Responsible Department (Translation)
Minutes of the 6th Meeting of the Housing Affairs Committee (2020) of Kwai Tsing District Council
Date： 1 December 2020 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:33 p.m. Venue: K&T DO Conference Room
Attendee Time of Arrival Time of Departure Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman (Chairman) Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr HON Chun-yin (Vice-chairman) Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr HUI Kei-cheung 10:04 a.m. End of Meeting Mr LAM Siu-fai Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr LAU Chi-kit Start of Meeting End of Meeting Ms LAU Kwai-mui Start of Meeting End of Meeting Miss LEUNG Ching-shan Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr LEUNG Kam-wai Start of Meeting End of Meeting Ms LEUNG Kar-ming 10:09 a.m. End of Meeting Mr LEUNG Kwok-wah Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr LEUNG Wing-kuen Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung 10:09 a.m. 12:04 p.m. Miss LO Yuen-ting Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr NG Kim-sing 10:17 a.m. End of Meeting Mr TAM Ka-chun, Warren Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr TONG Ho-man 10:04 a.m. End of Meeting Mr TSUI Hiu-kit 10:04 a.m. End of Meeting Mr WONG Bing-kuen Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr WONG Tin-yan 10:52 a.m. End of Meeting Mr WONG Yun-tat, Ivan Start of Meeting End of Meeting
1 Responsible Department In Attendance
Mr SIN Chung-kai, SBS, JP Chairman of the Kwai Tsing District Council Mrs LAI CHAN Wai-fan, Clara Senior Housing Manager (Kwai Chung), Housing Department Ms Mak Siu-ling Senior Property Service Manager (Kwai Chung), Housing Department Mr WONG Wai-sing Professional Officer 2-4/Joint Office 2, Joint Office of Building Department and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Ms LAW Yue-kwan Senior Health Inspector (Joint Office) Kwai Tsing, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Mr CHEUNG Wai-lun Engineer/ New Territories West (Distribution 4), Water Supplies Department Mr PO Chi-yiu Waterworks Inspector/ New Territories West (Customer Services) Inspection 1, Water Supplies Department Miss YIM Yik-huen, Bonnie Assistant District Officer (Kwai Tsing), Kwai Tsing District Office Mr CHIU Tsz-lok, Jacky (Secretary) Executive Assistant (Kwai Tsing) District Council (9), Kwai Tsing District Office
Absent with Apologies
Mr CHEUNG Man-lung (With prior notice) Mr KWOK Tsz-kin (Without prior notice)
2 Responsible Department Opening Remarks
The Chairman welcomed Members and representatives of government departments to the 6th meeting of the Housing Affairs Committee (HAC) (2020) of Kwai Tsing District Council.
Confirmation of Minutes of the 5th Meeting (2020) held on 6 October 2020
2. The Chairman said that the Secretariat had received proposed amendments to the above minutes from Mr LEUNG Kam-wai before the meeting.
3. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai put forth opinion as follows:
(i) In the discussion item “Installation of Antennae and Signal Receivers and Transmitters on the Rooftops of Public Rental Housing Estates in Kwai Tsing District”, the Secretariat had not included in the meeting minutes that he had requested the responsible government department to arrange an inspection for District Council (DC) members to buildings where there were more base stations.
(ii) He would like the Chairman to retrieve the speech in the last meeting which described him as “losing temper”.
(iii) The post-meeting supplementary materials like the increased number of janitors due to the pandemic and the rental income of Kwai Tsing public estates’ base stations provided by the Housing Department (HD) was incomprehensive.
4. The Secretary gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) In response to the member’s opinion, the opinion “Requesting responsible government departments to arrange inspections with DC members to the rooftops with a relatively large number of base stations” would be added in paragraph 49 of the meeting minutes. (Mr LEUNG Kam-wai agreed with the proposed amendment during the meeting.)
(ii) The Secretariat noted from the Chairman on 7 October that Mr LEUNG Kam-wai would like the Chairman to coordinate with the Secretariat to exclude the speech in which the Chairman described Mr LEUNG 3 Responsible Department Kam-wai as ‘losing temper’. The Secretary did not record everything word by word while writing meeting minutes. In general, the Secretary would record opinions and enquiries of members on relevant discussions. Therefore, the Secretary did not record the speech from the Chairman which described Mr LEUNG Kam-wai as “losing temper”. Afterwards, Mr LEUNG Kam-wai contacted the Secretary to express that he would like the meeting minutes to include the Chairman’s speech which described him as “losing temper” and specify the retrieval of the speech by the Chairman in the post-meeting note. The Secretariat considered the speech unrelated to the meeting agenda, therefore suggested not including the speech to the meeting minutes. The suggestion was concurred by the Chairman.
(iii) The Secretariat would record members’ enquiries to government departments. If responsible department was not able to answer the questions during the meeting, the response would be added in form of post-meeting note in meeting minutes. Responsible departments would also add supplementary information to the meeting minutes in form of post-meeting note to respond to different discussion items.
5. The Chairman responded as follows:
(i) The speech which members made in the meeting was solemn and rigorous.
(ii) He agreed that the responses from some departments might not be desirable. Members “losing temper” during meetings was normal. He stated that the relevant speech was not directing at Mr LEUNG Kam-wai’s “losing temper”.
(iii) People shared different understanding of the responsible speech. Therefore, he agreed to retrieve the speech.
6. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai put forth opinions as follows:
(i) His opinion was only to criticise HD’s ineffective law enforcement over the problem of group gambling.
(ii) The Chairman’s speech was unsuitable and a serious assault to his fulfilment of the obligation of a DC member. 4 Responsible Department
(iii) He would like the Secretary to help collate the enquiries made by Members and follow up on the enquiries.
