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LCQ3: Appointments to advisory and statutory bodies
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     Following is a question by the Hon Wong Yuk-man and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (November 12):

Question:

     Regarding the appointment of members to the Independent Police Complaints Council and the Minimum Wage Commission, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the basis and reasons for the authorities giving only a simple account of the justifications for appointing the chairmen but not any justifications for appointing the other members to the aforesaid Council and Commission in the press releases announcing their appointments;

(2) when the authorities were considering whether or not to re-appoint individual members of the aforesaid Council and Commission, which government departments were responsible for evaluating the past performance of the members concerned in the Council and Commission, and of the specific indicators based on which they conducted such evaluations; and

(3) whether the authorities will make public the candidates who had been considered but were eventually not appointed to the aforesaid Council and Commission; if they will not, of the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) is a statutory body set up under the Independent Police Complaints Council Ordinance (IPCCO) (Chapter 604 of the Laws of Hong Kong). Comprising members from different sectors of the community, IPCC's main responsibility is to monitor and review the handling and investigation of reportable complaints by the Complaints Against Police Office, and, at the same time, make recommendations on the handling and investigation of such complaints as well as Police practices or procedures that have led to or might lead to reportable complaints.

     As regards the Minimum Wage Commission (MWC), it is a statutory body established under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO) (Chapter 608 of the Laws of Hong Kong). Comprising a Chairperson and not more than 12 members drawn from the labour sector, the business sector, the academia and the Government, its main function is to report to the Chief Executive (CE) in Council its recommendation on the Statutory Minimum Wage rate.

     My reply to the question raised by the Hon Wong Yuk-man is as follows:

(1) and (2) The Government has all along made appointments of non-official members to advisory and statutory bodies (ASBs) on the basis of the merit of the individuals concerned. When appointing a member to serve on an ASB, the relevant bureau or department takes into account the candidate's ability, expertise, experience, integrity and commitment to public service, with due regard to the functions and nature of business of the ASB as well as the relevant statutory provisions for the statutory body.

     Appointment of IPCC members is made under IPCCO and the composition of IPCC is stipulated in section 5 thereof. As laid down in that section, IPCC consists of a Chairman, three Vice-Chairmen and not less than eight other members appointed by CE. It is also stipulated in section 5 that neither a person who holds an office of emolument, whether permanent or temporary, in a Government bureau or department nor a person who was a member of the police force is eligible for appointment.

     For MWC, appointment of members is made in accordance with the provisions of MWO. According to section 11 of MWO, MWC consists of not more than three members having knowledge or experience relating to the labour sector; not more than three members having knowledge or experience relating to the business sector; not more than three members having knowledge or experience in a relevant academic field; and not more than three other members who are public officers.

     The Security Bureau is responsible for coordinating appointment of members to IPCC, whereas the Labour and Welfare Bureau and Labour Department coordinate appointments to MWC. In appointing members to IPCC and MWC, the Government has acted in accordance with the requirements of IPCCO and MWO respectively, observed the principle of appointment on the basis of the merit of the individuals concerned, and made reference to the relevant Government guidelines on appointing non-official members to ASBs. The press releases on appointments to IPCC and MWC provided appropriate information in line with the general practice of issuing relevant press releases on ASBs of the Government.

(3) The Government has appointed suitable persons to serve as members of IPCC and MWC to meet their respective needs.  Whether a candidate would eventually be appointed is subject to various factors. In accordance with the Government's established practice applicable to appointment to ASBs, information relating to any candidate who is not appointed will not be made public.

     In respect of appointment to ASBs by the Government, we are of the view that it is not appropriate to make public information on those individual candidates who have been considered, but not appointed as this may not only involve the privacy of and bring embarrassment to the persons concerned but also add to the difficulties of the Government in encouraging members of the public to join ASBs.

Ends/Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Issued at HKT 13:48

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