Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ10: Supporting teachers and students affected by Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po Question:
It is learnt that among residents affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, quite a number of them are students and academic staff members. On supporting the affected teachers and students, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current number of students and academic staff members who have been identified and registered as persons affected by the aforesaid fire incident, with a breakdown by (i) school type, (ii) students (by grade level), and (iii) academic staff members;
(2) whether it will provide long-term psychological counselling and emotional support services for disaster-affected teachers and students, instead of providing one-off support measures; if so, how long the follow-up period is expected to be; if not, how the authorities will help them recover from the trauma;
(3) among the disaster-affected families, of the number of students with special educational needs; whether it will consider providing schools with additional resources and targeted support measures, such as by arranging professional support staff or providing learning guidance, so as to prevent the learning progress of these students from being affected;
(4) given that the school premises of Tai Po Baptist Public School (TPBPS) have to be closed temporarily due to the fire incident, during which TPBPS students have to attend classes by grade level at the school premises of the other two primary schools, of the measures put in place by the authorities to support TPBPS in coping with the increase in administrative manpower and workload as a result of the separation of school premises; and
(5) as it is learnt that many disaster-affected families have been arranged to stay in temporary accommodation such as transitional housing in other districts, resulting in children of such families having to travel a long distance to attend schools in other districts, whether the authorities will consider providing transport services by school bus or disbursing additional travel allowances to them; whether a special mechanism will be established to allow parents from these families to apply for in-year admissions for their children and have them received education in the areas of residence according to their wishes?
Reply:
President,
After the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the Education Bureau (EDB) had immediately contacted the school heads associations in Tai Po and the schools near Wang Fuk Court, and sent educational psychologists and officers of the Tai Po District School Development Section to the temporary shelters in Tai Po to offer appropriate support to the affected students. The EDB has also been maintaining contact with schools in the Tai Po District and closely monitoring the situation of their teachers and students so as to provide assistance as necessary.
In consultation with relevant government departments, our consolidated reply to the questions raised by the Hon Ken Wong is as follows:
(1) to (3) According to the information provided by the schools to the EDB, there are more than 370 kindergarten, primary and secondary students in total living at Wang Fuk Court. The EDB does not have relevant figures on the number of school staff living at Wang Fuk Court and the number of students with special educational needs (SEN) of the affected families of the fire incident. Regarding post-secondary institutions, over 80 students and more than 50 staff in total have been affected.
After the incident, the EDB has formed the Tai Po District School Crisis Management Team to maintain close contact with the school heads associations and schools in the district and to provide them with necessary assistance and support services on a continual basis. To support the affected schools to cope with the incident, the EDB has promptly disbursed $100,000 to each primary and secondary school (including special schools) and $50,000 to each kindergarten in the Tai Po District under the Special Incident Assistance Grant. Schools may flexibly deploy the grant to provide students, school staff and parents with appropriate assistance, which includes providing psychological counselling services and purchasing learning-related items for the affected students.
Apart from providing subsidies to the affected schools, the EDB has made available to kindergartens, primary and secondary schools across the territory a crisis management resource kit tailored for the fire incident, the contents of which include counselling suggestions for schools and parents, special class period materials, and Questions & Answers for reference, enabling school personnel and parents to assist students in coping with the incident as soon as possible. In addition, the EDB has specifically prepared counselling suggestions for students with autism and related needs who are directly or indirectly affected by the fire incident. In particular, resources for students with SEN are accompanied by narration to help them understand the contents more easily. Since trauma may have a longer-term impact on students, the EDB has prepared trauma-informed resources to assist schools and parents in understanding how students are affected by the traumatic experience, and to advise on suitable ways of supporting students who have experienced trauma, with a view to enhancing their sense of security and resilience and thus facilitating their recovery. We have also consolidated information on community support services tailored for the fire incident. All of these resources are available on the EDB’s “School Crisis Management” webpage. Meanwhile, the EDB has contacted the counsellors of the “Teachers’ Helpline” (Tel: 8100 3361) to step up telephone counselling and support for the affected teachers and principals.
To provide targeted support for the most-affected schools, the EDB has mobilised its school-based professional support staff and educational psychologists to form dedicated support teams, one for each of those schools, to maintain close contact with the schools and provide them with immediate, on-site and targeted support services, having regard to the specific circumstances and needs of each school. Such services include assisting schools in resuming operations during the transition, making learning and teaching adaptation arrangements, and providing emotional support for teachers and students. The teams will continue to assess the impact of the incident on students and teachers, with a view to providing appropriate professional support and making referral arrangements.
