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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kenneth Chan Ka-lok and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (April 16):
Question:
The Lands Department (LandsD) has been implementing the "Management Scheme for the Display of Roadside Non-commercial Publicity Materials" (the Management Scheme) since 2003 to manage the display of non-commercial publicity materials on the roadside. Under the Management Scheme, LandsD allocates roadside designated spots to members of this Council and members of District Councils (DC members) for them to display non-commercial publicity materials, including banners. LandsD conducts regular operations jointly with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to remove publicity materials the display of which is unauthorised or non-compliant with the implementation guidelines, and decides whether to institute prosecutions against the persons concerned or merely recover the removal expenses from them, having regard to the circumstances of each case and the relevant law. Regarding the law enforcement actions taken in respect of the display of roadside non-commercial publicity materials and the number of the display spots concerned, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of cases in which the publicity materials displayed on the roadside by members of this Council or DC members were removed by the authorities in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the reason for removal; the number of such cases in which members of this Council or DC members were fined, as well as the total amount of the fines imposed;
(2) whether, according to the law enforcement procedures of LandsD, officers of LandsD are required, when they notice that the publicity materials displayed on the roadside by members of this Council or DC members have violated the requirements of the Management Scheme or that the publicity materials concerned have been damaged, to issue warnings and notices respectively to the members concerned before taking removal actions; if they are, of the details; if not, the justifications for that;
(3) whether the authorities will consider reviewing the law enforcement procedures in respect of the display of roadside non-commercial publicity materials; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether the authorities will consider amending the existing legislation relating to the regulation of the display of roadside non-commercial publicity materials and making available more roadside spots for members of this Council or DC members to display publicity materials for more effective dissemination of messages of public concern to members of the public; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Lands Department (LandsD) has implemented the Management Scheme for the Display of Roadside Non-commercial Publicity Materials (Management Scheme) since May 2003 to manage the display of non-commercial publicity materials (NCPMs) on the roadside, and made revisions to the Implementation Guidelines of the Management Scheme in August 2011. The NCPMs in question are usually displayed by members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and District Councils (DCs), DCs and their committees, as well as non-profit-making organisations for the purpose of promoting and publicising activities that are non-commercial in nature and of interest to the public, and disseminating information that is of general interest or use to the public.
For the purpose of implementing the Management Scheme, some officers in the LandsD are authorised by the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene (DFEH) to give permission for the display of roadside NCPMs under section 104A(1)(b) of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132). The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) conducts joint operations with the LandsD regularly, and removes those publicity materials that are verified by the LandsD as being unauthorised or non-compliant with the Implementation Guidelines under section 104C(1) of the above Ordinance and recover the removal costs from the parties concerned.
My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the member is set out below.
(1) In the past three years, the number of NCPMs that have been verified by the LandsD as being unauthorised or non-compliant with the Implementation Guidelines and removed by the FEHD during the joint operations (excluding those pertaining to the general elections of the LegCo and DCs); the number of demand notes issued in recovering the removal cost from the parties concerned; and the removal costs recovered are as follows :
Year 2011 2012 2013
Number of NCPMs ¡@ ¡@ 5 768 2 294 4 051
removed
Number of demand ¡@¡@¡@ 1 202 ¡@ 732 ¡@ 409
notes issued to recover
the removal cost
Removal costs ¡@ 384,527 243,367 ¡@ 130,369
recovered ($)
As regards the reasons for the removal, they include cases where the concerned NCPMs are displayed without permission or at locations other than the designated spots, or are loosened and may impede pedestrian and vehicular movements. The FEHD does not keep separate statistics on the number of NCPMs removed that belong to the members of LegCo or DCs and the reasons for removing the NCPMs, and the number of demand notes issued to the parties concerned to recover the removal cost and the removal cost recovered.
(2) Under the existing Management Scheme of the LandsD, if the display of any roadside NCPMs is identified by contractors of the LandsD to be unauthorised under the Management Scheme, non-compliant with the Management Scheme Implementation Guidelines (the Implementation Guidelines) and/or in breach of the conditions imposed by the District Lands Officers (DLOs) in relation to the permission for the display (including failure to securely fix the publicity materials), the LandsD will refer the case to the FEHD for follow-up actions. Under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), the DFEH may remove the unauthorised publicity materials without giving prior notice; institute prosecutions against the person(s) concerned; and recover from them the costs for removing the publicity materials.
(3) All along, the FEHD removes NCPMs that are unauthorised or non-compliant with the Implementation Guidelines through joint operations with the LandsD. During the operations, the LandsD is responsible for identifying and verifying those NCPMs that are unauthorised or non-compliant with the Implementation Guidelines. Removal actions will then be taken by the FEHD. The joint operations have been operating effectively so far. The FEHD and the LandsD will continue to take the concerned enforcement actions.
(4) The implementation of the Management Scheme is reviewed from time to time and revised where necessary. For example, as mentioned above, the Management Scheme was revised in 2011 to make the objectives and implementation guidelines clearer etc. In relation to the roadside spots, in identifying the suitable ones, the Distrcit Lands Offices will strive to strike a due balance between the provision of adequate designated spots on the one hand and such factors as traffic safety, amenity and local geographical environment on the other hand. Given these considerations, the number and location of designated spots available for users (including members of the LegCo and DCs) are accordingly limited.
Ends/Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:16
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