7. The Chairman agreed to retrieve the relevant speech. He also would like HD representatives to answer the enquiries raised by Members. Only if HD representative was unable to answer the responsible enquiries would he request the Secretary to arrange a written follow up.
8. Mr HON Chun-yin moved a motion to confirm the amended meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr LEUNG Wing-kuen. Members endorsed the minutes unanimously.
Discussion Items
The Housing department’s Inspection Programme for Communal Drainage Pipes in Public Rental Housing Estates in Kwai Tsing District (Proposed by Mr WONG Bing-kuen) (HAC Paper No. 43, 43a/D/2020)
9. The Chairman welcomed Mrs LAI CHAN Wai-fan, Clara, Senior Housing Manager (Kwai Chung) of HD and Ms Mak Siu-ling, Senior Property Service Manager (Kwai Chung) of HD to the meeting.
10. Mr Wong Bing-kuen introduced the Paper and put forth enquiries and opinions as follows:
(i) Enquired about the details of the Drainage Inspection Programme for Communal Drainage Pipes in Public Rental Housing (PRH) in Kwai Tsing District and the improvement measures after the completion of the programme.
(ii) He was concerned that the communal drainage pipes in the six PRH might fail to adhere to present regulatory standard since they were built in the 1970s. He would like HD to talk about the measures to improve the relevant drainage pipes.
11. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai put forth opinions and enquiries as follows:
(i) He found that some outsourced staff used telescopes to inspect the 5 Responsible Department exterior of Kwai Chung Estate without wearing the working identification card. He enquired about whether those workers were working on the inspection programme.
(ii) How HD would handle situations in which HD staff were denied access to PRH units by tenants.
(iii) Whether HD would help tenants replace the drainage pipes if unauthorised alterations to the drainage system by tenants were identified.
(iv) Whether HD would make use of the programme to perform overall structural reviews and replacements to reduce the risk of the spread of virus.
12. Mr TAM Ka-chun, Warren put forth enquiries as follows:
(i) Whether the programme had included Easeful Court.
(ii) How HD would handle situations in which public drainage pipes were found located in estates units under Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS).
13. Ms LEUNG Ching-shan put forth enquiries and opinions as follows:
(i) Enquired about the staff deployment of the programme.
(ii) She noticed that there were successive COVID-19 confirmed cases in different buildings in Kwai Shing West Estate. She would like HD to allocate more staff to the programme.
14. Mr LAU Chi-kit put forth enquiries as follows:
(i) How HD would handle situations in which public drainage pipes were found located in estates units under TPS.
(ii) Whether there was an error in the choice of the Chinese character “Lai” in “Wah Lai Estate” in the appendix of HD’s written reply.
15. Mr HUI Kei-cheung put forth enquiries and opinions as follows:
6 Responsible Department (i) Enquired about the manpower arrangement of the programme and whether the programme would have an impact on other on-going programmes by HD.
(ii) Some public estates were older or had an aged design, therefore inspection was more complicated. He questioned the feasibility of the programme schedule.
16. Ms Mak Siu-ling gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) In response to COVID-19, the Government had already announced a special measure to perform inspection for exterior drainage pipes for private residential and composite buildings. HD would inspect all PRH buildings starting from late October 2020 to correspond to the measure.
(ii) The location of public drainage pipes in buildings might vary with different building designs. Some public drainage pipes were located on the exterior while some were located in the units. The inspection programme was preventive in nature. Tenants could choose whether to participate in the programme. HD would not enforce the programme if tenants refused to let HD staff enter the units or the drainage pipes were unreachable by the staff due to blockage.
(iii) During the inspection, if minor problems such as pipe leaks, loose pipe bracket or connecting accessories were discovered, HD would arrange suitable repairs. If unauthorised alterations to the drainage system by tenants were identified, the tenants concerned would be held responsible for undertaking the rectification works required at their own expense.
(iv) In response to the outsourced staff inspecting exterior of the buildings with telescopes, she believed the responsible staff were inspecting the public drainage pipes located on the exteriors.
(v) The abovementioned inspection programme was applicable to all unsold PRH units. For sold units and public area of those estates under TPS, the inspection responsibility went to the respective Owners’ Corporation.
(vi) Easeful Court was included in the programme. That, along with name of Wah Lai Estate, would be corrected in the revised version in the post-meeting appendix. 7 Responsible Department
(Post-meeting note: The Secretariat sent the revised version of the appendix to Members on 3 December 2020. Please refer to HAC Circulation Paper no. 23/2020 for details.)
(vii) In response to the manpower arrangement of the programme, in addition to the current engineering staff, HD also established a special assistant project team formed by newly recruited staff, which included professionals, technical and administrative staff. HD had already started recruitment.
(viii) HD had always been concerned about the situation of drainage pipes in PRH. When there were COVID-19 confirmed cases in the units under PRH, HD would proactively perform checks on all the toilets of PRH units which share the same drainage system with units with confirmed cases, checks on responsible drainage pipes and conduct timely repairs. In fact, HD had proactively performed regular inspections, provided timely maintenance and repairs, including the “Total Maintenance Scheme” to systematically inspect units (including the drainage system) and “Responsive In-flat Maintenance Services” to handle interior repairs for rental units. HD also made use of the “HomeCARE Maintenance Scheme” to perform annual inspection for the exteriors of PRH (including exterior drainage pipes), public areas and facilities to formulate repair plans accordingly.
(ix) The sewage systems in buildings under HD followed standard public housing building design, and met the construction and safety standard at the time. HD would provide adequate repair services if some individual units needed repairing.