Moreover, the EDB organised 12 online seminars on psychological support for special incidents between November and December 2025 for territory-wide participation. Various speakers including psychiatrists, educational/clinical psychologists and university professors were invited to share their professional insights at the seminars, in a bid to help the school personnel and parents understand the post-trauma physiological and psychological responses commonly found among students and their emotional needs, and learn some coping and support strategies. Professionals of schools (including school-based educational psychologists, school social workers and student guidance personnel) will closely monitor the learning, social and emotional needs of their students and provide appropriate assistance and support in a timely manner. The EDB will also maintain close liaison with schools to ensure that the affected students (including those with SEN) are provided with appropriate long-term emotional support.
As for post-secondary institutions, they took the initiative to contact the affected students and staff on the day of the fire and actively provided support, including flexible study and work arrangements, psychological counselling services and emergency accommodation. The salient points are as follows:
(1) Establishment of communication channels: Affected students and staff who need assistance may directly contact the respective student affairs offices or the human resources offices of their institutions;
(2) Psychological counselling services: As the incident may bring emotional distress, post-secondary institutions have maintained emotional support service hotlines and arranged for counsellors of their student affairs offices to provide the affected students and staff with psychological counselling and support. Those in need were arranged to meet with counsellors or referred to specialist services for follow-up; In terms of resources, the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities may flexibly deploy the recurrent grants which have been disbursed in the form of block grants to support students in need. Moreover, the UGC has been supporting the universities to promote mental health and positive education as well as strengthen various student support services for students, including psychological counselling and mental health support. As for assisting students with SEN or a history of mental health issues, the UGC has further allocated additional resources to the UGC-funded universities in the 2025-2028 triennium by providing an additional $90 million under the Special Grant to Enhance the Support for Students with SEN for universities to improve the educational experience of students with SEN, enhance staff training and promote an inclusive campus, thereby benefitting all students with SEN. Meanwhile, institutions have rendered assistance to the affected students by, among others, offering special examination arrangements or deadline extensions for assignment submissions. All post-secondary institutions will continue to follow up on the situation of the affected teachers and students regularly, and keep reviewing feasible options to provide more support at different levels.
(4) As the school premises of the Tai Po Baptist Public School (TPBPS) will remain closed for a certain period due to the fire at Wang Fuk Court, the EDB has been maintaining close communication with the TPBPS and providing continuous support. In order to facilitate early resumption of the normal teaching routine of the TPBPS, the EDB has co-ordinated with schools in the district to deploy available classrooms and resources are promptly devoted to completing the modification works. These efforts have enabled the TPBPS to resume face-to-face classes by grade level at the school premises of the Tai Po Government Primary School and the NTWJWA Christian Remembrance of Grace Primary School respectively as a transitional measure from December 15, 2025, until the end of the current school year. The EDB has set up a dedicated working group and reserved $5 million to provide additional resources for supporting the operation of the aforementioned three schools during the transition period, as well as to offer appropriate learning and teaching support for teachers and students.
To enable all students of the TPBPS to continue their studies in a stable and sustainable learning environment as early as possible and to further safeguard students’ well-being, following active discussions between the EDB and relevant government departments, the school premises of the former Church of Christ in China Kei Ching Primary School (originally planned to be converted into an integrated social service complex) will be allocated to the TPBPS for use as its school premises starting from the 2026/27 school year, allowing all classes to resume normal teaching and learning activities at a single school site. The EDB is pressing ahead with the renovation works of the school premises, which will be delivered in accordance with standards applicable to new school premises upon scheduled completion in the summer of 2026. The EDB will continue to maintain close communication with the TPBPS on matters related to the school premises.
