The Administration and Development Branch provides various management and support services to the Department.
Grade Management
There are three major grades covering Health Inspectors, Hawker Control Officers and Foremen. Two grade managers, one for the Health Inspector grade and another for the Hawker Control Officer and Foreman grades, are responsible for staff matters involving manpower planning, career development, postings, promotion and training.
Health Inspectors are responsible for various duties concerning environmental hygiene and food safety, such as handling environmental nuisance cases, hygiene inspections to food establishments, licensing, prosecution, meat inspection, cleansing services, outsourcing, pest control, hawker control, management of markets, cemeteries and crematoria, food control and health education.
Hawker Control Officers are responsible for controlling on-street hawking activities, managing hawker permitted places and taking law enforcement action against illegal hawking activities. They also play an important part in prosecuting people who have committed cleanliness offences, such as littering and spitting.
Foremen are mainly responsible for supervising the work of frontline staff in street cleansing, waste collection, pest control, cemeteries and crematoria and market management. They are also responsible for transport services and monitoring the performance of the Department's service contractors. Members of the grade also take legal action against cleanliness offenders.
Training
Training and development programmes are designed to enhance individual and organisational performance in providing quality service for the public. The programmes provide leadership development opportunities, support departmental initiatives and bring out the best of staff for serving the public professionally. Programmes that heighten staff's awareness of occupational safety and health are also provided.
In addition to in-house trainers, experts in various fields were invited to conduct training to enable staff to keep abreast of the latest development in the relevant fields. While the majority of training programmes were held locally, staff members would also be nominated to attend overseas programmes.
During the year, the Department organised 679 classes, which were attended by 14,288 trainees, adding up to a total of 44,563 trainee-days. These included induction training programmes for a total of 1,165 new recruits to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to discharge their duties. In addition, the Department provided sponsorship to eight staff members to pursue employment-related studies outside office hours, and 16 officers were placed in 12 training programmes outside Hong Kong, involving a total of 74 trainee-days.
Management Services
The Management Services, Survey and Statistics Section mainly provides management consultancy and statistical services to the Department. They help the management improve the delivery of public services, monitor the standard of performance and formulate policy in the provision of services and staffing. Ongoing consultancy services are provided to assist the Department in the implementation of recommendations of studies and technical advice is offered to help the Department conduct statistical surveys and analyse data. During the year, four management studies and one statistical survey were completed.
Financial Management
All matters relating to expenditure and procurement, including payment processing, financial advice and monitoring, are handled by the Finance and Supplies Division.
In 2018, the Department spent $7,196 million, including $3,767 million on salaries and allowances and personnel related expenses, $3,281 million on departmental expenses and other charges, and $148 million on capital and non-recurrent expenditure.
By activities, the majority of the expenditure ($3,349 million) was on environmental hygiene. This was followed by $1,835 million on market management and hawker control, $1,162 million on food safety and public health, $411 million on administration and development, $373 million on monitoring the food trade, and $66 million on public education and community involvement.
During the year, the Department received a revenue of $899 million. Most of the revenue came from the rental of stalls in public markets managed by the Department ($451 million) and from licence and permit fees ($199 million). Other sources included revenue from cemeteries and crematoria services ($72 million), court fines and statutory penalties ($84 million), slaughterhouse and other concessions ($29 million), meat examination ($21 million) and miscellaneous services ($43 million).
Capital Works
In the Government's 2018 Capital Works Resource Allocation Exercise, the five-year allocation on capital projects for food and environmental hygiene services is estimated at $6,142 million to meet expenditure on projects of the department.
Refuse Collection Points
As part of the continuing efforts to improve Hong Kong's living environment, the Department is replacing temporary roadside refuse collection points (RCPs) with off-street facilities in enclosed buildings equipped with modern de-odourising installations.
