Minutes of the 5th Meeting of the Social Services Committee (SSC) of Tai Po District Council in 2017

Date: 13 September 2017 (Wednesday) Time: 9:31 a.m. – 1:02 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, Tai Po District Council Present Time of Arrival Time of Withdrawal Chairman Mr. TAM Wing-fun, Eric, MH Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Vice-chairman Mr. LO Hiu-fung Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Members Mr. AU Chun-wah Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. CHAN Cho-leung, MH Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. CHAN Siu-kuen, MH, JP Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. KWAN Wing-yip Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Dr. LAU Chee-sing Beginning of the meeting 11:50 a.m. Mr. LAU Yung-wai Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. LI Kwok-ying, BBS, MH, JP Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. LI Wah-kwong, Rex Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. TANG Ming-tai, Patrick Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Ms. WONG Pik-kiu, BBS, MH, JP Beginning of the meeting 12:45 p.m. Mr. WOO Kin-man, Clement Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. YAM Kai-bong, Francis Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. YAM Man-chuen Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. YU Chi-wing, Ken Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Co-opted Members Mr. CHAN Hei-chuen 9:32 a.m. End of the meeting Mr. CHUNG Man-fai Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. KOO Chun-hin, Zlato Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. POON Hing-fai, MH 9:32 a.m. 12:30 p.m.

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Secretary Miss KU Yu-ting, Karen Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Executive Officer (DC)3/ Tai Po District Office/ Home Affairs Department In Attendance Ms. CHAN Sin-yee, Perin, Sindy Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Tai Po/North

District)1/Social Welfare Department (“SWD”) Ms. HUI Man-yee Social Work Officer (Tai Po/North District) (Planning &

Coordinating) 2/SWD Ms. KWOK Wing-yee, Angel Senior Community Relations Officer (New Territories

East) /Independent Commission Against Corruption (“ICAC”)

Mr. LAU Tak-cheong Assistant Housing Manager (Tai Po/North District/Shatin 7)/Housing Department (“HD”)

Mr. TSUI Tak-ming Senior School Development Officer (Tai Po) 3/Education Bureau (“EDB”)

Dr. MAN Chi-yin Hospital Chief Executive/Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and Tai Po Hospital

Ms. CHENG Ka-yan, Christine Manager (Communications and Community Relations)/Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and Tai Po Hospital

Dr. HUI Ming-tung, Eric Chief of Service/ Department of Family Medicine, New Territories East Cluster

Mr. CHAN Yip-on Sergeant/Police Community Relations Section (Tai Po District)/Hong Kong Police Force (“HKPF”)

Mr. LEE Yu-sau, Terence Senior Executive Officer (District Council)/Tai Po District Office (“TPDO”)/Home Affairs Department (“HAD”)

Mr. CHAN Hoi-ming, Peter Senior Liaison Officer (1)/TPDO/HAD Mr. CHAN Kai-lam, Allan Executive Assistant (Youth Programmes)/TPDO/ HAD

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Opening remarks The Chairman welcomed participants to the meeting and made the following announcements:

Mrs. CHIM WONG Shuk-ching, Annie, Housing Manager (Tai Po/North District/Shatin 7) of the HD was unable to attend this meeting, and on whose behalf Mr. LAU Tak-cheong, Assistant Housing Manager (Tai Po/North District/Shatin 7) attended the meeting.

I. Confirmation of the minutes of the 4th meeting of the SSC in 2017 on 12 July 2017 (TPDC Paper No. SS 38/2017) 2. The Secretariat had received no proposed amendments to the minutes before the meeting. 3. Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai made a proposed amendment to the said minutes at the meeting (namely, replacing the words “cases” in lines 4 and 5 of paragraph 33 (i) with “services”). 4. The Chairman enquired whether Members had any other proposed amendments. 5. Members proposed no other amendments. The said minutes were confirmed after having been updated with the amendments.

II. Report by the Hospital Authority on the provision of medical services in Tai Po 6. The Chairman welcomed Dr. MAN Chi-yin, Hospital Chief Executive, and Ms. Christine CHENG, Manager (Communications and Community Relations) of Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital (“Nethersole Hospital”) and Tai Po Hospital; and Dr. Eric HUI, Chief of Service, Department of Family Medicine, New Territories East Cluster to the meeting for discussion of agenda items II and III. 7. Dr. MAN Chi-yin reported on the medical services provided by the Hospital Authority (“HA”) in Tai Po as follows:

(i) The summer influenza peak season had passed, and the Hospitals would make good preparation to cope with the upcoming winter influenza peak season.

(ii) At present, the occupancy rate of in-patient beds in all departments was less than 100% and the waiting time for admission of patients in Accident and Emergency services (“A&E”) had been greatly shortened.

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(iii) Although the summer influenza peak season had passed, members of the public should not slack off in taking appropriate measures to prevent influenza, such as wearing masks and cleaning hands.

(iv) The number of paediatric admission had been staggering during the past summer influenza peak season. Children with severe influenza had to be hospitalised and children needed influenza vaccination. However, even though children under the age of 12 could receive influenza vaccination for free, there were still parents who did not arrange for their children to be vaccinated in private clinics. The Hospitals hoped to promote community education and urge parents to have their children vaccinated against influenza.

(v) Influenza was extremely harmful to the elderly and chronically ill who needed to be vaccinated against influenza. However, there was a dropping trend in the number of people vaccinated against influenza in both groups. The Hospitals hoped that Members could help make an appeal to the public.

(vi) Tai Po Hospital and Nethersole Hospital had recently set up a Community Relations Committee to enhance the awareness among Tai Po residents in influenza prevention and vaccination. The committee would organise a campaign called “Stop Influenza in Tai Po” at Tai Ming Lane Square in Tai Po on 26 November 2017 to urge residents to take preventive measures against influenza. Activities would include health talks, health check-ups, doctor consultation stations and game stalls. The Government’s Influenza Vaccine Subsidy Scheme would also be introduced to the public. He hoped that Members could help appeal to members of the public in the district to participate.

(vii) As a “hospital without walls”, apart from caring for patients in the hospital, Nethersole Hospital was also very concerned about patients in the community. Ageing population in Tai Po was a serious problem while the number of people suffering from dementia in the district kept increasing. The Hospitals had jointly set up the “Federation of Carers of Persons with Dementia in Tai Po District” together with the Salvation Army and more than 30 local groups, and would hold a launching ceremony on 21 September 2017, to which Members would be invited.

(viii) Nethersole Hospital was preparing for the 130th anniversary fundraising event and had successfully invited TPDC Chairman Mr. CHEUNG Hok-ming to become the Chairman of the Medical Services Fund-raising Committee.

(ix) The Hospitals hoped to enhance community health education and seek Members’ assistance in identifying suitable locations for displaying banners to deliver community health messages to the public.

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(Post-meeting note: After the meeting, Mr. CHAN Cho-leung recommended to the Hospitals various places in the district for displaying banners to publicise health messages to motorists and residents passing by. The Hospitals thanked Mr. CHAN Cho-leung for working together with the Hospital to carry out health education promotion.)

8. Members’ first round of views and questions were summed up as follows:

(i) Mr. KWAN Wing-yip said not all private doctors participated in the Government’s vaccine subsidy scheme. Vaccination at private clinics was more expensive than Government general outpatient clinics and public hospitals while the consultation time was also shorter, which held back members of the public from receiving vaccination at private clinics. He hoped that the Government would relax the restrictions of the vaccine subsidy scheme and allow all children to receive vaccination at Government general outpatient clinics so as to increase the motivation for parents to have their children vaccinated. He also said that public medical services for eligible elderly people aged 75 or above had been provided free of charge from May 2017. He enquired whether the response of the elderly was keen, and requested HA to provide the figures. He continued that an elderly person was required to bring along the relevant letter each time in order to receive the said free public medical services. He recommended that HA allow the elders to simply bring along their ID cards.