(5) The Transport Department (TD) has been steering public transport operators to strengthen services by deploying additional vehicles and manpower to support residents affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, who have been admitted into transitional housing in various districts. The public transport arrangements for various transitional housing projects to date are set out below:
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ13: Allocation of public niches Question:
According to the information of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, members of the public currently apply for the allocation of public niches mainly through two channels, namely the comprehensive allocation, which is carried out once a year (annual allocation), and the monthly allocation of public niches at the Tsang Tsui Columbarium (monthly allocation). However, there are views pointing out that if members of the public do not choose niches at the Tsang Tsui Columbarium, they must wait for the comprehensive allocation, for which applications are open from May to June each year. If they miss this period, they will have to wait for a whole year and make their own arrangements for temporary storage of cremains of the deceased, causing inconvenience and disturbance to members of the public. Therefore, the existing arrangements for applying for public niche application still need to be improved in terms of information transparency and convenience. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of applications for annual allocation and monthly allocation, the number of successful allocations and the success rates in the past five years; the average number of times successful applicants had to apply or participate in the ballot before being allocated a niche;
(2) of the respective average and median waiting times for applicants applying for public niches through the annual allocation, from the date of their first application to the date of successful allocation, with a breakdown by columbarium;
(3) whether the Government has grasped the current number of applications for public niches in which arrangements have to be made for temporary storage of cremains while awaiting niche allocation, the average waiting period and the level of fees for the relevant temporary storage; whether it has examined the compliance risks involved in the arrangements for temporary storage of cremains;
(4) of the channels through which the Government currently informs members of the public that, apart from the annual allocation, they can also apply for public niches at the Tsang Tsui Columbarium through the monthly allocation; whether it has plans to disseminate the relevant information more clearly and proactively at funeral parlours and temporary storage facilities for cremains, as well as on online; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) given that the Shek Mun Columbarium in Sha Tin is due to open in the third quarter of this year, whether the Government has plans to adopt the same allocation method as the Tsang Tsui Columbarium and establish a regular mechanism (e.g. monthly allocation) for allocating niches at the Shek Mun Columbarium in Sha Tin; if so, of the timetable and arrangements; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the question raised by the Hon Dominic Lee is as follows:
(1) and (2) At present, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) allocates public niches at the Tsang Tsui Columbarium on a monthly basis (monthly allocation). Meanwhile, the annual comprehensive allocation mechanism (annual allocation) is in place to allocate public niches at the Wo Hop Shek Columbarium Phase VI in Fanling, the Cape Collinson-San Ha Columbarium in Eastern District, and the Shek Mun Columbarium in Sha Tin which was newly opened in September 2025. Since mid-2020, all eligible applicants for the FEHD’s public niches (whether through monthly or annual allocation) have been allocated with niches without the need to wait. The actual numbers of niches allocated over the past five years are tabulated by columbarium as follows:
Columbarium(Actual number of allocation)(3) Members of the public may need temporary storage of cremains for various reasons, such as awaiting family decisions on disposal or arranging for transport out of Hong Kong for interment. The FEHD does not maintain statistics on the public’s use of temporary storage of cremains. However, the FEHD provides citizens with the temporary storage service for cremains. Currently, the storage facilities have a combined capacity of about 77 000 sets of cremains, which is an adequate supply. The temporary storage service for cremains is charged at $80 per month. The initial storage period lasts three, six or 12 months, and is extendable upon expiry.
(4) The FEHD has set up dedicated webpages for both monthly and annual allocations, setting out the application information (including eligibility criteria, key dates, means of application, allocation arrangements and points to note). Members of the public may view the layout and elevation plans of niches available for allocation and check their application status online. Individuals who have registered for the annual allocation notification service on the webpage will be notified by SMS of the latest news on the application for the said allocation. Furthermore, the FEHD maintains the “After-Death Arrangements” thematic website to provide one-stop information on registration of a death, arrangements for a funeral, cremation and burial services, disposal of cremated ashes and so forth, along with details on applying for public niches. Such information has also been disseminated through the FEHD’s social media pages.
Apart from online promotion, the FEHD adopts various offline means for publicity, such as arranging media interviews and organising thematic press conferences and information seminars on after-death arrangements, to elaborate on the mechanisms and application arrangements for monthly and annual allocation of public niches. Information on the application for public niches is also available at the FEHD’s District Environmental Hygiene Offices, cemeteries, crematoria facilities and offices as well as District Offices for public reference.
In addition, the FEHD regularly provides representatives from the funeral trade (including licensed funeral parlours and undertakers) with the updates on the allocation of public niches, enabling the trade to suitably assist members of the public with their applications.
The FEHD will examine the effectiveness of different channels for disseminating information from time to time to ensure easy access to the relevant information by citizens in need.
(5) Completed in 2020, the Tsang Tsui Columbarium provides approximately 160 000 niches, several times the capacity of other facilities. Such ample supply allows the FEHD to steadily allocate niches on a monthly basis for a long period of time. Therefore, the department decided to pilot the monthly allocation model at that columbarium first.
