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1. Buildings Department removed 4500 dangerous and abandoned signs in the past 3 years

2. LCQ9: School Improvement Programme projects and future school provision planning

3. LCQ6: Permanent posts of former Housing Bureau incorporated Into Housing Department

4. Appointment of Town Planning Board members

1. Buildings Department removed 4500 dangerous and abandoned signs in the past 3 years
Hong Kong Government, 29 March 2006

Buildings Department (BD) has removed 4500 dangerous and abandoned signs in the past 3 years. BD also plans to remove some 1,400 dangerous or abandoned signboards in this year.

"For signboards left at the shop premises after closing down of business or its removal to other places, BD will issue Dangerous Structure Removal Notices to the owners of the signboards under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), to eliminate any potential danger that these abandoned signboards may, resulting from lack of maintenance, pose to the public.  If the owners of these signboards fail to comply with the Removal Notice within the specified period (i.e. within 14 days), BD will arrange to carry out the removal works and recover the costs from the owners of the signboards." a spokesman for the BD said today (March 29).

"BD staff also carry out surveillance inspection of signboards in various districts.  District Councillors have also been requested to refer any dangerous or abandoned signboards to BD for follow up action," he said.  He also appealed to the general public to report any abandoned signboards to BD for action.

In 2004 and 2005, BD removed 1,496 and 1,597 dangerous or abandoned signboards respectively, of which 1,310 and 1,383 are abandoned signboards.

"To curb the proliferation of newly erected unauthorized signboards, BD has appointed private consultant firms to carry out inspections within 48 hours of receiving any complaints relating to unauthorized building works (including signboards) under construction.  The consultants also carry out patrol inspections in various busy districts and take photographic records of signboards.  BD will issue removal orders under the Buildings Ordinance to the owners concerned to remove any large unauthorized signboards found to be under construction or newly erected during inspection.  Owners who, without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with such removal orders may be prosecuted and are liable on conviction to a maximum penalty of a fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for 1 year; and a daily fine of $20,000," he said.

Moreover, in its annual large scale removal operations, BD has targeted in 2006 to remove, among others, large unauthorized signboards and TV displays installed on external walls of buildings in areas with heavy pedestrian flow such as designated pedestrianisation areas.

"No person shall carry out any building works, including the erection of signboards or TV displays, without obtaining prior approval of plans and consent to commence works from the Building Authority (BA). An authorized person (AP) should be appointed to coordinate and supervise the works, which should only be carried out by registered contractors," the spokesman reminded the public.

"To facilitate persons to erect signboards in compliance with the statutory and  safety requirements through the proper procedures, BD has since June 2003 implemented a fast-track system for processing building plans of proposed new signboards submitted to BD for approval.  The department will process the submission within 30 days," he said.

2. LCQ9: School Improvement Programme projects and future school provision planning
Hong Kong Government, 29 March 2006

Following is a question by Dr Hon Raymond HO and a written reply by the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Professor Arthur K C Li, in the Legislative Council today (March 29):

Question :

It has been reported that because of inadequate enrolment this year, nine primary schools have been ordered by the Education and Manpower Bureau to stop taking in primary one students with effect from the coming school year.  Among them, eight schools have recently completed their school improvement programmes ("SIPs"), involving a total works cost of $200 million.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether the authorities have, before embarking on the above SIPs, considered the problem of inadequate enrolment at the schools concerned arising from a fall in population; and

(b) as the schools concerned have to stop taking in new students after spending a substantial amount of public money on the SIPs, whether the authorities will include new measures in their future school provision planning, so as to prevent the recurrence of similar cases?

Reply :

Madam President,

(a) We always maintain vigilance on the progress of School Improvement Programme (SIP) projects and the changing circumstances of the schools concerned and, where appropriate, seek to adjust the scope of an on-going project or to stop it altogether.  Since the publication of "Projections of Population Distribution, 2002-11" in August 2002, the Government has discontinued, during the feasibility study stage and early construction stage, some 100 SIP projects owing to impending school closure, re-provisioning, in-situ re-development, or cost-effectiveness considerations (including the enrolment situation at that time and availability of space for significant improvement to school facilities).  We must, however, emphasise that it is unreasonable to expect the Government to be able to foretell precisely which schools will, a few years later, cease to recruit enough students for operation of P1 classes.  The reason is that P1 enrolment to a very large extent depends on parents’ choices of schools.  Hence, our decision on capital investment in upgrading a school's environment can only be guided by information at hand.

Furthermore, the eight schools which have benefited from SIP were operating with a complete class structure when the SIP projects were planned and implemented.  In the event that the number of classes operated by a school has to be reduced because of falling enrolment, the existing students can still enjoy the improved facilities.  On the contrary, it would have been unfair to the school and its students and also a waste of resources invested if the Government were to suspend the project out of speculation based solely on the reduction in the number of classes that the school will cease to operate P1 classes.

(b) School building projects take four to five years from planning to completion.  During that period, demand for public school places could fluctuate due to mobility of population across districts, demographic changes of the entire population, and other factors such as delay in completion of residential development.  As long as the construction work has yet to start, we will ascertain the need or adjust the scope of individual projects based on the latest circumstances (including school-aged population projections, the situation of student intake, the availability of vacant school premises, etc.) to ensure the optimal use of resources for upgrading the infrastructure of schools.  Last October, we decided to suspend 13 school building projects (including six projects with alternative arrangements) and scale down the scope of some others, clearly reflecting our prudence in the planning of school construction projects.

3. LCQ6: Permanent posts of former Housing Bureau incorporated Into Housing Department
Hong Kong Government, 29 March 2006

Following is a question by the Hon Fred LI and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen in the Legislative Council today (29 March):

Question

Since 1 July 2002, the Government has gradually incorporated the Housing Branch ("HB") of the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau into the structure of the Housing Department ("HD"), and the Housing Authority ("HA") has, with effect from 1 April 2003, become responsible for funding the activities undertaken by the former HB.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the existing permanent posts in HD with major responsibilities that were within the purview of the former HB, and the total annual payroll costs of such posts; and

(b) given that a substantial part of HA's revenue comes from public housing tenants, whether the authorities have assessed if it is fair to require HA to bear the payroll costs of such posts?

Reply

Madam President,

My reply to the two-part question is as follows:

(a) At present, there are 20 permanent posts in the Housing Department with responsibilities in whole or in part previously undertaken by the former Housing Bureau.  These posts are detailed at the Annex.  Eleven of these posts principally deal with policy work related to public housing or the Housing Authority.  The remaining nine posts are engaged in work related to the private residential property market, the Housing Society and regulation of estate agents.  The annual payroll costs for the former group of posts are $11.4 million and the latter $7.1 million.

(b) From 1 April 2006 onwards, the payroll costs for the above mentioned nine posts dealing with work related to the private residential property market and so on will be borne by the Government.  For the remaining 11 posts that principally deal with work that is directly related to public housing or the Housing Authority, the payroll costs will be borne by the Housing Authority.  There is no question of unfairness.

4. Appointment of Town Planning Board members

The Chief Executive has appointed six officials and 32 non-officials to the Town Planning Board for a two-year term from April 1, 2006, to March 31, 2008.