(ii) Mr. Francis YAM hoped that HA would relay to the Department of Health (“DH”) his opinion that consideration should be given to vaccinating eligible children under the age of 12 at schools. In addition, since the Joint Replacement Centre at Nethersole Hospital had been established, the number of knee joint replacement operations had increased, benefiting residents in the district. However, the said centre needed to take care of residents in North District at the same time. As a result, the waiting time for operation was still very long. He continued that the waiting time for consultation at various departments in Nethersole Hospital was long and enquired about the data for the increase in demand for medical services. He hoped the Hospital would identify ways to reduce the waiting time for various departments in response to the increasing demand for medical services. Lastly, he enquired how TPDC could facilitate the Hospital in seeking resources in the next decade to upgrade the medical services in Tai Po.

(iii) Mr. Zlato KOO enquired whether the vaccine subsidy scheme extending to include children aged 6 to 12 began in the year 2016/17. He considered promotion of the said arrangement insufficient and there was room for improvement. He said that Dr. LEUNG Ting-hung, former Director of the Hong Kong Centre of Health

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Protection, had announced the launch of the vaccine subsidy scheme in June 2016. However, vaccination under the scheme had already started in September 2016, rendering the time for publicity too short. He enquired whether the arrangements for the year 2017/18 would improve. He also enquired whether DH would cooperate with schools to have HA sending doctors to schools to vaccinate school children. He suggested that DH or HA distribute leaflets on the scheme to schools in the district to inform parents of the details of the scheme. Finally, he enquired how much parents normally would need to pay under the vaccine subsidy scheme and whether it was common for parents to have to pay for the shortfall. He was worried that parents would be held back from arranging for their children to get vaccinated due to the need to pay for the subsidy shortfall.

(iv) Mr. AU Chun-wah said that the supply of trivalent influenza vaccines was tight this year and many private doctors only provided quadrivalent influenza vaccines. He enquired whether HA had in hand data about the quantity of vaccines. He was worried that the shortage of trivalent influenza vaccines would reduce the public’s desire to receive influenza vaccine and thus aggravate the burden on the public health system when the influenza peak season arrived.

9. Dr. MAN Chi-yin responded as follows:

(i) As the population of Tai Po was aging, many elderly people experienced deterioration of bones. They were very much in need of orthopaedic services. To this end, the Hospital would provide 12 additional orthopaedic beds in October 2017 to cope with the demand.

(ii) The Joint Replacement Centre of Nethersole Hospital was the only centre in the New Territories North where joint replacement operations could be carried out. In addition to residents in Tai Po, patients in North District and Shatin also needed to be taken care of. Technically, patients would have their joints of both feet replaced simultaneously and most of them would be discharged within a week after surgery. The Hospital hoped that the Government would provide additional resources and manpower (such as anaesthetists, nurses and orthopaedic surgeons) such that the Centre could provide more quotas for operation.

(iii) Vaccinating schoolchildren against influenza at schools would be a more effective arrangement which would also offer a better coverage, but this involved policy conception and Members could check with the DH and offer relevant suggestions. The Hospital currently considered arranging talks to be given in schools by medical staff in their spare time to explain to students and parents the importance of influenza vaccination. Should the DH provide influenza vaccines, the Hospital could make arrangements to send medical staff to schools to give influenza vaccination to school children.

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(iv) Elders received free medical services at public hospitals as long as they were eligible (Hong Kong residents aged 75 or above). They did not need to bring along the relevant letter of proof because the Hospital could find out through the computer system whether they were eligible.

10. Dr. Eric HUI made the following supplementary remarks:

(i) DH was responsible for determining the qualifications of persons for receiving influenza vaccination and their eligibility for free Government subsidy, as well as implementing the promotion of the Vaccines Subsidy Scheme. The Hospital would relay Members’ views when meeting with the DH.

(ii) Quadrivalent influenza vaccines contained four different influenza strains, while trivalent influenza vaccines contained three. In theory, quadrivalent influenza vaccines offered broader protection.

(iii) In the year 2016/17, the Government’s Vaccine Subsidy Scheme had supplied about 300,000 doses of influenza vaccines to the HA for the provision of vaccination to the public, among which the majority were quadrivalent influenza vaccines, while trivalent influenza vaccines were only for patients who were not suitable for receiving quadrivalent influenza vaccine and therefore accounted for a small number.

11. Members’ second round of comments and questions were summed up as follows:

(i) Mr. POON Hing-fai said that the school where he taught invited medical staff from Nethersole Community Health Centre to the school every year to provide influenza vaccinations to students at concessionary prices. The school even allowed parents and family members of the students to receive influenza vaccinations together. He said there were about 800 students in the school and among whom some 150 chose to receive influenza vaccination each year. He added that if students were given influenza vaccination in schools, the number of days for which they took sick leave would drop.

(ii) Mr. CHAN Hei-chuen opined that it was faster to arrange for collective vaccination for children in schools. He said private medical institutions sometimes offered to provide influenza vaccinations to schoolchildren. However, private medical institutions in most cases only provided trivalent rather than quadrivalent influenza vaccines. He added that children under the age of 12 received either trivalent or quadrivalent influenza vaccinations for free. A shortage of quadrivalent influenza vaccines would greatly reduce the schools’ desire to arrange for vaccination for their students.

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12. Dr. MAN Chi-yin responded as follows:

(i) Nethersole Community Clinic was not a public organisation and did not belong to Nethersole Hospital. It was run by the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Charity Foundation which had two community health centres in Kwong Fuk Estate and Fu Heng Estate (namely, Kwong Fuk Community Health Centre and Fu Heng Community Health Centre).

(ii) If schools intended to arrange for their students to receive influenza vaccinations in schools, such arrangements had to be made by the DH. As children under the age of 12 could receive influenza vaccinations free of charge, the Hospital had no resources to acquire the vaccines and could only rely on the DH to purchase influenza vaccines in advance. In addition, as the HA was a public organisation, it would not be advisable for it to partner with the privately run Nethersole Community Clinic to arrange for vaccination for students in schools. Schools might contact Nethersole Community Clinic themselves.

13. The Chairman enquired whether Members had any other comments or questions. Members had no other comments or questions.

III. Demand for Wong Siu Ching Family Medicine Centre of the Hospital Authority to run evening consultation session (TPDC Paper Nos. SS 39/2017, SS 44/2017 and SS 45/2017) 14. The Chairman said that the Secretariat had on 29 August 2017 received a letter from Mr. KWAN Wing-yip, Mr. Francis YAM, Mr. AU Chun-wah, Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai, Mr. LAU Yung-wai and Mr. YAM Man-chuen, in which they moved a motion concerning medical services in Tai Po. He asked Mr. Francis YAM to introduce Paper No. SS 39/2017. 15. Mr. Francis YAM introduced Paper No. SS 39/2017. He said he could not accept the HA’s citing healthcare staff shortage in Wong Siu Ching Family Medicine Centre (“Wong Siu Ching Clinic”) as the reason for not being able to run general outpatient clinic evening consultation session. He asked Members to note the reply of the HA (Paper No. SS 45/2017 tabled). 16. The Chairman considered it unacceptable that the number of public clinics in Tai Po fell short of meeting the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines set out by the Planning Department (“PlanD”). He led Members to discuss the issue first. In addition, he said that the Secretariat had on 6 September 2017 received a letter from Mr. Clement WOO who proposed amendments to Mr. Francis YAM’s original motion. He asked Mr. Clement WOO to introduce Paper No. SS 44/2017.