Building on the successful experience of the Tsang Tsui Columbarium, the FEHD is preparing to allocate niches at other columbaria in a similar manner by first half of this year, while optimising the allocation mechanism. Under the new mechanism, the FEHD will set aside a certain number of niches each month from the Wo Hop Shek Columbarium (Phase VI) in Fanling, the Cape Collinson-San Ha Columbarium in Eastern District and the Shek Mun Columbarium in Sha Tin, along with those at the Tsang Tsui Columbarium, for application by the public. This will not only maintain a stable supply of public niches in the medium and long term, but also offer the public more choices in the monthly allocation exercises. The FEHD will officially announce the details of the new mechanism and its application procedures in due course. Issued at HKT 12:18
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ19: Making effective use of charitable resources to support residents of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po Question:
It has been reported that following the major fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, a number of charitable institutions and charitable funds have swiftly allocated funds to assist the affected individuals. Among these organisations, the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited undertook to make an initial donation of $100 million to support the Government’s post-disaster reconstruction efforts. The Government has also established the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po (the Support Fund) to provide support for the residents. Furthermore, some members of the community are concerned about how the Government coordinates major charitable institutions to participate in providing support and implementing specific assistance programmes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government has taken the initiative to contact and co-ordinate major charitable institutions to participate in offering assistance since the outbreak of the fire disaster at Wang Fuk Court; if so, which charitable institutions are currently providing or have committed to providing support services to the affected individuals, and of the respective scale and implementation timetables of such support initiatives;
(2) of the specific details of, eligibility criteria and approval mechanisms for the various assistance programmes currently offered through the Support Fund and the charitable institutions mentioned in (1); whether the Government will encourage these charitable institutions to expand the scope of support of their assistance programmes to provide long-term support for residents of Wang Fuk Court, including offering assistance to residents in alleviating their pressure of property mortgage payment, providing professional psychological counselling and employment support for the residents, as well as rebuilding community networks;
(3) of the specific measures put in place by the Government to ensure that the Support Fund and the charitable institutions maintain a high level of transparency in using the donations raised for the fire disaster at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, including whether it will require the Support Fund and the charitable institutions to regularly disclose to the public the progress and effectiveness of their efforts in using the donations, so as to maintain public trust; and
(4) regarding the donation of $100 million pledged by the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited, whether the Government has formulated specific plans for using such donation, including the criteria for fund allocation, allocation priority and mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness of fund usage, as well as whether it will establish a dedicated supervisory committee to ensure proper use of the donation?
Reply:
President,
Having consulted the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB), the reply to Professor the Hon Priscilla Leung’s question is as follows:
The Government notes that various organisations in the community have proactively offered different forms of support to persons affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Among them, the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited indicated earlier that upon completion of the relevant procedures, it will provide an initial donation of $100 million to support the rebuilding work. It is understood that the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited has yet to make a final decision on the use of the donation, and the relevant procedures are still in progress. In addition, on January 6 this year, the Lands Tribunal handed down a ruling on the Government’s application made under section 31 of the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) (BMO), formally approving the dissolution of the incumbent management committee of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation, and appointed Hop On Management Company Limited under the Chinachem Group as the administrator of the estate. The administrator will not charge any fees for this appointment. Meanwhile, the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited has pledged to donate a further $10 million to cover the administrator’s day-to-day operational expenses and the cost of engaging professional services.
The Government understands that charitable organisations will formulate and implement different support services having regard to their operational circumstances and objectives. These organisations will also monitor the implementation of their projects according to their own management mechanisms. To facilitate the implementation of these support services, the LWB has earlier liaised with some major charitable organisations so that they may, where necessary, make good use of the “one social worker per household” arrangement to render assistance to affected persons.
In addition to the support launched by different organisations on their own initiative, the Government understands that members of the public and organisations also wish to make donations. Under the instruction of the Chief Executive, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) set up the the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po (Support Fund) on November 27, 2025 to provide assistance to affected persons and support relevant works, helping them address the difficulties that they faced and support their long-term needs. The Government has injected a start-up capital of $300 million into the Support Fund, and donations from individuals and private organisations are accepted, making it a fund contributed by the community as a whole. As of January 26, 2026, the total amount of the Support Fund has reached $4.5 billion.
The work of the Support Fund is overseen by the Steering Committee on the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, convened by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration. The Committee advises on matters relating to the operation of the fund, as well as supervises and monitors the establishment and implementation of support measures thereunder. Since the establishment of the Support Fund, the HYAB, in collaboration with other relevant policy bureaux, has been closely monitoring the needs of the residents, examining different proposals, and rolling out various support measures as appropriate. Most measures are disbursed through the Social Welfare Department (SWD)’s “one social worker per household” arrangement to minimise administrative procedures and facilitate prompt distribution of funds to residents. To date, the Support Fund has rolled out 11 financial support services covering three main areas, with a total financial commitment of approximately $1.2 billion, accounting for around 30 per cent of the total amount of the Support Fund. The Support Fund’s account will be submitted to the Director of Audit for audit pursuant to the relevant statutory requirements, and the Support Fund’s report will also be tabled to the Legislative Council. Issued at HKT 12:12
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (Toronto ETO) reaffirmed Hong Kong’s unique role as a global business gateway at the 12th Transpacific Entrepreneurial Conference, held on January 28 (Hong Kong time).
The Conference, themed “TransPacific Economic Diversification: New Investment Opportunities”, was held in a hybrid format connecting Hong Kong, Canada, and Asia, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders to explore emerging trade and investment prospects between Asia and Canada. The annual Conference is a signature initiative of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, jointly presented with the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association and supported by Toronto ETO and Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK).
In his opening speech, the Director of the Toronto ETO, Mr Bill Wong, described Hong Kong as a “super-connector” and “super value-adder”, highlighting the city’s distinct advantages under the “one country, two systems” principle. These include its highly internationalised business environment, world-class professional services, common law system aligned with international practices, and simple and competitive tax regime, all of which position Hong Kong as a natural bridge between the Chinese Mainland and global markets.
