LCQ19: Appointed government representatives of professional bodies
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     Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, to a question by the Hon Paul Chan in the Legislative Council today (March 21):

Question:

     Regarding the appointment of government representatives to serve on the councils or boards of some professional bodies with a view to enhancing the transparency of their operation, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the current number and names of professional bodies the councils or boards of which comprise appointed government representatives; the ordinances based on which the Government decides from which of the policy bureaux or government departments the representative to serve on the councils or boards of these professional bodies are to be appointed as well as on the ranks and numbers of such government representatives;

(b) of the attendance rates of appointed government representatives at the council or board meetings of the professional bodies mentioned in (a) in the past five years; whether the authorities have assessed their performance in the capacity as appointed government representatives; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(c) whether it has regularly reviewed the effectiveness of the arrangement of appointing government representatives in enhancing the transparency of the operation of the professional bodies, and reviewed if such arrangement can serve other purposes; if it has, of the details and findings of the reviews; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     According to the information provided by various Bureaux, there are 16 professional bodies whose governing councils/boards comprise appointed government representatives.  The Annex gives the names of the professional bodies in question, the relevant legislation where appropriate, the number of government representatives involved, their post titles and attendance rates.

     According to the relevant Bureaux, generally speaking, their representatives work together with other members on the councils/boards to help guide the professional bodies in discharging the relevant statutory and other related functions.  The reports provided by the representatives help the relevant Bureaux/Departments keep an overview of matters related to the development of the respective professions.  The government representatives also offer advice to the professional bodies from the perspectives of government policies, thereby enabling the professional bodies to give due regard to the wide public interests in the pursuit of their functions.  The tasks mentioned above form part of the daily work of the public officers concerned.  Their performance is assessed through the established appraisal system.

Ends/Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Issued at HKT 14:37

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