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17. Mr. Clement WOO introduced Paper No. SS 44/2017. 18. Members’ first round of comments and questions were summed up as follows:

(i) Ms. WONG Pik-kiu said she understood that the Hospital had tried its best to increase the staffing level, such as inviting retired doctors to return to work in the A&E Department and general outpatient clinics. However, it was an indisputable fact that doctors and nurses were in shortage, and that the turnover rate of medical professionals was very high. She said that training of young doctors could not be done hastily or they might not be able to treat patients properly and in worse cases even led to complaints. All these pressures would deter them from joining public medical services or they would opt to leave the public healthcare system as soon as possible and switch to work for private medical institutions. She continued that many private doctors in Tai Po no longer took in new cases and their consultation hours were not long either. Very often, on Sundays medical consultation was only available at A&E. The shortage of medical services on Sundays in the district was even more severe than that inthe evening. Therefore, she recommended that Wong Siu Ching Clinic introduce Sunday consultation service.

(ii) Mr. Ken YU said that despite the provision of evening consultation services by private medical institutions in the district, HA could not promote such services given the private nature of their operation. Since little information on private evening consultation services was available to the public, he hoped to provide in his capacity as a DC Member more information to the public. He added that patients at Nethersole Hospital A&E Department in the evening were mostly non-emergency patients and provision of evening consultation services at Wong Siu Ching Clinic would help alleviate the pressure on Nethersole Hospital A&E Department in the evening.

(iii) Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai was dissatisfied with HA’s response contained in Paper No. SS 45/2017. He said he understood that he could not demand that HA open a new outpatient clinic immediately. However, he considered HA’s explanation for not offering evening consultation at Wong Siu Ching Clinic solely on the ground of medical and healthcare manpower shortage insufficient. The HA had no sincere intention to solve the problem of inadequate medical services in the district. He opined that since it was currently not possible to offer evening consultation services, while it would take time to build a community health centre in Tai Po, HA should have other medical service plans. Besides, he said that apart from Saturdays and Sundays, residents of Tai Po had a very large demand for outpatient services on holidays and long holidays and it was necessary for HA to provide outpatient services on holidays and public holidays. Finally, he enquired

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which three clinics were being referred to by the “three clinics” mentioned in the third line of the first paragraph of Paper No. SS 44/2017.

(iv) Dr. LAU Chee-sing said residents in the district were in great need of the services at Wong Siu Ching Clinic which had been pretty good, it would nevertheless be even better if weekend and evening consultation services could be provided. Moreover, he enquired about information such as the number of patients and consultation hours of the evening consultation session at the Tai Po Jockey Club General Outpatient Clinic (“Jockey Club Clinic”) so as to understand the demand of residents in the district for evening consultation services. Finally, he enquired whether all services of the Jockey Club Clinic required advance appointment.

(v) Mr. YAM Man-chuen said that the evening consultation fee of private doctors was higher than that of A&E Department and that low-income individuals had no alternative but to choose the evening consultation service of the A&E Department. He pointed out that the evening outpatient services in the district were not enough and the HA should give priority to increasing evening outpatient services in the district. He hoped to seek resources for the HA in the name of TPDC so that Wong Siu Ching Clinic could provide outpatient services during evenings, weekends, Sundays and public holidays.

(vi) Mr. LAU Yung-wai said that if Wong Siu Ching Clinic could provide evening outpatient service, it would certainly relieve the pressure on the A&E Department of Nethersole Hospital during the evening. He said that on 12 July 2017 (i.e. the day of the last SSC meeting), the Legislative Council (“LegCo”) had also held a meeting during which LegCo Members had enquired about the issue of medical staff. At that time, the officials concerned had said there would be 320 medical graduates in 2017/18 and 420 medical graduates in 2018/19. He questioned whether the manpower shortage mentioned in Paper No. SS 45/2017 was true. He opined that since there would be more medical graduates, there should not be any shortage of medical staff. He enquired whether the Hospital could ask the headquarters to arrange for doctors to station at Wong Siu Ching Clinic during the evening and introduce a trial run of the services by phases. He also said that as of 4 September 2017, information on the webpage showed that only five doctors in Tai Po District had taken part in the Public-Private Partnership Program (“PPP Program”), of whom four had consultation hours until 6:00 p.m. while the remaining one till 9:00 p.m. Doctors providing evening consultation services were not enough.

(vii) The Vice-chairman opined that the arrangements as regards clinics and consultation hours were merely hardware and software such as medical and healthcare staff as well as financial resources was of paramount importance. He asked Mr. LAU Yung-wai whether the hundreds of prospective medical graduates he had just mentioned would all join the public healthcare sector. He pointed out

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that many medical graduates worked in public medical institutions only to gain experience and would eventually switch to private medical institutions which offered better benefits. The most pressing task now was to reduce manpower drain. He recommended that the HA introduce some measures (such as holding internship scheme to enhance the sense of belonging of healthcare personnel) to encourage healthcare personnel to work overtime and attract experienced medical workers to switch back to public health institutions, and find ways to retain talents.

(viii) Mr. CHUNG Man-fai said that at the last meeting it had been mentioned that about 80% of the cases of the A&E Department in Nethersole Hospital were classified as non-urgent, reflecting the strong demand of Tai Po residents for evening and holiday consultation services. He added that despite the A&E charge rise, many residents still opted to go to A&E since evening consultation services in the district were in short supply while private clinics would definitely charge more than A&E Department for evening consultation. Besides, he enquired whether the number of private doctors enrolled in the PPP Program had changed since July 2017.

(ix) Mr. Clement WOO responded to the question raised by Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai regarding Paper No. SS 44/2017. He said that the “three clinics” mentioned in the third line of the first paragraph of the paper referred to the community clinic at Kwong Fuk Estate (i.e. Kwong Fuk Community Health Centre), Wong Siu Ching Clinic and Jockey Club Clinic, among which both Wong Siu Ching Clinic and Jockey Club Clinic offered general outpatient services. He supported the provision of general outpatient evening consultation session at Wong Siu Ching Clinic.

(x) Mr. Zlato KOO pointed out that despite private evening consultation services’ being available in the district, the consultation fees were more expensive and beyond the affordability of the grassroots, who in the end had to go to A&E or wait until the next day for consultation. He hoped the HA would use existing resources to deploy general outpatient doctors to attend at the A&E Department to provide the public with temporary general outpatient evening consultation services during the transitional period (i.e. before Wong Siu Ching Clinic would offer outpatient evening consultation services). He also asked the HA to consider extending the consultation hours of the Jockey Club Clinic to 11.00 p.m. so as to put it on a par with those of private clinics. In addition, as regards the difficulty in hiring medical and healthcare staff for general outpatient evening services, he opined that to find the right solution, the HA needed to understand why doctors did not want to serve at night. He suggested that the HA revise the terms and conditions of employment or provide better support to doctors.

19. Dr. MAN Chi-yin responded as follows:

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(i) The Hospital understood that residents in Tai Po District had a strong demand for general outpatient services. The HA would continue to seek resources to strengthen medical services in the district.

(ii) During the recent summer influenza peak season, the Hospital introduced a special allowance scheme to invite some more experienced doctors to extend their working hours. However, the response was not satisfactory and the doctors were reluctant to work overtime even with additional allowances.

