobic Co-digestion Trial Scheme at Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works in November 2023, the total treatment capacity of food waste treatment facilities increased from 250 tonnes per day to 300 tonnes per day. With the commencement of food waste reception at Organic Resources Recovery Centre Phase 2 (O‧PARK2) in March this year, the total treatment capacity has further increased to 600 tonnes per day at present. The quantities of food waste recovered from public and C&I premises over the past three years and their respective percentages of the highest treatment capacity of that year are tabulated below:
 

 
     With the launch of various facilitation measures, promotional and educational campaigns, as well as GREEN$ Electronic Participation Incentive Scheme to proactively encourage public participation in food waste recycling, we expect that the quantity of food waste recovered will increase progressively. The existing food waste treatment facilities in operation have a total daily food waste treatment capacity of 600 tonnes, which is sufficient to meet the food waste treatment needs. We will closely monitor changes in the quantity of food waste recovered and level of public participation in food waste recycling, and review the planning and development of food waste treatment facilities in a timely manner.
 
(6) To encourage restaurants to participate in food waste recycling, the EPD will visit restaurants in the vicinity of the collection points to distribute promotional leaflets and invite them to register for the abovementioned food waste collection points which are set up at RCPs and F&B clusters. We will explain the arrangements for food waste recycling to the restaurants and provide them with transparent plastic bags and small containers free of charge to facilitate their temporary storage of recyclable food waste. 
 
     To promote food waste reduction at source, the Food Wise Hong Kong Campaign has been promoting a "Food Wise and Waste Less" culture and encouraging behavioural change to reduce food waste at source in the community through various schemes and activities since its launch in 2013. The Government has also been supporting non-governmental organisations through the ECF to collect surplus food from the commercial sector and donate them to the needy in the society in order to achieve the goals of caring for society and reducing food waste.
 
(7) To promote the sustainable development of the recycling industry, the Recycling Fund set up by the Government has assisted the local recycling industry in enhancing its overall operational capabilities and productivity, and helped enterprises to upgrade and expand their recycling operation through various funding programmes. On food waste recycling, the Recycling Fund launched a scheme on Supporting Residential Buildings in Adopting Smart Bins Technology in Food Waste under the Industry Support Programme in 2020, specifically supporting and subsidising private residential buildings to collect food waste using smart recycling bins so as to encourage members of the public and housing estates to participate in domestic food waste recycling. The Enterprise Support Programme (ESP) under the Recycling Fund also provides project-based matching funds for individual food waste recycling enterprises to enhance and expand their recycling operations. Enterprises can also implement standard projects through simplified application procedures in the Standard Project under the ESP, including purchase and installation of relevant equipment for handling food waste.