17. Ms LO Yuen-ting opined that HD should first perform inspections in older estates. In regard to the sewage overflow problem in some lower-level units in those estates, she was concerned about the increased risk of the spread of virus.
18. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai would like HD to provide fee-waivers for tenants who had altered drainage pipes without authorisation. He believed it would provide incentives to fix the drainage pipe problem and also improve estate management beyond.
19. Mr TAM Ka-chun, Warren asked how HD would handle the situation in which an occupant from a TPS building would like to participate in the programme, but the nearby 8 Responsible Department occupants, whose units shared the same drainage pipe with that occupant, did not wish to participate.
20. Mr Lau Chi-kit would like HD to explain in details about the implementation of the programme.
21. Mr LEUNG Kwok-wah put forth opinions as follows:
(i) Using Shek Lei (I) estate as an example, he believed the safety standard might be different in the past.
(ii) Installation of check valves could not completely solve the overflow problems in the lower-level units. He believed HD should tackle the root causes, like widening outlets of the drainage system to reduce blockage and cleaning the manholes more frequently.
22. Mr WONG Bing-kuen put forth opinions and enquiries as follows:
(i) He believed the programme was comprehensive as inspections of the exteriors and public drainage pipes were included, but he questioned whether there would be enough manpower.
(ii) He questioned that responsible staff inspecting exterior pipes using telescope might not be able to uncover the problems.
(iii) He would like HD to explain in depth the arrangement of manpower.
(iv) Taking older estates like Tai Wo Hau Estate as an example, some units had to share drainage pipes. He believed it might impose potential risks. He asked HD whether there was an established mechanism to review the design and potential problems of the designs of older PRH.
23. Mr Hui Ki-cheung put forth opinions and enquiries as follows:
(i) Some estates had more buildings. According to the inspection schedule, a total of 50 buildings in Tai Wo Hau Estate and Kwai Chung Estate would be inspected in April 2021. He questioned the manpower arrangement and the feasibility of the programme.
(ii) He questioned whether there would be a report after completion of the 9 Responsible Department programme. If so, whether the report would be available for the Members.
(iii) He questioned whether HD would enact improvement measures upon completion of the programme.
24. Mr LEUNG Wing-kuen enquired about the spending of the programme and measurement of the effectiveness.
25. The Chairman put forth enquiries and opinions as follows:
(i) Enquired about the feasibility of the timetable.
(ii) He agreed that HD should inspect the older PRH.
26. Ms MAK Siu-ling gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) In response to the already sold units in PRH, since they were private properties, HD was not responsible, nor entitled for inspection and entrance.
(ii) The programme would proceed in stages. HD would set priority in inspecting buildings which had COVID-19 cases. For the rest of the buildings, the inspection order would be determined by the ratio of elderly tenants, the year of completion and pipe leak records.
(iii) HD had protocols for tackling the problem of sewage overflow in lower-level units, including cleaning the blocked drains, helping tenants clean up the sewage, installing check vaults when feasible, cleaning manholes, inspecting buildings’ sewage system and exploring ways to improve the procedures.
(iv) In response to manpower arrangement, apart from the current staff, HD would establish a special assistant project team staffed by new recruits to inspect drainage pipes for PRH. The recruitment had been on-going to recruit some 80 staff. If the drainage pipes were located inside the units, inspectors would enter the units and inspect the pipes in teams of two to three staff.
(v) The time listed in the appendix of HAC Paper No. 43a/D/2020 was the 10 Responsible Department starting month of the aforementioned programme. The duration of the inspection would differ for different estates due to building designs, location of drainage pipes, number of units, manpower arrangement and coordination with relevant tenants.
(vi) If some tenants refused to let staff enter the units because of the pandemic, HD would not enforce the programme since the programme was voluntary in nature.
(vii) The programme had a tentative duration of 18 months, spending of 118 million dollars, including inspection and relevant repairs.
(viii) HD did not have a plan to restore the drainage pipes for free for those who had altered the drainage system without authorisation. HD would handle the situation with the current protocols.
27. Mr Wong Bing-kuen pointed out that according to the inspection schedule provided by HD, inspection in 4 estates would begin in 2020 November. He asked HD to submit progress report to the Committee for further discussions and follow ups.
28. Ms MAK Siu-ling said she would review the suggestions of the Member.
(Post-meeting note: HD stated that in the four estates beginning to be inspected, the public drainage pipes of Kwai Luen Estate were located in the exterior, while the rest were located inside the units. The inspection for Kwai Luen Estate was completed in end of November 2020 while inspections in Kwai Shing West Estate, Lai King Estate and Cheung Hong Estate were still on-going.)
29. The Chairman concluded as follows:
(i) He requested the staff of HD to wear working identification card while at work for identification.
(ii) He agreed with the Members that the programme should first begin in older buildings.
(iii) HD should re-consider to launch the programme in already-sold units and whether to coordinate with the Owners’ Corporation.
(iv) HD should take that as an opportunity to review the pubic drainage pipe 11 Responsible Department designs of older estates and follow up with any problem found.
Motion: “Requests the Government to Increase Funding to Raise the Number of Security Guards in Aged Public Rental Housing in Kwai Tsing District to Enhance the Public Security.” (Proposed by Miss LEUNG Ching-shan and Mr HON Chun-yin; seconded by Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman) (HAC Paper No. 44, 44a/D/2020)
30. Ms LEUNG Ching-shan introduced the Paper and put forth opinions as follows:
(i) HD still had not proposed a rebuilding plan for aged PRH. There was a problem in maintaining public safety in those estates.
(ii) Taking Kwai Shing West Estate as an example, residents occasionally received unauthorised promotional materials.