(iii) It would require a lot of resources to provide additional general outpatient evening service at Wong Siu Ching Clinic, while less resources would be required to increase the number of consultation quotas (such as increasing the number of general outpatient day-time quotas at Wong Siu Ching Clinic or increasing the number of evening consultation quotas in Jockey Club Clinic). As far as the overall cost-effectiveness was concerned, it was preferable to increase the number of consultation quotas.

20. Dr. Eric HUI made the following supplementary remarks:

(i) Among those doctors who had joined the public healthcare system, many were newly graduated medical students. In the past few years, the number of medical graduates had dropped. It was quite difficult to maintain the 230 000 general outpatient consultation quotas every year in Tai Po. In recent years, the HA had done its utmost, such as inviting doctors who had retired or had left the public healthcare system to join the general outpatient clinics as part-time doctors, hiring overseas doctors (currently having one overseas doctor) for limited practice and encouraging existing doctors in general outpatient clinics to work overtime, only then could the medical services in the district be maintained.

(ii) Through funding support, the PPP Program encouraged patients with chronic illness who originally visited general outpatient clinics to seek treatment at private clinics. The freed up quotas would then benefit more people. At present, a total of 13 private doctors in Tai Po District had joined the PPP Program. As of last week, about 350 patients had turned to private clinics for treatment (each patient could enjoy 10 subsidised outpatient services per year, i.e., some 3 500 general outpatient quotas would be freed up per year). After being renovated, general outpatient quotas at Tai Po General Outpatient Clinic had increased to about 230 000 per year (from some 200 000 per year before the renovation). Quotas for other services had also increased such as management service of chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension, as well as mental health services. He hoped to fight for more general outpatient quotas for Tai Po District in the annual work plan of the coming year.

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(iii) At present there were about 300 vacancies for doctors in the public healthcare system as a whole. Even with the additional 100-odd medical graduates in the coming year, not all vacancies could be filled. The Hospital would spare no effort in reflecting to the headquarters Tai Po residents’ demand for primary healthcare services.

21. Members’ second round of comments and questions were summed up as follows:

(i) Mr. KWAN Wing-yip doubted it was Mr. Clement WOO’s verbal camouflage to cover up mistakes that he claimed Kwong Fuk Community Health Centre (privately run) should also be included in the “three clinics” despite his knowledge that there were only two public outpatient clinics in Tai Po. He opined that the key point of Paper No. SS 39/2017 was to fight for public medical services. If Mr. Clement WOO obstinately included Kwong Fuk Community Health Center in the “three clinics”, he wondered why Mr. Clement WOO did not include private medical institutions such as Hong Kong Baptist University Chinese Medicine Clinic (Jockey Club Cadenza Hub), Nethersole Chinese Medicine Clinical Research and Services Centre, Fu Heng Community Health Centre and private clinics of various private medical groups in Paper No. SS 44/2017.

(ii) Mr. Francis YAM pointed out that medical and healthcare staff shortage was a problem of the entire public healthcare system, and the Hospital could not cope with the basic medical needs of residents in the district. Despite the availability of private evening consultation services in the district, grassroots citizens might not be able to afford the consultation fees. Moreover, upon completion of the new building of the Jockey Club Clinic, the annual number of service quotas would only increase from 200 000 to 230 000 (in other words, only some 70 queue numbers more per day) which would fall short of meeting the demand. In addition, he opined that the PPP Program was no cure for the problem and failed to solve the problem of patients with chronic illness occupying general outpatient quotas. He supplemented that the shortage of doctors today stemmed from the reduction of places in the two medical schools by the former Chief Executive Mr. Tung Chee-hwa. He was dissatisfied that HA refused to provide evening outpatient service at Wong Siu Ching Clinic on the ground of insufficient manpower which he dismissed as a sheer excuse. He expressed doubts about the Hospital’s proposal to increase the outpatient consultation quotas with the existing resources, and opined that it would put more pressure on the doctors who already had an extremely heavy workload. Moreover, he was of the view that once Wong Siu Ching Clinic began to provide evening outpatient consultation service, there would be an increase in recurrent resources (such as medical and healthcare staff) to raise the service volume, which would be better than paying doctors extra allowance for working overtime. Lastly, he opined that if all pro-establishment

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Members agreed that there was a need to address the problem of inadequate medical resources in Tai Po District, he hoped that pro-establishment legislators at all levels could strive for better medical services for the district at different levels. He also opined that this issue should be discussed at the Legislative Council and the HA.

(iii) Dr. LAU Chee-sing enquired about the attendances of evening and daytime outpatient consultation services at the Jockey Club Clinic with a view to comparing the demand at different timeslots.

(iv) Mr. LI Kwok-ying said that according to the fourth paragraph of Paper No. SS 45/2017, the general outpatient attendances under the New Territories East Cluster had so far increased by some 130 000 since 2011/12. He continued that the population of Tai Po had continued to age. The main targets of general outpatient service were the elderly, low-income earners and chronically ill persons. The increase in the number of elderly people would undoubtedly cause more pressure on public healthcare services in the district. He queried that it was not the case that HA had no resources, rather, it just did not attach any importance to the medical needs of Tai Po District. In addition, he did not agree that the provision of evening outpatient services was any new service, but considered it an extension of the daytime outpatient services. Lastly, he opined that the purpose of mentioning private clinics in Paper No. SS 44/2017 was to reflect that despite the presence of private healthcare services and the PPP Program in Tai Po District, medical services in the district remained inadequate. It was necessary for the Government to allocate more medical resources to Tai Po District.

(v) Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai said that according to the standards of the PlanD, Tai Po District lacked one public clinic. The “three clinics” mentioned in Paper No. SS 44/2017 might mislead people into thinking that there were three public clinics in the district, thus meeting the standards of the PlanD. Therefore, it was necessary to clarify the wordings. Moreover, he criticised the HA for, instead of having any strategies or plans before the completion of the Tai Po Community Medical Centre, hoping that Members would not be too demanding. He also criticised the HA for refusing to increase service hours at Wong Siu Ching Clinic on the grounds of insufficient manpower and resources. Finally, he expressed dissatisfaction with the HA’s failure to prioritise the handling of the problem of primary healthcare services shortage in the district.

(vi) Mr. YAM Man-chuen hoped that the Chairman would consider writing to relevant departments in the name of TPDC to secure more medical resources for Tai Po District.

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(vii) Mr. AU Chun-wah said that in accordance with the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines set out by the PlanD, resources required for the third public clinic should in theory have already been included in the community planning of Tai Po, whereas requesting the HA to allocate additional resources to increase the service hours of Wong Siu Ching Clinic should not be considered as seeking extra resources. He opined that the HA should allocate resources concerned back to Tai Po District and priority should be given to Tai Po District when deploying medical graduates in the future so as to benefit residents in the district. He enquired how many years HA estimated it would take until stable healthcare personnel resources could be achieved. Besides, he agreed to send a letter to the HA in the name of the SSC to reflect Members’ views and opined that the SSC could consider raising the issue when meeting with LegCo Members. Lastly, he said that he would not argue further as to how the “three clinics” stated in Paper No. SS 44/2017 should be interpreted, but he did not want residents to be misled into thinking that there were three public clinics in the district either.

(viii) Mr. LAU Yung-wai agreed to the issuance of a letter in the name of TPDC to reflect the district’s demand for medical services. He pointed out that outpatient services were a matter of people’s livelihood and HA should not use lack of manpower and resources as an excuse but should find ways to improve medical services. The entire public healthcare system was plagued with a shortage of resources, while the number of public clinics in Tai Po District failed even to meet the standards set by the PlanD. The Hospital should have greater bargaining power to secure resources from the HA. He opined that exactly because Tai Po District was still short of one public clinic while the project to build the third public clinic was nowhere in sight, it was even more necessary for the Hospital to reflect to the HA residents’ needs for medical services in the district and to request the HA to make long-term planning and timely preparations, instead of following up on the medical staff and financial arrangement only upon the completion of the new public clinic.

