LCQ4: System for declaration of interests of Executive Council
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     Following is a question by the Hon Emily Lau and a written reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, in the Legislative Council today (February 12):

Question:

     According to the existing system of declaration of interests by Executive Council (ExCo) Members, where an ExCo Member has an interest in any item to be examined by ExCo, the Member is required to make such a declaration before the discussion by ExCo on the item. Based on the interest declared, the Chief Executive will decide whether the Member concerned may participate in or withdraw from the discussion of that item. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

(1) of the number of declarations of interests by ExCo Members in respect of the items examined by ExCo, the dates of the meetings concerned and the areas of the interests declared by them, since July 2012;

(2) of the number of withdrawal from ExCo meetings by ExCo Members, the dates of the meetings concerned and the areas of the conflict of interests in which they were involved, since July 2012; and

(3) whether they will consider regularly publishing, for public monitoring, detailed information on declarations of interests by ExCo Members and their withdrawal from meetings in respect of the items examined by ExCo, including the names of the ExCo Members and the interests involved; if they will, when this will be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     My consolidated reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:

     The Executive Council (ExCo) has adopted a rigorous system for declaration of interests. It is the personal responsibility of ExCo Members to examine whether they have an interest in any item discussed by the ExCo and declare it before the discussion. Based on the interests declared, the Chief Executive will assess whether ExCo Members concerned may have a potential or real conflict of interests in the item to be considered by the ExCo, and decide whether they can participate in or should withdraw from the discussion of that item. This is to ensure that unbiased and impartial advice is offered by ExCo Members. If the Chief Executive decides that the ExCo Members concerned should so withdraw, the relevant ExCo documents and minutes will be withheld from them. Details of the Members' declarations and withdrawal will be recorded in the minutes.

     Given the confidentiality system of the ExCo, we cannot list out the specific situations where Members have declared interests and withdrawn from discussions. Some direct and significant interests where declaration and withdrawal would be necessary are broadly set out below for reference:

(a) significant personal pecuniary interests which may be materially affected by the decision of the ExCo;

(b) ExCo Members' directorships, partnerships or advisory positions in companies which may be materially affected by the decision of the ExCo;

(c) that an ExCo Member, in his professional capacity, has advised or represented any person or body in connection with the item to be discussed; and

(d) other close or substantial interests, which if known publicly will lead reasonable members of the public to think that an ExCo Member's advice may have been motivated by personal interests or involvement rather than by the duty to give impartial advice.

     The Independent Review Committee for the Prevention and Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interests appointed by the former Chief Executive and chaired by the former Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Andrew Li Kwok-nang, recommended in its report released in mid-2012 that the Chief Executive in Council should publish annual statistics of the number of occasions on which one or more Members withdrew from its decision-making process due to conflict of interest. Following this recommendation, we have been releasing on annual basis the statistics on withdrawal of Members from discussions at ExCo meetings due to conflict of interest on the ExCo website.

     The current term of ExCo has held 73 meetings with 382 items discussed from July 1, 2012 to January 28, 2014. Among them, there were 105 items where one or more Members withdrew from discussions due to conflict of interest. The total number of withdrawal was 269.

Ends/Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:45

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