31. Mr HON Chun-yin introduced Paper and put forth opinions as follows:
(i) There were more entrances in aged PRH with twin tower and slab block types than the regular ones. Taking Cheung Ching Estate as an example, many non-residents would pass through the estates on their ways to other places. Some of the entrances were not patrolled by security guards, which exposed the estate to safety concerns.
(ii) He understood that the above-mentioned issues were due to older public estate design, which did provide convenience to people. Therefore, he would like HD to strengthen the security of relevant places.
32. Mrs LAI CHAN Wai-fan gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) HD arranged the number of security staff with an existing mechanism which took the actual situation of estates (e.g. number of residential buildings, patrolling range of public areas, shopping mall/market/parking facilities and number of staff needed for security control room) into consideration.
(ii) Regardless the age of the housing estates, HD could timely adjust the security personnel manpower arrangements according to the operational needs and service contracts. 12 Responsible Department
(iii) HD would take follow up actions in a timely manner if the safety situation in some estates worsened. In addition, the estate management staff would keep contact with the Police on safety concerns and assist Police’s investigation and enforcement.
(iv) HD would listen to the opinions by members of the Estate Management Advisory Committee (EMAC) at EMAC meetings. Representatives from the Police would also be present.
33. Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung believed the motion should include “improving” public security, instead of “strengthening” public security. He requested an amendment.
34. The Chairman put forth opinions as follows:
(i) Taking Kwai Shing West Estate and Lai King Estate as examples, some estates had interconnecting designs, which led to public security concerns.
(ii) Taking Kwai Shing East Estate as an example, two of the buildings had independent entrances on the podium, but there was only one security guard on duty. There was an occasion in which a situation arose in the podium park and the security guard had to handle the situation. That resulted in the absence of security guard in both entrances.
(iii) Requested HD to take the public security issue seriously to avoid more serious issues of security before the end of the lunar year.
Amended motion: “Requests the Government to Increase Funding to Raise the Number of Security Guards in Aged Public Rental Housing in Kwai Tsing District to Improve the Public Security.” (Proposed by Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung)
35. The Chairman announced the receipt of an amended motion and accepted the amendment.
36. The Secretary added that according to the Standing Order of Kwai Ching District Council, members needed to propose amendments before the meeting begun. Since the amendment was irrelevant to the content or definition of the relevant motion, but to only correct two wordings. Therefore, the Secretary believed the Chairman could make a 13 Responsible Department judgement based on the situation.
37. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai agreed with the Secretary. However, he believed an amendment to correct the wordings was not necessary. Instead, he suggested having the proposer and seconder to clarify the content of the motion.
38. Mr NG Kim-sing suggested not putting the motion to the vote but allowing the proposer and seconder to propose an extempore motion and put it to the vote instead.
39. The Chairman accepted Mr NG Kim-sing’s suggestion and decided to propose a vote during “Any Other Business”.
40. Ms LEUNG Ching-shan stated that the motion could be left as it was.
41. The Chairman adjourned the meeting for 3 minutes.
(The meeting resumed at 11:04 a.m.)
42. The Chairman decided to rearrange the agenda. The motion would be discussed in “Any Other Business” after the proposer had finished reviewing it.
Motion: “Requests the Government to Address the Environmental Hygiene Issues in Housing Estates in Kwai Tsing District Squarely Under the Persistent Epidemic, Including Increasing the Frequency of Checking Litter Bins, Replacing Damaged Litter Bins and Enhancing the Quality of Litter Bins.” (Proposed by Miss LEUNG Ching-shan and Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman; seconded by The Honourable LEUNG Yiu-chung)
43. Mr LEUNG Ching-shan introduced the Paper.
44. Mrs LAI Chan Wai-fun gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) HD had always paid attention to public safety and sanitary situations in PRH.
(ii) Estates Office would arrange repair or replacement if litter bins were damaged. Taking Kwai Shing West Estate as an example, in average the Estate Office had to replace two 240L litter bins every month.
(iii) The models and designs of litter bins across different housing estates 14 Responsible Department might be different. HD had existing procedures to procure them.
(iv) HD welcomed DC Members to give opinions in regards to the quality of litter bins.
45. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai put forth opinions as follows:
(i) Taking Kwai Chung Estate as an example, given the large number of residents, the sanitary situation of some buildings with annex blocks was not ideal. He suggested that HD increase the number of litter bins and allocate more cleaners in response to the actual needs.
(ii) According to the last meeting minutes, HD only expanded manpower in one housing estate in response to the pandemic. He requested HD to allocate more resources for the outsourced cleaning company to hire enough cleaners.
46. Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung put forth opinions as follows:
(i) Since some residents did not want to open the litter bin libs with their hands or the pedal of the litter bins were broken, residents often disposed of litter on the lid or next to the litter bin, which caused severe rodent infestation.
(ii) Currently, the design of many foot-pedal type lidded litter containers was not ideal. Some cleaners had a hard time handling the litter. He requested HD to review the design of litter bins and procure suitable litter bins in the future to resolve the sanitary problems and reduce the workload of cleaners.
47. Mr LAM Siu-fai pointed out that due to the pandemic and the change in shopping pattern, litter bins were filled up quicker. He requested HD to look into the problem seriously and examine ways to let residents dispose of paper boxes effectively. For example, HD might set up cardboard collection points at the lobby.
48. Mr LEUNG Wing-kuen pointed out that under the pandemic, some residents disposed of face masks inappropriately, for example, next to the litter bins or on top of the lid. He would like HD to consider putting up face mask disposal boxes for residents to dispose of used face masks appropriately.
15 Responsible Department 49. Mr LEUNG Kwok-wah put forth opinions as follows:
(i) Some foot-pedal type bins were of bad quality, resulting in huge noise when closing the lib which affected residents’ resting quality in late night.