(ix) Ms. WONG Pik-kiu hoped to change the “three clinics” in Paper No. SS 44/2017 to “a number of public and private clinics in the district”. She said that if the private clinic Kwong Fuk Community Health Centre could be included under HA’s supervision and provide general outpatient services on Saturdays, it would help alleviate the medical needs in the district. With the completion of Po Heung Estate, the population of Tai Po had risen sharply. The HA and the DH had to tackle the problem of shortage of doctors. She hoped that Wong Siu Ching Clinic could provide evening consultation session, Saturday afternoon and Sunday general outpatient services.

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(Post-meeting note: Paper No. SS 44/2017 (Revised) was uploaded to the TPDC webpage.)

22. The Chairman said that the discussion was over and voting on the motion would follow. 23. Mr. Francis YAM made a supplementary remark on the motion which he had moved that he had not requested medical staff to work overtime, but requested that HA increase resources to provide evening consultation. He read out the motion as follows: “The SSC requested that HA provide evening consultation session at Wong Siu Ching Family Medicine Centre”. The motion was seconded by Mr. LAU Yung-wai. 24. The Chairman accepted the motion moved by Mr. Francis YAM. Members raised no objection. 25. Mr. Clement WOO proposed an amendment to Mr. Francis YAM’s motion (the original motion) and read out his amendment (amendment 1) as follows: “Request Wong Siu Ching Family Medicine Centre to run evening outpatient consultation session, Saturday afternoon and Sunday services”. Amendment 1 was seconded by Ms. WONG Pik-kiu. 26. The Chairman accepted amendment 1. Members had no objection to this. 27. The Chairman enquired if Members had any other amendments to the motion. 28. Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai moved an amendment to the original motion and read his amendment (amendment 2) as follows: “Request Wong Siu Ching Family Medicine Centre to provide evening outpatient consultation session, Saturday afternoon, Sunday and public holiday services”. Amendment 2 was seconded by Mr. AU Chun-wah. 29. The Chairman accepted amendment 2. Members raised no objection. 30. The Chairman enquired if Members had any other amendments to the motion. Members did not propose any other amendments. 31. The Chairman briefed Members on the voting procedure. He said that as there was more than one amendment, he would handle the amendments one after another in the order in which they were moved, so a vote would be taken first on amendment 1, after which amendment 2 would be handled. If the two amendments (or either one of them) were carried, there was no need to vote on the original motion. He continued that voting would be done by open ballot. Member raised no objection.

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32. Mr. Patrick TANG enquired if Members could vote in favour of both amendment 1 and amendment 2. 33. The Chairman said Members could vote in favour of both amendment 1 and amendment 2. 34. The Chairman invited Members to take a vote on amendment 1 with the results as follows: For: 19 votes Mr. LO Hiu-fung

Mr. CHAN Cho-leung Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai Dr. LAU Chee-sing Mr. LI Kwok-ying Mr. Patrick TANG Mr. Clement WOO Mr. YAM Man-chuen Mr. CHAN Hei-chuen Mr. POON Hing-fai

Mr. AU Chun-wah Mr. CHAN Siu-kuen Mr. KWAN Wing-yip Mr. LAU Yung-wai Mr. Rex LI Ms. WONG Pik-kiu Mr. Francis YAM Mr. Ken YU Mr. CHUNG Man-fai

Against: 0 vote Abstained: 1 vote Mr. Zlato KOO Total: 20 votes 35. The Chairman announced that amendment 1 was endorsed. 36. The Chairman asked Members to take a vote on amendment 2 with the results as follows: For: 12 votes Mr. AU Chun-wah

Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai Mr. LAU Yung-wai Mr. Patrick TANG Mr. YAM Man-chuen Mr. POON Hing-fai

Mr. CHAN Cho-leung Mr. KWAN Wing-yip Mr. Rex LI Mr. Francis YAM Mr. CHAN Hei-chuen Mr. Zlato KOO

Against: 0 vote Abstained: 7 vote Mr. CHAN Siu-kuen

Mr. LI Kwok-ying Mr. Clement WOO Mr. CHUNG Man-fai

Dr. LAU Chee-sing Ms. WONG Pik-kiu Mr. Ken YU

Total: 19 votes

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37. The Chairman announced that amendment 2 was endorsed. As both amendment 1 and 2 were endorsed, there was no need to vote on the original motion. 38. Several Members requested that a letter be written to the HA and Food and Health Bureau (“FHB”) in the name of the SSC to reflect the views of Members. 39. The Chairman agreed to send a letter to the HA and the FHB in the name of the SSC to convey Members’ views and to make the HA and the FHB note the aforementioned motions. 40. Mr. YAM Man-chuen requested that the letter to the HA and the FHB be issued in the name of the TPDC. 41. The Chairman advised that he could only send the letter in the name of SSC and that the request of Mr. YAM Man-chuen would be put on record. (Post-meeting note: The Secretariat had sent a letter to the HA and the FHB on 12 October

2017 to reflect the views of Members.)

IV. Report by the Education Bureau on education matters in Tai Po 42. The Chairman welcomed Mr. TSUI Tak-ming, Senior School Development Officer of the EDB to the meeting for discussion of this agenda item. 43. Mr. TSUI Tak-ming reported as follows:

(i) Most kindergartens in Tai Po District had joined the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme. Half-day kindergartens in the district that had joined the scheme all provided free kindergarten education.

(ii) The application process for kindergarten enrolment had already begun. Parents might submit an application for “Registration Certificate for Kindergarten Admission” to the EDB from September to November this year. The EDB would in general complete the approval process of the Registration Certificate within six to eight weeks. After submitting the K1 application to their favourite kindergarten, parents would be notified of the application result by 22 December 2017. Should there be K1 places available in those kindergartens which had participated in the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme, the kindergartens would hold a centralised registration from 11 January to 13 January 2018 where parents could submit their applications on the spot to the kindergartens concerned and the result could become available immediately.

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(iii) Work for the Primary One Admission for 2017/18 had completed. The EDB would count the number of students on 15 September 2017 to ascertain the actual enrolment of Tai Po District primary schools in 2017/18. At present, EDB estimated that there would not be significant changes in the number of students in primary schools. The application forms for Primary One Admission for 2018/19 would be distributed from 4 September to 29 September 2017. Parents could complete the application forms and submit their applications to their favourite schools. Applications for “Discretionary Places Admission” were to be submitted between the 25th and the 29th of this month.

(iv) Allocation process for Admission to Secondary 1 for 2017/18 had completed. The EDB would count the number of students on 15 September 2017. The number of classes in secondary schools was estimated to be similar to that of the previous year.

(v) The EDB had started to allocate school premises for time-limited schools in early August this year. Interested sponsoring bodies could submit school proposals no later than mid-September on the use of the vacant premises of the former Confucian Sam Lok Chow Mud Wai School (“Chow Mud Wai School”).

44. Members’ first round of questions were summed up as follows:

(i) Mr. AU Chun-wah said that time-limited schools were generally allowed to be used for at least six years. According to media reports, there were big gaps between the number of students who had been allocated to time-limited schools and the actual number of students finally selected to attend such schools this year. Although the EDB would not withdraw the resources allocated to the school for the school year, the operation and resource arrangement of the school in the coming school years aroused concern. He hoped the EDB would explain the resource arrangements for the following school years.