Mr Wong noted that, despite global trade challenges, during the first 11 months of 2025, Hong Kong’s exports and imports of goods both grew by over 14 per cent. Hong Kong also reclaimed its position as the world’s leading initial public offering venue, raising approximately US$35 billion, contributing to a year of economic growth expected to reach 3.2 per cent.
He also pointed out that Hong Kong’s competitiveness continues to receive strong international recognition. In 2025, Hong Kong was ranked the world’s freest economy by the Canadian-based Fraser Institute, third globally in terms of competitiveness, as well as among the global financial centres.
Looking ahead, Mr Wong highlighted initiatives announced in the latest Policy Address to further strengthen Hong Kong’s role as a “super-connector”. These include the establishment of a new task force to support Mainland enterprises in expanding overseas through Hong Kong and the launch of the “Economic and Trade Express” platform, which brings together the efforts of the overseas Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, InvestHK and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council to assist overseas companies in accessing Asian and Chinese Mainland markets via Hong Kong.
As Hong Kong will help create more opportunities for businesses, he encouraged Canadian and international entrepreneurs to leverage the strengths of Hong Kong as a dynamic platform for growth, innovation, and transpacific economic diversification.
The 12th Transpacific Entrepreneurial Conference included six panel discussions with over 30 speakers from leading companies in different sectors. The Deputy Head of Investment Promotion of InvestHK Toronto Office, Ms Grace Lau, shared insights at the panel themed “Diversified Entrepreneurs – New Investment Opportunities”.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (January 28) that in view of a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Békés County in Hungary, and a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Chiba Prefecture in Japan, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the above-mentioned areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.
A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with Hungary for the import of poultry meat but not for poultry eggs. According to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 110 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Hungary, and about 1 540 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 219.73 million poultry eggs from Japan in the first nine months of last year.
“The CFS has contacted the Hungarian and Japanese authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the World Organisation for Animal Health and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” the spokesman said.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yung and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Ms Lillian Cheong, in the Legislative Council today (January 28):
Question:
Regarding the planning and development of the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (the Hong Kong Park), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the sectoral distribution, as well as the current and the target future proportions, of the local, overseas and Mainland enterprises that have settled in the Hong Kong Park at present; the investment attraction targets and specific measures formulated by the Hong Kong Park for attracting leading enterprises in pillar industries (such as life and health technology and artificial intelligence) in the coming six months;
(2) of the specific progress in constructing supporting infrastructure facilities (such as transport, commercial and medical facilities) within the Hong Kong Park at present; whether such facilities can meet the needs of the enterprises and talents that have settled there; if not, how the authorities will optimize the facilities to enhance the Park’s attractiveness to enterprises and talents; and
(3) of the specific construction schedule for the Western Cross-River Link Bridge Project connecting the Hong Kong Park and the Shenzhen Park; given that the Government has indicated that “contactless clearance” (i.e. a clearance process that directly uses facial recognition technology to verify users’ identities without requiring the presentation of identification documents) will be implemented at the Bridge to facilitate the flow of people between the two places, of the progress of the development of the relevant facilities and the expected date for commencement of operation?
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is a question by the Hon Leung Man-kwong and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (January 28):
Question:
The Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) seeks to enhance the mechanism for labour importation and, on the premise of ensuring employment priority for local workers, alleviate the manpower shortage across different sectors. However, it is learnt that various sectors of the society are concerned about ESLS’s impact on the employment of local workers, especially those in industries with relatively high unemployment rates such as the retail industry and the food and beverage services industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ18: Construction safety for building maintenance works Having consulted the HB, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, and the Labour and Welfare Bureau, our consolidated reply to various parts of the question is as follows: In the past three years, the number of paper audits and site inspections conducted by the departments responsible for carrying out regulatory actions under the BO (namely the BD and ICU of the HB) in respect of the aforementioned building repair works are set out in tables 1 to 3 by repair works under MBIS and other minor works respectively. Due to time limitation, statistics on follow-up action related to the stated paper audits and site inspections have not yet been compiled.
Table 1: Relevant figures concerning cases that have completed the phase of building inspection under MBIS
YearTable 2: Relevant figures concerning cases that have completed building repair works under MBIS
YearTable 3: Other relevant figures on minor works that involve repair of external wall
Year Furthermore, in the past year, the relevant regulatory departments (namely the BD and ICU of the HB) conducted a total of about 370 on-site inspections on buildings undergoing repair works in response to public reports received.