(ii) Due to the pandemic, many residents chose to order takeaways rather than dining out. Some residents disposed of the food waste next to the litter bin or on top of the lid, which caused serious sanitary concern. He requested HD to look into that seriously. For instance, HD might increase the number of litter bins according to the actual needs.
(iii) HD should deploy more cleaners according to the actual needs.
50. Mr NG Kim-sing believed that housing estate managers had already been informed of the relevant situation but still did not resolve the problems proactively. The situation was not ideal.
51. Mr Wong Yun-tat put forth opinions as follows:
(i) He agreed that HD should increase the number of litter bins and cleaners.
(ii) Taking Kwai Chung Estate Phase 1 as an example, there were still some traditional litter bins with removable lids. He believed HD should replace those litter bins to alleviate sanitary problems and rodent infestation.
52. The Chairman put forth opinions as follows:
(i) Taking Kwai Shing East Estate as an example, the design of refuse room was not ideal. For example, there was a level or the entrance of the room was too narrow, which prohibited the replacement to foot-pedal type lidded litter bins. He had already reported relevant issues to HD and requested follow ups.
(ii) The entrance of some refuse chutes were relatively narrow, which made harder for cleaners to carry out their work. He believed HD should conduct a comprehensive review on the design of refuse chutes.
53. Mrs LAI CHAN Wai-fun gave a consolidated response as follows: 16 Responsible Department
(i) HD had already provided supplementary information in the minutes of the last meeting that three additional cleaners were deployed for cleaning work in Cheung Hong Estate. According to the outsourced cleaning service company, the reason for not hiring additional cleaners despite the increase of workload was the difficulty in recruitment of cleaners. Currently, most of the cleaning services companies dealt with the extra workload with flexible staff arrangement.
(ii) In response to increasing the number of litter bins on each floor, HD had received opinions, of which some stakeholders disagreed with putting up more litter bins because it might result in more hygiene black-spots. In the past, EMAC of Kwai Chung Estate had discussed the issue during meetings and decided to have cleaning service companies clean up litter more frequently, instead of increasing the number of litter bins.
(iii) HD had also listened to different stakeholders’ views in EMAC to arrange cleaning-related work flexibly.
(iv) Some members mentioned that some litter bins (e.g. the 240L litter bins) were tall and cleaners had difficulty cleaning up the trash. Taking Kwai Fong Estate as an example, the housing estate manager replaced the litter bins with 135L litter bins after listening to the views from residents and DC members. HD and estate offices would continue to arrange resources flexibly to respond to different stakeholders’ views.
(v) HD was very concerned about the problem of rodent infestation. HD had constantly promoted publicity and education work through different platforms and would cooperate with Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) to improve the hygiene in housing estates.
(vi) She would communicate with HD headquarters about the suggestion of putting up a face mask disposal box on each floor.
(vii) If housing estate security guards noticed some hygiene problems in some places, they would report to the estate offices for timely follow ups by cleaners.
(viii) To prevent crimes and accidents from happening in the refuge room, HD narrowed the refuge chutes. HD understood that such a change would 17 Responsible Department increase the workload of cleaners. Therefore, HD would stay connected with 10 outsourced cleaning service companies to streamline cleaning work.
(ix) The relevant contracts stated that housing estate managers could increase the number of cleaners according to the actual circumstances.
54. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai put forth opinions as follows:
(i) HD had not increased the resources for outsourced cleaning companies to hire additional manpower in accordance with the actual circumstances.
(ii) Asked whether HD could promise that if the outsourced cleaning companies successfully hired additional cleaners, HD would increase the relevant resources.
(iii) The unemployment rate stayed elevated so he questioned the claim that HD had failed to hire more cleaners.
55. Mr LEUNG Ching-shan thought that HD’s response was putting the cart before the horse. She believed that HD’s contract had always been outsourced to the bidder with the lowest price. When HD was unwilling to actively provide more resources, outsourced cleaning companies would not take the initiative to hire additional cleaners.
56. Mr NG Kim-sing put forth opinions as follows:
(i) The reason why HD or outsourced cleaning companies had failed to hire cleaners was that the salary they were willing to pay was too low. With the high unemployment rate and the spread of epidemic, he believed that there should be enough cleaners in the market.
(ii) HD should actually implement a demerit system to improve the problem of residents littering.
57. The Chairman put forth opinion as follows:
(i) Hoped that HD would provide the relevant figures on the number of cleaners in PRH in Kwai Tsing District after the meeting.
(ii) The existing deployment plan of cleaners was formulated based on the 18 Responsible Department absence of a pandemic. He suggested that HD divide the cleaning work of housing estates into two categories. The first category was to perform daily cleaning tasks while the other was additional cleaning and disinfection work during a pandemic. He believed that would make it easier to recruit cleaners.
58. Mrs LAI CHAN Wai-fun gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) Before the outbreak of the pandemic, the cleaning manpower of some PRH was occasionally less than the contract requirement. As the pandemic continued, most of the manpower arranged by outsourced cleaning companies was increased to the contractual requirements. Therefore, HD did not need to provide additional resources.
(ii) The Government had revised the scoring system for tenders. If bidders promised higher wages, they would get more points. Therefore, the situation in which bidder offering the lowest price always got the bid had improved.
(iii) The existing service contract had already specified the cost for the outsourced cleaning company to carry out the disinfection work. The company could charge the service fee according to the contract price for cleaning and disinfection work performed during the pandemic.
(iv) During the pandemic, outsourced cleaning companies hired more part-time staff than usual, so they could be more flexible in the deployment of cleaners.