(ii) Mr. LAU Yung-wai enquired how many years Chow Mud Wai School was expected to operate. He said that the number of primary one places in Tai Po would fall after peaking in 2018/19. By then there would be excessive school places and primary schools would compete for students. He hoped the EDB would pay attention to the situation and study how to follow up and handle.

(iii) Mr. Zlato KOO enquired whether there were any matters that required particular attention for the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme implemented in the year 2018/19. Besides, he enquired about the case of a letter’s being issued by a lawyer on behalf of a parent recently regarding school regulations. He said that according to the School Administration Guide, EDB discouraged schools from conducting search of a student’s belongings or body. He enquired whether schools in the district had reported similar dispute cases to the EDB and how the

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EDB ensured that schools would observe the guidelines of the School Administration Guide such that the Convention on the Rights of the Child would not be violated.

(iv) Mr. Francis YAM enquired whether the EDB had calculated how many primary one students among those in Tai Po were cross-border students (who might return to the Mainland for study). He pointed out that if a cross-border student was allocated a place in a time-limited school, the parents might choose to give up the school place. Therefore, the relevant data might affect the estimated number of classes a time-limited school would operate. He opined that the EDB must have a grasp of the data about cross-border students in Tai Po in order to avoid creating a misallocation of teaching and learning resources. He also said that the school sponsoring body was expected to run a school in the school premises of Chow Mud Wai School in 2018/19. He hoped the EDB would provide the timetable of the said premises’ renovation works.

(v) Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai questioned if the premises structure of Chow Mud Wai School was suitable for use as a time-limited school. He said that old tree roots were all around the school which might have already affected the structure of the school premises. The problem might not be solved by carrying out simple renovation works.

45. Mr. TSUI Tak-ming responded as follows:

(i) Among the Primary One admission figures for 2017/18, the number of students in Tai Po had been stable with no loss of students.

(ii) The EDB would review in a timely manner the operation of time-limited schools to meet actual needs. It was expected that time-limited schools would operate in 2018/19 to cope with the peak demand for school places and would operate for at least six years.

(iii) During the last summer holiday, EDB had held several briefing sessions for parents and kindergarten teachers on the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme for the 2018/19 school year. Kindergarten K1 admission arrangements were similar to those of last year. Parents could visit the EDB website for relevant information.

(iv) The EDB stated that student discipline in schools was a difficult area of work. In implementing school rules, the schools must comply with education ordinance (e.g. corporal punishment was not allowed) and relevant legislations (e.g. the Privacy Ordinance). The EDB had not received any similar complaints in Tai Po. Should there be any complaints, the EDB would look into the situation and follow up.

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(v) In 2017/18, there was no significant wastage of students in Tai Po District. The EDB projected that the number of school students would not drop significantly in the future.

(vi) The EDB had invited sponsoring bodies to submit applications for the use of the school premises of Chow Mud Wai School. The EDB advised that the time-limited school would start operation in 2018/19. When selecting a sponsoring body, the EDB would ensure that the sponsoring body would run the school according to the plan. The EDB also had the school premises evaluated by its engineering staff to ensure that the structure and safety met EDB’s requirements for school operation.

46. Members’ second round of comments and questions were summed up as follows:

(i) Mr. AU Chun-wah said many schools which had been intended for taking in cross-border students had their resources mismatched due to the drop in the actual enrolment of cross-border students who eventually chose to study in the Mainland. He added that there might be similar situations in the case of time-limited schools where students eventually would choose not to attend the schools. He enquired whether there would be a change in the allocation of resources for subsequent school years for the schools while the resources obtained by these time-limited schools would be retained for the first school year.

(ii) Mr. LAU Yung-wai was surprised that while EDB indicated that demand for primary school places would peak in 2018/19, it failed to provide the projected student figures for subsequent years. He was dissatisfied that EDB gave no response as regards the school place demand after 2018/19 on the ground that there might be unpredictable circumstances. Should there be an additional time-limited school in Tai Po, competition for students as well as teaching and learning resources among primary schools in the district might arise after 2018/19. He did not want to see that schools would then become under-enrolled, resulting in cuts in resources or school closures. Should there be under-enrolment after the peak of school place demand, EDB had the responsibility to be prepared and to formulate contingency measures (such as considering small-class teaching) so as to ensure that the teaching and learning resources received by the schools would not be curtailed.

(iii) Mr. Zlato KOO hoped the EDB would ensure that the resources available to existing schools in the district would not be affected by its short-term measures such as setting up time-limited schools. He said that many parents lacked confidence in time-limited schools. He cited an example of a time-limited school in New Territories West that the actual enrolment figure was some 300 fewer than the number of students allocated. He continued that time-limited schools on the

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one hand wasted resources (as the number of students finally attended was small) and might on the other hand affect the teaching and learning resources of other schools. He suggested that EDB consider having the students and teaching staff concerned taken in by existing schools. He also pointed out that time-limited schools might continue to lose students because of parents’ lack of confidence and eventually face the problem of school closure in the future.

47. Mr. TSUI Tak-ming responded as follows:

(i) School resources were allocated based on the number of classes each year, there would not be any unfair allocation of resources.

(ii) In reviewing the applications of sponsoring bodies, EDB would carefully select the suitable sponsoring bodies and would also take into consideration the school sponsoring bodies’ arrangement for teaching staff after the closing of time-limited schools. To avoid any unfairness, EDB would not make special employment arrangements for the teachers of time-limited schools after the closing of such schools. At the same time, the administrative and management requirements for time-limited schools would not be lower than those for other schools, and the quality of school operation would not be affected.

(iii) According to the EDB’s population estimates, despite the drop in the number of students territory-wide after 2018/19, the impact on Tai Po District would be small. There would be no excess primary one places or class reduction in the schools of the district.

(iv) Most subvented primary schools in the district had implemented small-class teaching for many years. In response to the increase in the number of Primary One students in Tai Po in recent years, EDB had introduced a number of interim measures to temporarily increase the number of Primary One places. When the number of Primary One students dropped, interim measures such as the temporary increase in allocation of Primary One students would cease.

(v) EDB thanked Members for their concern over the allocation of students and the use of time-limited schools in Tai Po. Members’ opinions would be reflected to the divisions concerned.

V. Departmental reports on the response to community activities held in July and August 2017 in Tai Po and the proposed community activities to be held in September and October 2017 in Tai Po (TPDC Paper No. SS 40/2017) 48. The Chairman welcomed Ms. Sindy CHAN, Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Tai

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Po/North District), and Miss HUI Man-yee, Social Work Officer (Tai Po/North District) (Planning & Coordinating) of the SWD to the meeting. He also welcomed Ms. Angel KWOK, Senior Community Relations Officer of the ICAC to the meeting for discussion of this agenda item. 49. Ms. Sindy CHAN reported on the response to the community activities of the SWD held between July and August 2017 in Tai Po and the proposed community activities to be held in September and October 2017 in Tai Po. She supplemented that the “Triathlon” and “Plastic Bottle Sculpture” activities mentioned on page 5 of Appendix I to TPDC Paper No. SS 40/2017 had completed as scheduled on 19 August 2017 with 11 and 17 participants respectively. 50. Ms. Angel KWOK reported on the enrolment of the community activities of the ICAC held between July and August 2017 in Tai Po and the proposed community activities to be held in September and October 2017 in Tai Po.

