LCQ7: Safety of building works
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Question:
The Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) regulates building contractors registered under the Ordinance (registered contractors) to ensure the safety of building works. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that under section 13(1) of Cap. 123, the Buildings Department (BD) can refer convicted cases involving building works by registered contractors to the Registered Contractors' Disciplinary Board (Disciplinary Board) for its consideration of taking disciplinary actions against the contractors, of the number of convicted cases, which involved injuries and deaths at the sites of the building works, referred by the BD to the Disciplinary Board for follow-up in each of the past 10 years and this year to date; among such referral cases, of the following information on each of those cases where disciplinary proceedings were completed: (i) the date of incident, (ii) the nature of incident, (iii) the number of injuries and/or deaths involved, (iv) the name of the contractor involved, (v) the type of registration of the contractor involved, (vi) the date on which the court handed down its judgment, (vii) the penalties imposed by the court, (viii) the date on which the BD commenced examination of the case, (ix) the date on which the BD referred the case to the Disciplinary Board, (x) the date on which the Disciplinary Board commenced a hearing of disciplinary proceedings, (xi) the date on which the Disciplinary Board made its determination, and (xii) the penalties imposed by the Disciplinary Board (if applicable);
(2) given that the Government has established a referral mechanism for the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Development Bureau to refer cases of registered contractors with poor performance in public sector projects to the BD for disciplinary actions, of the number of referral cases received by the BD in each of the past 10 years and this year to date, and among such cases, the number of those involving poor performance in construction safety;
(3) in respect of the referral cases involving poor performance in construction safety mentioned in (2), of the criteria based on which the BD considers whether or not to take disciplinary actions against the contractors involved, and whether any indicator is set on the time required for handling such cases; the number of cases in which disciplinary actions were required upon the BD's consideration in each of the past 10 years and this year to date, as well as the longest, shortest and average time taken from the BD's receipt of such case referrals to its official commencement of disciplinary proceedings;
(4) given that the BD can institute criminal prosecutions against registered contractors for offences relating to building works under Cap. 123, of the number of cases in which the BD instituted prosecutions against registered contractors involving injuries and deaths at the sites of the building works in each of the past 10 years and this year to date; among such prosecution cases, the following information on each of the convicted cases: (i) the date of the incident, (ii) the nature of the incident, (iii) the number of injuries and/or deaths involved, (iv) the name of the contractor involved, (v) the type of registration of the contractor involved, (vi) the date on which the BD commenced its investigation, (vii) the date on which the BD instituted prosecution, (viii) the date on which the court handed down its judgment, (ix) the penalties imposed by the court, (x) whether the authorities have lodged appeals against the penalties imposed, and (xi) the penalties imposed by the court following the appeal (if applicable);
(5) given that in the reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on November 15, 2023, the Government indicated that the authorities would review Cap. 123 to study the feasibility of undertaking prosecution and disciplinary actions in parallel against registered contractors involving in building works safety incidents, of the progress and outcome of the relevant study;
(6) as there are views that the practice of submitting supplementary information repeatedly by some contractors when applying for renewal of registration is suspected to be delaying the vetting and approval process, which may enable contractors with poor performance in construction safety to continue to carry out works during the vetting and approval process and hence pose risks to the occupational safety and health of frontline workers, whether the Government will consider reviewing and enhancing the relevant application procedures for renewal of registration, so as to enhance the processing efficiency; and
(7) given that the authorities indicated in the paper submitted to this Council in December last year that they would amend Cap. 123 to enhance building safety by, among others, enhancing the registration and disciplinary systems for registered contractors, etc, with the target of introducing the relevant bill into this Council in the first half of next year, whether the authorities will explore expediting the relevant legislative amendment work?
Reply:
President,
The Government attaches great importance to the safety and quality of building works. In so far as private development projects are concerned, the Buildings Department (BD), by virtue of the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123), requires the registered building professionals (RBPs) (including Authorized Persons (APs), registered structural engineers (RSEs), registered geotechnical engineers (RGEs), etc) and the registered contractors (RCs) responsible for building works to properly supervise the building works in accordance with the respective supervision plans prepared by them and submitted to the BD under the Code of Practice for Site Supervision 2009, so as to ensure that the works comply with the BO. In addition to complying with the BO itself and its subsidiary regulations, the building works should also comply with the approved plans of the works concerned, as well as any conditions imposed or orders made by the BD under the BO. When the RBP and RC apply for the Occupation Permit (OP), they should certify that the new building has been completed in accordance with the provisions of the BO and its regulations and the plans approved, and ensure that the building is in compliance with regulations and structurally safe.
The BD adopts a three-pronged approach in regulating RCs who are found to have irregularities or misconduct, including: (i) instigating prosecutions against the RCs concerned; (ii) conducting disciplinary proceedings; and (iii) re-assessment of the ability and competence of the RCs concerned during renewal applications to determine whether to accept the relevant renewal applications.