59. The Chairman summarised as follows:
(i) He agreed with Members that a paperboard collection point should be set up and he requested HD to consider the proposal.
(ii) HD should proactively allocate additional resources to increase the number of cleaners, instead of waiting for the outsourced cleaning companies to request additional cleaners.
60. The Chairman put the motion to the vote. The Committee endoresed the motion HD unanimously.
19 Responsible Department (Post-meeting note: The Secretariat sent HD’s reply to Members on 21 December 2020. Please refer to HAC Circulation Paper No. 25/2020 for details.)
The Water Pressure Problem in Tai Wo Hau Estate (Proposed by Mr HUI Kei-cheung) (HAC Paper No. 46, 46a, 46b/D/2020)
61. The Chairman welcomed Mr Cheung Wai Lun, Engineer/New Territories West (Distribution 4) and Mr Po Chi Yiu, Water Inspector/New Territories West (Customer Service) Inspection 1 of Water Supplies Department (WSD) to the meeting.
62. Mr HUI Kei-cheung introduced the Paper and put forth opinions and enquiries as follows:
(i) The written reply of HD pointed out that the inlet well near Fu Keung House was not the cause of instability of water pressure, but the written reply of WSD pointed out that the inlet well was the main cause of the instability of water pressure.
(ii) There was no water pressure problem in Tai Wo Hau Lower Estate. He asked the relevant department whether the air pressure of the water supply pipes was insufficient because Tai Wo Hau Upper Estate was located at a higher geographical position. He also hoped that the relevant departments could provide more technical information.
(iii) Although the relevant departments believed that the instability of water pressure has improved, he still wanted to ask if the problem was due to the 50-meter pipe between the two fire hydrants in Fu Keung House, or the water pressure problem in the water pipes in individual floors or units.
63. Mr Cheung Wai Lun gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) WSD was informed of the concerned problems in early September that year and had dispatched staff to inspect the site and conduct different types of test.
(ii) WSD inspected the area of Tai Wo Hau Estate on 23 October and conducted a test at a fire hydrant near Tai Ha Street of Tai Wo Hau. The test showed that the water pressure was generally stable. However, 20 Responsible Department the water pressure of a fire hydrant behind a well near Fu Keung House of Tai Wo Hau Estate might be abnormal. Therefore, WSD estimated that the water pressure problem might be caused by the 50-meter-long pipe between the two fire hydrants, and recommended HD to inspect the inlet wells of housing estates near Fu Keung House to determine the condition of the pipes and water supply system.
(iii) HD later replied that after inspection, the well was not the cause of the instability of water pressure, and it was learned that HD had conducted relevant investigations and required follow up measures. Last week, WSD also learned from the relevant residents on the 6th floor of Fu Keung House that that the abnormal water pressure had improved.
(iv) WSD would continue to provide necessary assistance and advice.
64. Ms MAK Siu-ling gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) After the incident of discoloured water in a wide area of Kwai Chung District in August that year, Tai Wo Hau Estate Office of HD received reports on instability of fresh water pressure from residents of the lower-level units in the upper estate since late August. A series of inspections and follow up measures were immediately arranged. HD had closely contacted and cooperated with WSD to find out the cause of unstable water pressure.
(ii) From September to October, HD and WSD inspected the condition of water supply in Tai Wo Hau Upper Estate in several occasions. According to the joint inspection conducted by WSD on 23 October, the well opposite Fu Keung House might be the source of the water pressure problem. HD inspected the well on 15 October and confirmed that the underground water supply gate in the well was operating normally. HD had also scheduled another inspection on 28 October, and it was confirmed that the inlet well was not the cause of the instability of water pressure. However, during the inspection, leakage was found at a check valve nearby, so HD had immediately arranged replacement of the check valve.
(iii) After several inspections and follow ups, as well as the advice of WSD, HD found that the instability of the water pressure might be related to the air pressure in the water supply pipes of the relevant buildings in the 21 Responsible Department upper estate. Therefore, it was necessary to carry out works related to balancing the air pressure in the underground water supply system in the estate. As the water supply in Tai Wo Hau Upper Estate, Kwai Yung Court and Tai Wo Hau Shopping Centre must be suspended for the relevant works, to minimise the impact on residents and shop tenants, after HD’s effort in liaison and negotiation, the works was carried out in the evening of 18 November.
(iv) After completion of the works and the restoration of water supply in the morning of 19 November, the instability of water pressure in the lower-level units of Tai Wo Hau Upper Estate had improved. Later, HD installed check valves in Fu Wing House and Fu Wah House on 23 November. After that, the water pressure of the affected units in upper estate had returned to normal.
(v) HD would continue to monitor the situation closely and take follow up actions when necessary.
65. Mr WONG Bing-kuen put forth enquiries as follows:
(i) Whether the 50-meter pipe mentioned in WSD’s written reply belonged to WSD or HD.
(ii) After the completion of the water pipe works in Tai Wo Hau, whether the 50-meter pipe would become obsolete.
66. Mr HUI Kei-cheung put forth opinion and enquiries as follows:
(i) After the turbid fresh water incident, there were many problems related to pipes or water supply systems. He asked whether WSD would re-examine the older water pipes and provide improvement measures.
(ii) Although the problem had improved, he still wanted to ask whether the problem was caused by a problem with WSD’s pipes, or a problem with the water supply system or parts belonged to HD.
67. The Chairman said that it took more than three months for the problem to be resolved, indicating that HD and WSD had insufficient cooperation and communication. He believed that relevant departments should not shirk each other’s responsibilities and should step up cooperation as soon as possible to properly resolve the problem early. 22 Responsible Department
68. Ms MAK Siu-ling gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) HD had conducted various inspections at different locations and found that the problem might be related to the air pressure in the water supply pipe. During that period, an exhaust device was installed at the appropriate location. It was believed that the situation could be improved.