VI. Report by the Social Welfare Department on data of major social services between April and June 2017 in Tai Po (TPDC Paper No. SS 41/2017) 51. Ms. Sindy CHAN recapped TPDC Paper No. SS 41/2017. She also reported on the progress of the opening of an early education and training centre at Po Heung Estate and an office of the “Integrated Support Service for Persons with Severe Physical Disabilities” at Tai Wo Neighbourhood Community Centre as follows:

(i) SWD had completed the district consultation in 2012 on the project to open an early education and training centre at Po Heung Estate. Construction of Po Heung Estate had completed in 2016. SWD had earlier invited qualified NGOs to submit proposals for running the proposed centre. SWD had received a total of 15 proposals and established an Assessment Committee to assess the proposals. According to the committee’s recommendation, SWD had selected Po Leung Kuk to run the proposed centre and released the assessment result online in July this year. Po Leung Kuk was actively organising the fitting-out work and the new service unit was expected to be operational in early 2018.

(ii) Po Leung Kuk was responsible for providing home-based recovery and nursing services to persons with severe physical disabilities living in New Territories East and New Territories West. The service teams concerned had so far no office in New Territories East. Therefore, SWD was assisting Po Leung Kuk to set up an office of the “Integrated Support Service for Persons with Severe Physical Disabilities” in Tai Wo Neighbourhood Community Centre. SWD was currently negotiating with the Government Property Agency on the leasing matters. If

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everything went smoothly, the office would be put into service as early as the end of 2017.

VII. Report from Working Groups (I) Working Group on Elderly Projects and Medical Services 52. Mr. LI Kwok-ying, Chairman of the Working Group on Elderly Projects and Medical Services, reported as follows:

(i) The Working Group had held its third meeting on 25 August 2017.

(ii) The“Age-Friendly City – Active Years in the Community” Carnival would be held on 21 October 2017 at Tai Ming Lane Square.

(iii) “Elderly Care Community Volunteer Commendation cum Family Fun Day 2018”, “Chinese New Year Celebration - Elderly Household Clean-up Campaign and Elderly Visit 2018” and “Cardiac Health and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Promotion Scheme” would be carried out as scheduled.

(iv) At the meeting, Members of the Working Group resolved to apply for a funding of $19,980 from the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food for organising “Healthy Cooking with Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food”. He hoped that Members would support the fund application.

(II) Working Group on Youth Projects 53. Mr. LO Hiu-fung, Chairman of the Working Group, reported as follows: In the past two months, the Working Group continued to follow up on the eight projects scheduled for this year, all of which were carried out as scheduled. These included “2017 Tai Po District Outstanding Student Award Presentation Ceremony”,“Love ‧“The World”Tour 2017”,“Distinction Junior Leadership Training Programme 2017 ” , “ Walking with the “ Child’s ” Heart Carnival”,“Art and Literature Training Programme 2017-18”, “PROJECT GREEN”, “Children’s Love for Hong Kong Programme” and “Tai Po Health Carnival 2017”. (III) Working Group on Caring for the Community 54. Mr. Ken YU, Chairman of the Working Group, reported as follows: In the past two months, the Working Group continued to follow up on the projects scheduled for this year. Nine of the projects were carried out as scheduled, including “My Heart My Neighbours Harmonious

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Community Programme”, “Peace @ Tai Po Community Programme”, “FUN Filled Fiesta”, “Happy Children Support Programme 2017”, “Lovely Family Gathering @ Tai Po”, “Family and Friends Summer Programme”, “Benevolence and Righteous Beings”, “Care for Physical and Mental Health of Women Community Programme 2017”, “Festive Community Connection - Community Service Programme 2017-18”, while “Amazing Dance Programme in Kwong Fuk”, International Rehabilitation Day 2017 ─ Ocean Park Fun Day ” and “ International Rehabilitation Day 2017 - Central activities”were still in the preparation stage. 55. Mr. Ken YU also informed the SSC that he would recommend the “Harmony @ Tai Po Community” project organised by the Hong Chi Pinehill Pre-school Centre for being included in the 25th anniversary special supplement of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service.

VIII. Applications for DC Funds (TPDC Paper No. SS 42/2017 (Revised)) 56. The Chairman asked Members to declare interests in connection with the applications for DC Funds submitted to the SSC for vetting where necessary. 57. The Secretary reported as follows: Pursuant to Orders 48(9) and 48(10) of the Tai Po District Council Standing Orders (“TPDC Standing Orders”), a Member should declare interests if he found he had direct personal interests, pecuniary interests or other interests in the applications for DC Funds under consideration, or had links with the benefited party or the potential benefited party. The Secretariat had compiled a declaration form based on the information collected, which set out the links between Members and the hosting/partnering/co-hosting organisation concerned, with different colours representing substantive or non-substantive positions Members held. She asked Members to check the information contained in the declaration form and make revisions or give supplementary information where necessary. 58. The Chairman asked Members to check the aforementioned declaration form and enquired whether Members had any amendments or supplementary information. 59. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung said he was a “mentor” (non-substantive position and no interests involved) in the Hong Kong Children & Youth Services.

(Post-meeting note: Please see Annex 1 to the minutes for the revised declaration form.)

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60. As regards those Members who had declared interests, the Secretary raised the following suggestions: If they held a non-substantive position in the hosting/partnering/co-hosting organisations without involving pecuniary interest or other interests, they could take part in the discussion and resolution of the fund applications concerned. If they held a substantive position in the hosting/partnering/co-hosting organisations without involving pecuniary interest or other interests, they were not required to withdraw from the meeting at which the fund applications concerned were being examined, but should remain silent during the discussion and abstain from resolution or voting. The Chairman could request that they provide supplementary information if necessary. 61. Members agreed to the above suggestions. 62. The Chairman said that nine fund applications were listed in Paper No. SS 42/2017 (Revised). If Members were satisfied that those nine applications were covered under the scope of the DC funds while benefitting people living, working or attending schools in the district, they could consider endorsing the applications. 63. Members made the following decisions regarding the nine funding mentioned above: (I) “Seminar for Kindergartens, Primary & Secondary Schools in Tai Po 2017/18” 64. Mr. POON Hing-fai and Mr. Tany CHAN held substantive positions in Tai Po School Liaison Committee. The Chairman suggested that they remain silent during the discussion of the funding application concerned and abstain from resolution or voting. However, the Chairman might ask them to provide supplementary information where necessary. 65. SSC agreed to allocate $20,800 to Tai Po School Liaison Committee for organising the “Seminar for Kindergartens, Primary & Secondary Schools in Tai Po 2017/18” and to waive the expenditure ceiling for notes and contained in Appendix I to the paper. (II) “Tai Po Good Student Award Scheme 2017-2018” 66. The Secretary reported that the total amount being applied for in the funding application of “Tai Po Good Student Award Scheme 2017-2018” was changed from $101,370 to $99,870 and Paper No. SS 42/2017 (Revised) was tabled. 67. Mr. POON Hing-fai and Mr. CHAN Hei-chuen held substantive positions in Tai Po School Liaison Committee. The Chairman said that they should remain silent during the discussion of the fund application concerned and abstain from resolution or voting. However, the Chairman could request that they provide supplementary information if necessary.

