Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hoi-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (April 16):
 
Question:
 
     It is learnt that new public toilets built by the Government generally adhere to the requirements of the Buildings Department's "Design Manual: Barrier Free Access 2008" and include accessible toilets. However, some wheelchair users have relayed that some of these toilets are not equipped with power-operated doors and significant physical strength are required to open the doors, thereby causing inconvenience to users. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective numbers of public toilets and accessible toilets currently managed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and, among them, the number of accessible toilets equipped with power-operated doors;
 
(2) of the expenditures/estimates involved for constructing public toilets (including modification and refurbishment works) by various government departments in the past year and the coming year;
 
(3) of the Government's specific considerations in respect of the installation of power-operated doors in accessible toilets, and the average cost of installing each power-operated door;
 
(4) whether the Government will increase the number of accessible toilets equipped with power-operated doors; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(5) of the following information on the accessible toilets managed by various government departments which have been suspended due to repair or other reasons in the past three years: the names and addresses of the public toilets in which they are located, and the total number of days suspended;
 
(6) of the respective average daily usage of various public toilets of the Government that have been installed with the Smart Public Toilet System and the accessible toilets in these public toilets in the past three years; and
 
(7) of the number of complaints received by various government departments about the use of accessible toilets in public toilets under their management in the past three years, as well as the major subject matters of such complaints; whether the Government has formulated clear guidelines and provided relevant training for frontline cleaning staff to improve the management of these public toilets; if so, of the details of the relevant training (including the training contents as well as the number of training and participants); if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Government is committed to providing a barrier-free environment for persons with disabilities, so as to enable them to have a barrier-free access to premises and make use of the facilities and services on an equal basis with others, thereby enabling them to live independently and fully integrate into the community.
 
     At present, the provision of accessible toilets is a statutory requirement under the Third Schedule to Regulation 72 of the Building (Planning) Regulations (Cap. 123F), while the provision of power-operated doors for accessible toilets is a recommended best practice under Division 11 of Chapter 4 of the Design Manual: Barrier Free Access 2008 (2024 edition) (Design Manual). The Buildings Department commissioned a consultant in February 2024 to review the Design Manual (including the design requirements for accessible toilets) with the objective of enhancing the standards of barrier-free facilities in private buildings by integrating universal design concepts to meet the latest needs and international trends, and ensuring that the standards are feasible and pragmatic for implementation in the local context. The consultancy study is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
 
     The Government does not maintain a consolidated list of public toilets and accessible toilets managed by various bureaux and departments. That said, the vast majority of public toilets and toilet facilities (including accessible toilets) provided for public use in public venues are managed by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the Home Affairs Department (HAD) and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD). Having consulted the relevant bureaux/departments, I set out below a consolidated reply to the Member's question:
 
(1) At present, the numbers of public toilets, accessible toilets and the latter equipped with power-operated doors managed by the AFCD and the FEHD are as follows:
 

Department	Number of public toilets under its management	Number of public toilets with accessible toilets (number of those equipped with power-operated doors)
AFCD	64	54 (0)
FEHD	812	402 (7)

     The LCSD also provides about 1 100 toilets in its leisure, sports and cultural facilities for use by service users. The vast majority of which are furnished with accessible toilets, and among these accessible toilets, about 40 are equipped with power-operated doors.
 
(2) The expenditure and estimates of the construction of public toilets (including conversion and refurbishment projects) under the AFCD and the FEHD in 2024-25 and 2025-26 are as follows:
 

Department	Expenditure on the construction of public toilets (including conversion and refurbishment projects) ($ million)
	2024-25 (Revised estimate)	2025-26 (Estimate)
AFCD	20.35	83.00
FEHD	88.81	173.77

     When developing new or renovating existing leisure, sports and cultural facilities, the LCSD will provide barrier-free ancillary facilities as appropriate, including accessible toilets. The relevant construction costs are part of the overall project estimates, and the LCSD does not maintain breakdown figures.
 
(3) and (4) According to the Design Manual, the installation of power-operated doors in accessible toilets is a recommended best practice rather than a mandatory requirement. That said, it is the established policy of the Government to follow the recommended best practices in the Design Manual, and where practicable, achieve a higher standard than the statutory requirements in the provision of barrier-free facilities. When considering whether to install power-operated doors in accessible toilets, the departments concerned will take into account a basket of factors, including the usage rate of public toilets, power supply and whether the physical environment (such as location in the suburbs) allows stable operation of power-operated doors. The departments concerned will continue to timely review the usage of accessible toilets and the needs of users, and install power-operated doors in accessible toilets as appropriate. In general, the existing cost of installing each power-operated door is about $50,000 to $60,000.
 
(5) Information on the accessible toilets managed by the AFCD, the FEHD and the HAD that had been temporarily suspended for maintenance in the past three years are at Annexes 1 to 3 respectively.

     Regarding the accessible toilets provided by the LCSD in its leisure, sports and cultural facilities, being part of the facilities/venues, they will not be available for use when the facilities/venues concerned are undergoing repair, renovation and maintenance, etc. The LCSD does not maintain information on the temporary suspension of accessible toilets due to maintenance.
 
(6) The average daily usage of public toilets installed with the Smart Public Toilet System and the accessible toilets in these public toilets managed by the FEHD in the past three years are at Annex 4.
 
​     Besides, the LCSD has also installed smart systems in the toilets provided in its leisure, sports and cultural facilities, of which seven are located in Kowloon Park and two in Tsuen Wan Sports Centre and Hong Kong Cultural Centre respectively. The LCSD does not maintain information on the average daily usage of these toilets.

(7) In the past three years, the number of complaints about accessible toilets received by the AFCD, the FEHD, the HAD and the LCSD are as follows:
 

Department	Number of complaints about accessible toilets received between 2022 and 2024
AFCD	About 20
FEHD	About 480
HAD	2
LCSD	About 10

     The complaints were mainly about damaged facilities, insufficient facilities, cleanliness, etc. The departments concerned will follow up the complaints and urge cleansing service contractors to deliver the services, and arrange and provide relevant training for their frontline cleansing staff in accordance with the contractual requirements (including the level of cleanliness and service frequency). Site inspections and surprise checks will also be conducted by the departments concerned from time to time to better monitor the contractors' service performance and ensure service quality. Besides, the FEHD has added new clauses in the dedicated contract for cleansing and management services for public toilets, requiring contractors' toilet attendants to have received relevant vocational training and possess recognised qualifications.

Ends/Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:25

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