*****************************************************************

Following is a question by Hon Leung Fu-wah and a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council today (January 14):

Question:

Under the new arrangement which has come into operation since 2000, employers who have obtained special permission from the Immigration Department (ImmD) may instruct their foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) to perform motor driving duties incidental to domestic duties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a) the number of applications from employers that ImmD received, the number of applications it approved and the percentage of this number in the annual average number of FDHs, as well as the number of rejected cases and the reasons for rejection, in each year from 2000 to 2003;

(b) the mechanism and criteria adopted by ImmD in vetting these applications, and whether it has carried out a comprehensive review on the vetting mechanism and the criteria, as well as on their effectiveness; if it has, of the outcome; if not, whether it will do so; and

(c) the monitoring measures adopted by ImmD against employers who instruct their FDHs to perform motor driving duties not incidental to domestic duties; and of the total number of such cases found since the implementation of the arrangement and how they have been handled?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) The figures requested in relation to applications for special permission for FDHs to perform driving duties from January 2000 to December 2003 are set out below:

1	There are two categories of applications, viz. fresh applications submitted together with applications for entry visa, and applications submitted together with applications for contract renewal or change of employer.
2	Applications pending approval at the end of a year will be processed in the following year.
3	Applications not broken down into the two categories stated above.
4	( ) denotes the approved cases as a percentage of the FDH population at the end of a year.
5	Including applications withdrawn by applicants and where applicants did not provide sufficient information.

Reasons for rejection include failure of employers to justify their genuine needs for FDHs, or for FDHs to perform driving duties incidental to and arising from domestic duties; or the possession of adverse records by FDHs. In 2002, ImmD started to compile separate records of two categories of applications, and the figures indicate that over 96% of approvals relate to applications arising from contract renewal or change of employer, rather than fresh applications. This reflects that the number of FDHs with special permission to perform driving duties has remained steady. As a standard employment contract for FDHs covers a duration of two years, the actual number of FDHs currently holding valid permission to perform driving duties should be far below the total number of approvals given. As at the end of 2003, it is estimated that there should currently be no more than 2 050 FDHs holding valid permission to perform driving duties.

(b) As regards the vetting mechanism, ImmD will consider each application on its own merits, having regard to the following general requirements:

(i) the employer must give full justifications for the need for, and specific details of, driving service to be provided by his/her FDH incidental to and arising from any of the five broad categories of domestic duties, namely household chores; cooking; looking after aged persons in the household; baby-sitting; and child-minding;

(ii) the employer must state the ownership, description and registration number of the vehicle to be driven by his/her FDH. The vehicle concerned should be either a family saloon car or a mini-van of no more than eight seats. It must be registered under the name of the employer or his/her spouse. If it is registered under the name of a company, the employer should provide a certificate from the company to the effect that the vehicle is provided for the personal and family use of the person concerned;

(iii) the FDH must be a live-in helper;

(iv) the FDH must possess a valid Hong Kong driving licence. An international driving licence will not be acceptable; and

(v) the employer and the FDH must sign on the application form to the effect that both parties agree to and abide by the proposed driving duties.

Under the special arrangement, an employer and his/her FDH must provide sufficient justifications and specific details in the application form. They must also complete and sign an addendum setting out the arrangements for accommodation and domestic duties. Upon approval of the application, the Addendum will be attached to the Schedule of Accommodation and Domestic Duties in the employment contract and form a part of the contract.

The SAR Government has been closely monitoring the social situation and the vetting results in order to ensure that the special arrangement meets the needs of stakeholders. As the existing mechanism has been running smoothly, there is no plan to revise it at this stage. We will review the vetting mechanism from time to time in line with social developments.

(c) To ensure that the special permission to perform driving duties is not abused, the Task Force of ImmD (the Task Force) conducts ad hoc field operations as and when necessary. We believe this achieves some deterrent effects. Complaints made to ImmD are also followed up by the Task Force. Since January 2000, ImmD has investigated a total of 14 cases involving suspected abuses. There was insufficient evidence to support a charge of breach of condition of stay in 12 of these cases. The remaining two are still under investigation.

FDHs found contravening the ban or conditions of the special permission are liable to prosecution under the Immigration Ordinance. Employers found aiding and abetting FDHs to breach conditions of stay also commit an offence. Upon conviction, the maximum penalty is a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for two years.

Ends/Wednesday, January 14, 2004

NNNN