The statistics on the prosecution and disciplinary actions taken under the relevant provisions of the BO against registered building professionals and registered contractors over the past three years that involved building repair works are tabulated below:
Year(2) From 2023 to 2025 (as of June), the Home Affairs Department (HAD) received 265, 408 and 102 complaints respectively concerning building management, totalling 775 cases. The HAD, BD and ICU of the HB do not maintain a breakdown of statistics on complaints involving works consultants of major building repair projects.
If contravention of the BO by registered building professionals and registered contractors is identified, the BD will initiate prosecution against the parties concerned based on the evidence and circumstances of individual cases. Registered building professionals or registered contractors involved in misconduct or negligence may also be subject to disciplinary action.
In early 2025, the Development Bureau proposed legislative amendments to the BO, amongst which it was proposed to enhance regulation of registered building professionals and registered contractors, including increasing maximum penalties against contraventions and enhancing the registration and disciplinary systems. Subsequent to the fire incident at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, we will introduce further legislative proposals, including upgrading major building repair works from mostly Class II minor works at present to Class I minor works, such that third-party professionals will be required to submit prescribed plans and supervision plans. Furthermore, the BD will step up audit checks and enforcement actions on a risk basis.
The HAD and its District Offices have been assisting owners of private buildings in handling issues related to building management and maintenance. When enquiries or complaints regarding building management or maintenance are received, the HAD will provide appropriate advice and assistance in the accordance with the relevant provisions of the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344). If the subject matter involves professional aspect, such as supervision of works consultants, the HAD will refer the case to relevant professional department or institute for follow-up.
(3) Under the existing legislation, owners are required to appoint a RI to carry out mandatory building inspection and supervise prescribed repair works conducted by a registered contractor. The appointed RI assumes certain statutory duties, including submission of certificate of building inspection and certificate of building repair. In respect of the properties regulated by the ICU of the HB under the BO based on the authorisation by the Director of Buildings, its Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme Team will carry out paper audits and site inspections on a random basis, and conduct follow-up investigation in light of complaints and reports received. The LD will from time to time review and revise, if necessary, the existing codes of practice and guidance notes on a risk-based approach. The LD administers occupational safety and health legislation to safeguard the occupational safety and health of employees at work. The aforesaid requirements on protective materials such as scaffolding nets can also help safeguard the safety of employees. Besides, the LD is reviewing codes of practice related to scaffolding, setting out the material requirements for toe boards to ensure the materials used are of sufficient strength to prevent workers and objects from falling from scaffolds, as well as being able to reduce the fire risk. Issued at HKT 15:12
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ11: Cases involving nuisance caused to neighbours by residents of public housing estates Question:
It is learnt that although the Housing Department (HD) has implemented a series of measures to handle cases where residents of public rental housing (PRH) estates cause nuisance to neighbours, the number of related complaints has not decreased significantly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the names of the 10 PRH estates with the highest number of complaints received by the HD over the past year involving nuisance caused to neighbours, and the number of complaints received for each of these estates;
(2) of the number of complaints received by the HD in the past three years involving nuisance caused to neighbours by PRH residents, with a breakdown by nature of complaints (e.g. noise nuisance, hygienic nuisance created by accumulating a large quantity of refuse or waste inside the premises, and water dripping from air conditioners);
(3) of the average time taken by the HD to handle complaints mentioned in (2) and the number of residents with their tenancies terminated due to nuisance caused to neighbours in such cases; and
(4) given that residents who have purchased flats in Tenants Purchase Scheme estates are no longer PRH tenants and are therefore not subject to the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement, how the HD will co-ordinate with owners’ corporations and property management companies to handle nuisance complaints involving residents of such flats?
Reply:
President,
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) is committed to fostering a harmonious and hygienic living environment for public rental housing (PRH) residents. To effectively address tenants’ certain inappropriate behaviour and promote care for their surroundings, we have implemented the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement (the Scheme) which is applicable to both PRH and interim housing tenants. The Scheme covers 30 categories of misdeeds, each of which carries 3, 5, 7 or 15 penalty points depending on the severity of the misdeeds. Details of the misdeeds are set out in Annex 1. The purpose of the Scheme is to raise tenants’ awareness for making improvements, rather than forcing them out of PRHs. Therefore, taking into account “law, reason and compassion” and with a view to offering tenants an opportunity to rectify undesirable habits, the Scheme incorporates a warning mechanism. We will first issue a written warning to tenants who commit certain relevant misdeeds. Should a tenant repeat the same misdeed again within two years of receiving the written warning, penalty points will be allotted. When a PRH household accrues 16 points within two years, its tenancy will be terminated. During the five years following the tenancy termination, the former tenant and their adult household members will be barred from applying for PRH. After the period, even if they successfully apply for PRH, they will not be allocated a better unit in terms of location, age or floor levels compared to their previous PRH unit.