(ii) When considering various inspections and follow up works, HD would try to minimise the number and scope of the affected persons. In addition, HD and WSD had always maintained close contact. WSD also provided professional advice for reference. In the future, HD would continue to work closely with various departments to actively follow up on regional issues.
69. Mr Cheung Wai Lun gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) In response to the 50-meter water pipe mentioned in WSD’s written reply, some of the pipes located at Tai Wo Hau Road were managed and maintained by WSD while the pipes inside Tai Wo Hau Estate were managed by HD.
(ii) The replacement of water pipes at Tai Wo Hau Road was still in progress and was expected to be completed in the second quarter of the following year. After completion of the works, the above-mentioned old pipes at Tai Wo Hau Road will be replaced by new pipes.
(iii) WSD planned to install sand barriers in some large housing estates and would coordinate with HD about the installation location later.
70. The Chairman concluded that there had been two large-scale water supply or water pressure problems in Kwai Tsing District in the past two years. WSD had not notified Kwai Tsing District Office (District Office) and the relevant DC members in a timely manner. That was actually not ideal. He hoped that WSD could step up liaison with DC and DC Members in the future.
Any Other Business
71. The Chairman received the following extempore motion: 23 Responsible Department
Extempore motion: “Requests the Government to Increase Funding to Raise the Number of Security Guards in Aged Public Rental Housing in Kwai Tsing District to Enhance the Public Security.” (Proposed by Miss LEUNG Ching-shan and Mr HON Chun-yin, seconded by Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman)
72. The Chairman put the extempore motion to the vote for acceptance. The Committee unanimously accepted the above extempore motion for discussion.
73. The Chairman put the above extempore motion to the vote. The Committee HD unanimously endorsed the extempore motion.
(Post-meeting note: The Secretariat sent HD’s reply to Members on 21 December 2020. Please refer to HAC Circulation Paper No. 24/2020.)
74. Mr LEUNG Kam Wai put forth enquiries and opinions as follows:
(i) Enquired if there were any special arrangements for the facilities under HD as the pandemic continued.
(ii) There were frequent salt water suspensions in Kwai Chung Estate and the problem had not improved until present. HD promised to send staff to contact him on relevant issues after the last meeting, but he had not yet received any response.
(iii) The problem of gambling in Kwai Chung Estate was serious. He believed that similar problem could also be found in other public housing estates in Kwai Tsing District. He asked HD to look into the issue and provide an explanation.
(iv) He asked HD about the work-from-home arrangements during the pandemic.
(v) He asked whether the shroff offices of the estate management offices would shorten service hours.
75. Mr TAM Ka-chun, Warren put forth enquiries as follows:
24 Responsible Department (i) He asked whether the efficiency of handling cases had improved after the Joint Office (JO) had come to full operation from 15 October.
(ii) Whether JO would submit regular reports to the Committee on water seepage cases in Kwai Tsing District so that members could follow up appropriately.
76. Mr HUI Kei-cheung put forth opinions as follows:
(i) He suggested that the discussion of information papers be included in the agenda of meetings.
(ii) The problems of damaged lifts and water suspension in Tai Wo Hau Estate were serious. Such problems kept appearing. He asked HD to look into the problems squarely and take follow up actions.
(iii) He requested HD to submit more information to the Committee on the lift screen door project in Tai Wo Hau Estate.
77. Mr LEUNG Wing-kuen hoped that the Chairman would not summarise the discussion so as not to deprive other members of their speech time.
78. Mr LAM Siu-fai enquired if HD would temporarily close the recreational facilities, such as ball courts, in housing estates as the pandemic continued.
79. The Chairman put forth enquiries and opinions as follows:
(i) Enquired whether HD’s works would be suspended due to the pandemic. He believed that extending those projects would not resolve problems faced by the residents.
(ii) In the last meeting, a member asked HD to arrange site visits with DC Members regarding rooftop base stations. He asked if HD would arrange such visits.
80. Mrs LAI CHAN Wai-fan gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) Regarding the management arrangements of estate facilities, as at the time when the meeting was held, she had not received any latest instructions from HD headquarters. If relevant instructions were 25 Responsible Department received, they would be implemented and announced to relevant parties immediately.
(ii) Regarding the maintenance works of Kwai Chung Estate, she had communicated with colleagues in the works section after the last meeting. Regarding that the relevant personnel had not yet contacted the concerned member, she would follow up with the estate office after the meeting.
(iii) HD was concerned about illegal gambling, non-compliance pertaining to mask-wearing and group gatherings. HD had arranged manpower for special operations to combat the abovementioned situations.
(iv) The opening hours of estate offices would be 10am to 4pm starting from tomorrow. Basic and emergency services would be maintained. Relevant arrangements would be announced to stakeholders by means of notices later.
(Post-meeting note: The Secretariat sent HD’s reply on the special work arrangements for public housing estate offices to Members on 1 December 2020.)
(v) HD would not suspend general maintenance works during the pandemic, especially maintenance works related to drainage pipes.
(vi) It is reported that the shroff offices of the estate management offices would maintain normal service.
(Post-meeting note: HD stated that the opening hours of the shroff office would be adjusted. Members/tenants should pay attention to the notice put up by the estate office.)
(vii) Based on management and maintenance factors, HD considered that it was improper to allow non-management and non-maintenance personnel to enter the rooftops of residential buildings. If Members had enquiries about the rooftop facilities, HD would try their best to answer and provide relevant information. Members’ request to have a site visit to the rooftops on telecommunications installations at the last meeting had been referred.