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68. SSC agreed to allocate $99,870 to Tai Po School Liaison Committee for organising the cross-financial year activity “Tai Po Good Student Award Scheme 2017-2018” and to waive the expenditure ceiling for notes and contained in Appendix II to the paper. (III) “Online Wise Man Vibrant Life Award Scheme 2017/18” 69. SSC agreed to allocate $26,000 to the Salvation Army New Territories East Integrated Services -- Tai Po Youth Integrated Services for Youth People Tai Po for co-organizing “Online Wise Man Vibrant Life Award Scheme 2017/18” with the Fight Crime Committee of Tai Po District. (IV) “Vibrant Life Award Scheme - ‘Autonomy’ Creative Arts Scheme 2017/18” 70. SSC agreed to allocate $26,000 to Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council -- Jockey Club Tai Po North Integrated Children & Youth Services Centre for co-organising the “Vibrant Life Award Scheme - ‘Autonomy’ Creative Arts Scheme 2017/18” with the Fight Crime Committee of Tai Po District. (V) “Discovery Journey 2017” 71. SSC agreed to allocate $25,885 to Christian Lutheran Church Tai Wo Integrated Youth Service Centre for co-organising the “Discovery Journey 2017” with the Fight Crime Committee of Tai Po District. (VI) “Star Reacher Programme 2017/18 ‘Bread Winner’” 72. SSC agreed to allocate $19,000 to Hong Kong Children & Youth Services -- Tai Po District Youth Outreaching Social Work for co-organising the “Star Reacher Programme 2017/18 ‘Bread Winner’’” with the Fight Crime Committee of Tai Po District. (VII) “Community Integrated Services Scheme 2017/18 - Walk Together Towards Life

Challenges” 73. SSC agreed to allocate $31,000 to Hong Kong Children & Youth Services - Project Sinews, Youth Overnight Outreach Service for co-organising “Community Integrated Services

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Scheme 2017/18 - Walk Together Towards Life Challenges” with the Fight Crime Committee of Tai Po District. (VIII) “Life Planner” 74. SSC agreed to allocate $25,152 to the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong -- Jockey Club Tai Po Children & Youth Integrated Services Centre for co-organising “Life Planner” with the Fight Crime Committee of Tai Po District. (IX) “Youth Highlights @ Tai Po 2017/18 - Artistic Group” 75. SSC agreed to allocate $ 39,200 to the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council -- Jockey Club Tai Po North Integrated Children & Youth Services Centre for co-organising the “Youth Highlights @ Tai Po 2017/18 - Artistic Group” with Tai Po District Youth Activities Committee. 76. Mr. Zlato KOO pointed out that due to the recent suspension of waste recovery by the Mainland, he hoped to remind groups applying for DC Funds to reduce the use of non-recyclable items (such as bottled water) and to minimise waste generation (such as reducing the use of paper). 77. Mr. LAU Yung-wai said that there had recently been problems with internal operation in the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council. As the group had applied for DC Funds for organising activities, he reminded that it should be kept in view as to whether the activities would be affected.

IX. Application for funding of the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food (TPDC Paper No. SS 43/2017) 78. The Chairman said that at the last meeting, SSC had agreed to refer the project to the Working Group on Elderly Projects and Medical Services for follow-up action in identifying a suitable service organisation to promote the low salt and sugar food culture. He requested that Members declare interests where necessary in respect of the application of the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food for DC Funds submitted to SSC for vetting. 79. The Secretary reported as follows: Pursuant to Orders 48(9) and 48(10) of the TPDC Standing Orders, a Member should declare interests if he found he had direct personal interests, pecuniary interests or other interests in an application for DC Funds under consideration, or had links with the benefited party or the potential benefited party. She had checked with the

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hosting/partnering/co-hosting organisers of the activities concerned, collected information and had not found any Members holding any positions in the relevant groups. Members could supplement if there were any omissions. 80. Members did not make any amendments or supplementary remarks. 81. The Chairman indicated that if Members were satisfied that the funding application submitted for SSC’s vetting was in line with the purpose of the Subsidy Scheme on the Promotion of Low Salt and Sugar Food Culture, they might consider approving the application. 82. SSC agreed to allocate $19,980 to Helping Hand -- Cheung Muk Tau Holiday Centre for organising “Healthy Cooking with Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food”. 83. Members made the following enquiries:

(i) Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai enquired whether the remaining funding of the “Subsidy Scheme on the Promotion of Low Salt and Sugar Food Culture” in Tai Po was returned to the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food, and whether SSC would invite applications from district groups again.

(ii) Mr. LAU Yung-wai asked whether any District Council had returned the funding for the “Subsidy Scheme on the Promotion of Low Salt and Sugar Food Culture” to the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food. He said the funding was available for use by 31 March 2018. He asked whether relevant activities had to be completed by that date.

(iii) Mr. CHAN Cho-leung asked whether the activities could be organised jointly by working groups under the SSC and other organisations.

(iv) Mr. CHAN Hei-chuen enquired about the deadline for the fund application. 84. Ms. WONG Pik-kiu hoped to make good use of the funding from the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food. She said she was liaising with the Kindergarten Principals Association and encouraged relevant associations to submit funding applications. She asked the Secretariat to provide assistance. 85. The Chairman responded as follows: The Secretariat of the TPDC was unable to provide information about the use of the said funding in the 18 districts. It might not necessarily be feasible schedule-wise for working groups under the SSC to jointly organise activities with other groups since applications for funding would not be approved until the next SSC meeting. The application time limit for the said fund had expired as the deadline was June 2017.

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86. The Secretary indicated that activities had to be completed by 31 March 2018 and the organisations had to submit all receipts and reports to the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food through the TPDC Secretariat. She supplemented that she had checked with the Secretariat of the Committee in July 2017 and learned that there were no confirmed funding applications in some districts. Besides, she asked Members to consider accepting the approval of application by circulation of paper in order to speed up the entire fund application process. 87. The Chairman indicated that it would be too hasty to wait until the next SSC meeting to consider the funding application. He recommended that the suggestion by Ms. WONG Pik-kiu be adopted to invite relevant organisations to submit funding applications which could be vetted by circulation of paper when necessary. 88. Members agreed to the aforementioned arrangements.

X. Any other business (I) Arrangement for Members of the TPDC to meet with Members of the Legislative

Council (“LegCo”) 89. Mr. Francis YAM enquired about the arrangement for the meeting between TPDC Members and LegCo Members to discuss district issues. 90. Mr. Terence LEE responded that the Secretariat had been notified by the headquarters that the meeting was expected to be held in late January next year. Details would be given later. 91. The Chairman requested that the Secretariat review the minutes of the past meetings and prepare information concerning the discussion items of the meeting in advance. As soon as Members received a formal invitation for the meeting, they could decide on the discussion items of the meeting quickly. (II) The issue of street sleepers in Tai Po District 92. Mr. AU Chun-wah enquired whether SWD and TPDO had the number of street sleepers in the district. He said that street sleepers in public places (for instances, next to Tai Po Civic Centre, inside pedestrian subways in the district and under bridges along Lam Tsuen River) had affected environmental hygiene in the district. He enquired whether SWD had visited these street sleepers to understand their situation and provide them with assistance. In addition, he pointed out that during the onslaught of Typhoon Hato, Lam Tsuen River had overflown and shelters of some street sleepers had been flooded. He hoped that SWD and TPDO would notify

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the street sleepers in advance of typhoons in future so as to ensure their safety. 93. Ms. Sindy CHAN said that SWD’s case service units (such as Integrated Family Service Centres) provided services (including outreaching services) to street sleepers. Information about street-sleeper services and the number of street sleepers in the district would be reported at the next SSC meeting. 94. Mr. Peter CHAN said that during the onslaught of Typhoon Hato, the HAD had made prior notifications to DC Members and Rural Committees in the light of the special circumstances. Departments concerned would make further consideration on the details of notification to street sleepers.

XI. Date of next meeting 95. The next meeting would be held at 9:30 a.m. on 8 November 2017 (Wednesday). 96. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:02 p.m.

Tai Po District Council Secretariat October 2017