Upon receipt of complaints from PRH tenants regarding nuisance caused by neighbours, the Housing Department (HD) will immediately arrange staff to conduct an investigation and gather evidence through on-site inspections, interviews with relevant parties and/or taking photographs. Where the nuisance is confirmed as a misdeed under the Scheme, subject to the nature of the misdeed, the tenant will get warnings or have penalty points allotted by the HD under the Scheme. On serious misdeeds, the tenancy agreement will be terminated and the unit will be repossessed.
In response to the question raised by the Hon Kenneth Lau, our reply is as follows:
(1) Among the 197 PRH estates under the HKHA, the 10 PRH estates which received the highest number of nuisance enquiries and complaints in 2025 as well as the respective case numbers, are listed in Annex 2.
(2) and (3) Over the past three years (2023 to 2025), the HD received around 19 000 complaints concerning PRH tenants causing nuisance to neighbours. On average, there were around 6 300 cases per year, accounting for only 0.3 per cent of the total PRH population of approximately 2.1 million. Upon receipt of enquiries and complaints to the completion of handling, over one-third of the cases were resolved within 10 days, with the average processing time amounting to around 13 days. During the same period, 11 tenancy agreements were terminated due to breaches of nuisance-related misdeeds and tenancy agreement. The breakdown of cases by category of misdeeds is provided in Annex 3.
(4) As for estates where units are available for purchase including estates under the Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS), the management of these estates is no different from that of general private properties as governed by the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) and the government leases as well as the Deed of Mutual Covenant. If property owners cause nuisance within their flats or in common areas, such as noise nuisance, accumulation of refuse within units, or water dripping from air conditioners, the owners’ corporation and its property management company may take follow-up actions by exercising its power conferred by relevant regulations/clauses. Where necessary, cases may be referred to other government departments (such as the Police and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) for enforcement. Should the HKHA or the HD receives public complaints regarding nuisances in common areas, the cases will be relayed to the owners’ corporation and its property management company for follow-up.
To enhance the living environment in estates for sale, the HKHA’s Subsidised Housing Committee approved extending all misdeeds covered under the Scheme to tenants of estates under the TPS and the Buy-or-Rent Option. This measure came into effect on December 1, 2024. Should PRH tenants commit misdeeds covered by the Scheme in the common areas of the said estates, the owners’ corporation and its property management company may forward the relevant information and evidence to the HD for follow-up. Upon investigation and verification, the HD will take action according to the Scheme against the tenant, who will receive warnings or have penalty points allotted. In the event of serious cases, tenancy may be terminated with the unit repossessed.
As the owner of unsold flats in TPS estates, the HKHA will appoint representatives to serve as the management committee members of the owners’ corporations. HKHA’s representatives will provide professional advice on property management and share experience in the management of environmental hygiene and public safety. On environmental hygiene and management of public areas in the said estates, the HD will also disseminate relevant information from other government departments, such as the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Fire Services Department, to the owners’ corporations and property management companies. Where necessary, joint operations will be conducted with the owners’ corporations and property management companies to take enforcement actions against tenants’ misdeeds, thereby safeguarding the overall environment of the estates in joint hands. Issued at HKT 15:03
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ14: Handling scaffolding on external walls of buildings left unremoved for prolonged periods Question:
The fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po has aroused public concern regarding the safety hazards posed by some scaffolding on the external walls of residential buildings which has been left unremoved for prolonged periods. Furthermore, it has been reported that the owners’ corporation (OC) of a tenement building had a dispute with the building maintenance works consultant and contractor, resulting in the external wall scaffolding remaining erected for as long as two years. The Buildings Department (BD) has noted the potential risks posed by the scaffolding, and issued orders requiring its removal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Government earlier on issued orders requiring relevant contractors to remove scaffold nets on the external walls of buildings undergoing maintenance across Hong Kong, of the number of buildings involved in such orders, with a breakdown by the 18 districts across the territory; whether it has compiled statistics on how long the scaffolding of such buildings has been erected; if so, of the number of those which have been erected for more than two years;
(2) whether the relevant government departments currently require OCs or management companies of buildings which need to erect scaffolding for maintenance to declare information such as the duration for which the external wall scaffolding remains erected and the expected removal date; if so, of the number of external wall scaffoldings which have remained erected for more than two years without being removed, with a breakdown by the 18 districts across the territory; if not, whether the authorities will consider requiring relevant persons to submit such information;
(3) given that according to the information provided in the authorities’ reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2025-2026, as of 2024, among the Category 1 and Category 2 buildings covered by “Operation Building Bright 2.0”, the percentages of those having completed the prescribed repair works were only 12.6 per cent and 35.6 per cent respectively, whether the Government has examined how many of the buildings which have not yet completed the repair works currently still have external wall scaffolding erected, with a breakdown by Category 1 and Category 2 buildings;
(4) whether it has ascertained the reasons for the delayed removal of scaffolding that has been erected on the external walls of buildings for prolonged periods; if so, of the details; regarding those buildings with scaffolding that cannot be removed due to delay in maintenance works, whether the Government will provide appropriate assistance to OCs and property owners that have difficulties, so that they can expedite the completion of the works and the removal of scaffolding;
(5) of the circumstances where the BD will serve orders on OCs or property owners requiring the removal of scaffolding on the external walls of buildings; of the number of the relevant orders issued by the BD over the past five years and the number of instances in compliance with such orders; how the Government will deal with parties that fail to comply with such orders (including those OCs and property owners that cannot afford the removal costs); and
(6) of the number of cases where the BD removed the scaffolding on the external walls of buildings on behalf of property owners or OCs over the past five years; among such cases, of the number of cases where the Government successfully recovered the removal costs from the relevant property owners or OCs?