26 Responsible Department 81. The Chairman gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) He himself put forth his opinions and enquiries after all the Members had spoken. The summary also assisted Members in following up enquiries unanswered by relevant departments. He reiterated that he did not occupy the speech time of Members and his speech time was less than 2 minutes.
(ii) If the speech time of a member exceeded 2 minutes, he would also allow the member to express all opinions if circumstances permitted. For repetitive opinions, a ruling would be made later.
82. Ms LAW Yue-kwan, Senior Health Inspector (Regional Joint Office) New Territories West 1 of Joint Office of Building Department and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, gave a consolidated response as follows:
(i) In the past, the workplace of colleagues from BD of JO was in Kowloon City District, while that of colleagues from FEHD was in Kwai Hing. Therefore, it was time-consuming to communicate and transmit documents.
(ii) The New Territories West Joint Office became fully operational on 15 October. Colleagues in the two departments worked in the same office then, which enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in handling and following up cases across departments. She believed that the actual efficiency was difficult to quantify, but it was more effective than the previous work model.
83. Mr WONG Wai-sing, Professional Officer 2-4/Joint Office 2 of Joint Office of BD and FEHD responded that he would review the possibility of submitting regular reports to the Committee after the meeting.
84. The Chairman pointed out that since the two representatives of JO were standing representatives of the Committee, he hoped that JO could check whether it could submit future work directions or regular reports for Members’ reference so that Members could cooperate with JO.
85. Mr LEUNG Kwok-wah asked HD whether it was possible to install monitoring equipment in the fresh water tank to detect insufficient fresh water in the tank early.
27 Responsible Department 86. The Chairman suggested that members put forward the relevant agenda at the next meeting so that HD could give a detailed reply and appoint relevant colleagues to attend the meeting.
87. Mr HUI Kei-cheung asked why discussion on information paper had not been included in the agenda.
88. The Secretary responded as follows:
(i) The Secretariat sent the Hong Kong Housing Society’s Statistical Returns and Progress Reports on Housing Affairs in the District (August to September 2020) and HD’s Statistical Returns and Progress Reports on Housing Affairs in the District (August to September 2020) to Members on 9 November and 17 November respectively by circulation.
(ii) The Secretariat only received a reply slip from Mr KWOK Tsz-kin, hoping to discuss individual matters at the meeting.
(iii) In response to the development of the pandemic, in order to shorten the meeting time, the Chairman agreed to cancel the discussion of the above-mentioned information papers at the meeting.
(iv) At the same time, the Secretariat and HD had made coordination. HD had appointed staff to contact Mr KWOK Tsz-kin on the individual matters.
89. Mr HUI Kei-cheung asked if the above arrangement was temporary. He thought the Chairman had the power to decide the meeting agenda.
90. The Secretary responded that the District Office had briefed members on the new arrangements for processing information papers in various committees earlier.
91. Mr TAM Ka-chun, Warren added that the District Office had briefed Members on the arrangement at the DC meeting, but the arrangement had not gone through discussion.
92. Mr HUI Kei-cheung thought it was necessary to discuss the information papers at the meeting. Even if the relevant departments could not answer Members’ enquiries at the meeting, they would provide supplementary information after the meeting.
93. Miss YIM Yik-huen, Bonnie, Assistant District Officer (Kwai Tsing) of Kwai 28 Responsible Department Tsing District Office responded as follows:
(i) Some members were dissatisfied with the fact that departmental representatives were unable to provide detailed and immediate information about the reports. Therefore, the information papers were sent to Members by circulation and a reply slip was attached. If members wanted to make in-depth enquiries about an item in the information paper, Members were welcome to fill in the reply slip or report to the Secretary so that the relevant departments could make preparations.
(ii) Sending information papers by circulation could allow more timely data for Members to refer to.
94. The Chairman pointed out that if there was a need to review the practice of handling information papers, he suggested that members discuss it at the DC meeting.
95. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai put forth opinions as follows:
(i) He believed that the Chairman had the power to decide the meeting agenda and there was no need to discuss the way of handling information papers at a DC meeting.
(ii) HD had arranged Legislative Council Members to conduct a remote inspection of Wang Chau public housing development project on the rooftop of Long Ping Estate. He did not agree with HD that the rooftop was restricted to staff members only.
96. Mr NG Kim-sing agreed that information papers should be discussed at the meeting. He believed that DC should discuss and resolve different issues through meetings. He also expressed that he did not want to handle papers in the form of circulation frequently.
97. The Chairman responded that the agenda of the subsequent meetings would be arranged according to the circumstances. Given that in the past, HD had allowed DC members with helmets and reflective clothing to visit a works site, he asked why HD could not arrange inspections at the rooftop for DC members.
98. Mrs LAI CHAN Wai-fan reiterated that HD considered that access to the rooftop of buildings by non-management and non-maintenance personnel unsuitable. If 29 Responsible Department Members had enquiries about rooftop facilities, HD would try their best to answer their enquiries and provide relevant information such as photos.
99. Mr LEUNG Wing-kuen pointed out that police officers entered the rooftop to perform non-maintenance work in the past.
100. Mr NG Kim-sing suggested that HD produce a 360-degree panoramic virtual tour so that Members could understand the situation of the rooftops.
101. Ms YIM Yik-huen, Bonnie said that she would coordinate with HD after the meeting.
(Post-meeting note: HD stated that after considering factors such as property management and maintenance, HD would use appropriate methods (such as on-site photos) to answer enquiries from Members regarding installations on rooftops.)
Date of Next Meeting
102. The next meeting was scheduled to be held on 1 February 2021 (Monday).
Kwai Tsing District Council Secretariat January 2021
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