The replies to the various parts of the question are as follows:
(1) If any RBPs or RCs have been negligent or have misconducted themselves in their professions or in any building works, the case will be referred to the relevant disciplinary board for conducting disciplinary proceedings. In the past 10 years up to May this year, there were five completed disciplinary cases involving injuries and fatalities out of a total of 33 cases referred by the BD to the Registered Contractors' Disciplinary Board for disciplinary action in respect of the RCs prosecuted and convicted in building works. Details of the cases are set out in Annex I.
(2) and (3) The Works Branch of the Development Bureau (DEVB), the BD and the Housing Department (HD) established a referral mechanism in 2002 with an aim to target very serious breaches of contract or offences by RCs registered under the BO in the course of carrying out Government public works or public housing projects. While the RCs have been penalised under the contract or prosecuted and convicted under the law, the Works Branch of the DEVB or the HD still considers it necessary to refer the cases to the BD for the disciplinary board's consideration of further disciplinary action after inquiries. This shows that the referral mechanism targets very serious cases, where the RCs concerned have to be referred to the BD's disciplinary board for follow-up action having regard to the fact that the punitive actions taken under the contract or the law have not been sufficient to penalise the RCs concerned. Very serious breaches of contract or offences include blatant or repeated disregard of the contractor's duties where the consequence of the breach is very serious so as to warrant the imposition of different levels of sanctions, or the RCs are considered after investigation to have obviously permitted or connived at the breach. The threshold for referral is very high. As for ordinary breaches of contract or offences by contractors, such as poor performance and misconduct, the Works Branch of the DEVB and the HD would handle in accordance with the contract, legislation and other established regulatory mechanisms. In the past 10 years, there was no case meeting the threshold for referral to the BD under public works or public housing projects.
(4) According to section 40(2B) of the BO, if the BD, after investigation, finds that building works have been carried out in such a manner as to cause or likely to cause injury to any person or damage to any property, the BD may institute prosecution against the persons directly concerned with the works (including RCs, RSEs, RGEs, APs, etc). In the past 10 years and up to May this year, there were six convicted cases involving injuries and fatalities upon completion of prosecution out of a total of 139 cases instituted by the BD under section 40(2B) of the BO in relation to building works. Details of the cases are set out in Annex II.
(5) and (7) The Government has completed the systematic review of the BO. Proposals were put forth to amend the BO in December 2024 and a two-month public consultation was conducted. The proposals to enhance the registration and disciplinary systems are set out below:
(i) regarding the processing of renewal applications by RCs, we propose to extend the renewal period from the current three years to a maximum of five years in response to the industry's aspiration for a longer operation period to encourage long-term investment and healthy development of the industry. On the other hand, we propose to empower the Building Authority (BA) to approve a shorter renewal period than the current three years in order to strengthen monitoring of certain contractors. We also propose that the BA can be empowered to impose conditions (e.g. requiring a more stringent site supervision regime) upon registration renewal having regard to the contractor's individual circumstances to enhance the existing registration system;
(ii) on the handling of disciplinary cases, we propose to increase the number of members of the relevant disciplinary board panel to expedite the formation of disciplinary board and inquiry. We also propose to increase the maximum fine for disciplinary sanction from $250,000 to $400,000, and to allow the disciplinary board to impose more than one sanction for each charge (in addition to a fine, consideration may also be given to ordering a reprimand and/or removing the contractor from the register at the same time) so as to enhance the deterrent effect; and
(iii) during the systematic review of the BO, the BD has examined the feasibility of undertaking prosecution and disciplinary actions in parallel. After due consideration and consulting legal advice, it is considered that this may affect criminal investigation or prosecution, including the possibility of obstructing relevant persons from assisting in criminal investigation. Therefore, it is considered not appropriate to undertake prosecution and disciplinary actions in parallel. Notwithstanding this, the BD has taken steps to shorten the procedure of referral, with an aim to refer the case to the Department of Justice within four months after case conviction details are received, so that the disciplinary proceedings can commence as soon as possible.
The public consultation was completed in February 2025. The Government is now reviewing the specific proposals taking into account views received, as well as working on the drafting of the amendments to the BO. The drafting involves careful review of and amendments to the BO and its subsidiary legislation, and it is necessary to take time to clarify certain legal issues. We will complete the drafting work as early as practicable, targeting to introduce the amendment bill into the Legislative Council in the first half of 2026.
(6) The BD conducts review of the contractors' registration system from time to time, with a view to enhancing and streamlining the relevant procedures. After consulting the industry, the BD has implemented a series of streamlining measures for processing registration and renewal applications since April this year, including requiring contractors to submit the necessary supplementary information within 28 days after the BD's issuance of a letter requesting for supplementary information. Otherwise, their applications would be rejected. This measure intends to prevent unnecessary delay and enhance the efficiency of the BD's processing of registration applications.
Ends/Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 17:45
Issued at HKT 17:45
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