Reply:
President,
Our reply to various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) and (2) The Government announced on December 3, 2025 that for all buildings undergoing major repair works with scaffolding nets installed on their external walls, such nets must be removed and works on the external walls be ceased. After the Buildings Department (BD) required net removal and issued the relevant orders to cease works, scaffolding nets of a total of 230 private buildings were removed. The breakdown by District Council (DC) district is tabulated below:
DC districts Currently, temporary scaffolding erected for carrying out works does not require approval from the BD. Therefore, the BD does not maintain statistics on the duration of scaffoldings erected. Generally speaking, scaffolding should be removed upon completion of works involving external walls. According to the records received by the BD on commencement of works, it is believed that among the aforementioned 230 buildings, only six buildings had scaffoldings erected for more than two years, which were located in Central and Western, Eastern, Sham Shui Po, Tuen Mun and Wan Chai districts.
(3) As at the end of 2025, the ratio of Category 1 buildings and Category 2 buildings under the “Operation Building Bright 2.0” as mentioned in the question with repair works completed (Note 1) rose to 13.2 per cent (277 buildings) and 40 per cent (892 buildings) respectively. The remaining 1 822 Category 1 buildings and 1 354 Category 2 buildings are at different stages of building inspection or building works. According to the information available to the BD in November last year, only 46 Category 1 buildings and 236 Category 2 buildings among those buildings had scaffolding erected on their external walls.
(4) Scaffolding should be removed upon completion of works involving external walls and generally should not remain erected for years. The actual timing for scaffolding removal is subject to various factors, such as changes in the scale and scope of works, or other unforeseen circumstances (such as inclement weather), which may lead to delay in scaffolding removal. Moreover, contractual issues related to the works, such as disputes over works progress or costs, may also lead to delay in scaffolding removal.
The Development Bureau, in collaboration with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, is partnering with relevant statutory bodies and professional organisations to provide professional advice to Owners’ Corporations and owners in need on building maintenance matters, such as issues related to works contracts and tendering, as well as property and facility management, through preparation of information packages, district seminars and more.
(5) and (6) If scaffolding erected on the exterior of a private building is found to be dangerous or likely to become dangerous, the BD may issue an order under section 26 of the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123) requiring owner to remove the scaffolding. Based on experience, this mostly involves weather conditions that render scaffolding unsafe.
If the owner fails to remove scaffolding within the specified time frame, the BD may consider applying the provisions of the BO to carry out works specified in the order. Upon completion of works, the BD will recover relevant costs of the works, supervision charges, and surcharges from the owner. If the owner fails to make payment within the specified period after the BD issues an invoice, the BD will issue a certificate of arrears and register it at the Land Registry, constituting a first charge on the premises. Interests of the outstanding amount will be calculated at 10 per cent per annum to protect the Government’s right to recover the costs. For owners who fail to comply with order without reasonable excuse, the BD will consider taking prosecution action.
The numbers of orders issued by the BD concerning scaffolding, orders complied with, and default works completed in the past five years are tabulated below:
YearNote 1: There are two categories of buildings under the “Operation Building Bright 2.0” (OBB 2.0). Category 1 buildings are those with owners who are prepared to take up the organisation of inspection and repair works for their buildings under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS). Owners of eligible buildings may apply to the Urban Renewal Authority within the specified time frame. Category 2 buildings are those with outstanding MBIS notices and the owners concerned have difficulties in co-ordinating the requisite inspection and repair works. The BD proactively selects Category 2 buildings on a risk basis (i.e. not upon application by owners) and exercises its statutory power to carry out the requisite inspection and repair works in default of owners, and seeks to recover the cost from owners concerned afterwards. Eligible owners of Category 2 buildings may claim subsidies under the OBB 2.0 to cover all or part of such cost.
Note 2: The number of orders complied with or the number of completed default works does not necessarily correspond to the orders issued in the same year.
For cases with default works completed, the BD is currently following up on the recovery of the relevant costs. Issued at HKT 19:11