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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The controversies surrounding a number of Finance Committee discussion items arose because of insufficient consultation and preparation work done by the Administration and its inability to get an accurate grasp of public sentiment, said the Chairman of the Legislative Council Finance Committee (the Committee), Hon Emily Lau.
Reviewing the work of the Committee in the 2010-2011 session at an end-of-session media briefing today (July 19), Ms Lau said the Committee supported most of the Government's funding proposals.
"We say 'no' only when the Administration does not do a good job in preparation and consultation," she said, adding that the Administration should learn the lessons and improve consultation work in the future.
The total amount of funding proposals (excluding recurrent accounts) approved by the Committee during the session stands at $138.4 billion. Among them, the injection of $5 billion into the Community Care Fund, the hand-out of $6,000 to all Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card holders aged 18 or above, the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme, and the proposal of hosting the Asian Games in 2023 were some of the controversial items put to the Committee. The funding proposal of hosting the Asian Games in 2023 was even voted down by the Committee.
Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Professor Hon Patrick Lau Sau-shing, said that the heated debate at Committee meetings and the withdrawal and the voting down of some of the funding proposals showed that the Committee has discharged its duties diligently in monitoring Government expenditure.
The two Legislative Council members also expressed concern over the monitoring of proposals involving substantial amount of public expenditure and the setting up of independent Funds with large injection from the Government.
"The Finance Committee has asked the Administration to provide progress and financial reports to enhance transparency and enable monitoring by LegCo and the public," said Ms Lau. Relevant LegCo panels will follow up the implementation of these funding proposals.
The Administration was requested to provide discussion papers with sufficient information to the Committee five working days before the meetings. Any supplementary information should also be provided to members before the meeting to facilitate their deliberation. She said that the Administration has been able to provide all discussion papers on time this year.
During the current legislative session, the Committee held a total of 35 meetings, including 12 additional meetings, and eight special meetings for examination of the Estimates of Expenditure 2011-2012.
The Committee approved 52 items on public works and infrastructure projects involving an amount of over $41.5 billion. Major projects included: Shatin to Central Link- advance works of construction of railway and non-railway works ($7,703 million), the transformation of the former Police Married Quarters on Hollywood Road into a creative industries landmark ($560 million); and Happy Valley Underground Stormwater Storage Scheme ($1,065.8 million).
Ends/Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Issued at HKT 22:32
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