The construction of a new RCP at Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities was completed in 2018. The Department will complete the construction of a new RCP at Site IJ4 in Kai Tak Development in 2019. In-situ reprovisioning of the Camp Street Temporary RCP within a residential development and the Wing Hong Street Temporary RCP within a commercial development in Sham Shui Po will be completed in 2019 and 2023 respectively. In addition, the reprovisioning of the Shanghai Street Temporary RCP to Hau Cheung Street and reprovisioning of the Interim RCP at Hip Wo Street/Tung Yan Street to Hip Wo Street will be completed in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Public Toilets
Under the Public Toilet Refurbishment/Improvement Programme, 12 projects were completed in 2018 and another 94 are in progress or being planned.
In addition, the following public toilet projects were completed in 2018:
1) The construction of five new public toilets in connection with the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities, namely Arrival Goods Vehicle Clearance Plaza Public Toilet, Arrival Private Car Clearance Plaza Public Toilet, Departure Goods Vehicle Clearance Plaza Public Toilet, Departure Private Car Clearance Plaza Public Toilet and Shun Fai Road Public Transport Interchange Public Toilet;
2) The construction of two new public toilets, namely Ho Sheung Heung Public Toilet (III) and Duckling Hill Public Toilet;
3) The reprovisioning of Centre Street Public Toilet and Lin Cheung Road Public Toilet;
4) The in-situ conversion/reprovisioning of six aqua privies into flushing toilets, namely Kam Tsin (North) Public Toilet, Siu Hang Tsuen Public Toilet, Tuen Mun Tsz Tin Road Public Toilet, Wa Shan Tsuen Public Toilet, Siu Hang San Tsuen Public Toilet and Fuk Hang Tsuen Public Toilet.
Public Markets and Cooked Food Centres
The Government is pursuing a number of new public market projects in areas including Tin Shui Wai, Tung Chung Town Centre and New Town Extension, Tseung Kwan O, Kwu Tung North New Development Area (NDA) and Hung Shui Kiu NDA. These projects are at different stages of planning. The Department is working with relevant departments in delivering these new markets so as to provide more choices to the public in purchasing fresh food.
In addition, the Government has earmarked $2 billion for the Market Modernisation Programme (MMP) to improve the operating environment of public markets. The pioneering project of the MMP will be the overhaul of Aberdeen Market which will set a model for future similar projects.
Cemeteries, Crematoria and Columbaria
The Government is exploring all feasible measures to increase the supply of public columbarium facilities. These include promoting district-based columbarium development scheme and providing additional niches in existing cemeteries and columbaria. Among the potential sites identified for columbaria development, the Department has secured support from relevant District Councils for 14 projects involving about 590,000 niches i.e. about two-thirds of the total number of new niches under planning. The Government will expedite the development of public columbaria on these shortlisted sites to meet the increasing demand. Construction of 360 additional niches in Peng Chau Columbarium was completed in 2018. Construction works for provision of columbarium facilities at Wong Nai Chung Road (provision of 855 niches in 2019), at Tsang Tsui (provision of about 160,000 niches by phases in 2019), at Wo Hop Shek Cemetery Phase 1 Development (provision of about 44,000 niches by phases in late 2019), and at Cape Collinson Road (provision of about 25,000 niches by phases in 2022) as well as site formation and associated infrastructural works for development of columbarium at Sandy Ridge Cemetery (provision of about 200,000 niches by phases starting from 2024) are underway. Besides, extension of the existing Cheung Chau Columbarium (provision of about 1,250 additional niches in 2019-20) is in progress.
To meet the demand for cremation services, construction of two additional body cremators and an additional service hall in the Wo Hop Shek Crematorium will be completed in 2023.
Outsourcing of Services
The outsourcing policy is aimed at greater cost-effectiveness and flexibility in the delivery of services. By end 2018, 159 contracts valued at $5,592.7 million were in force for the provision of services by private contractors. The breakdown is as follows.
| Type of outsourcing services | Number of contracts | Contract value ($) | Outsourced contract value by type of service (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street cleansing (including public toilets cleansing) | 34 | 2,701.2 million | 48.30% |
| Waste collection | 16 | 1,040.7 million | 18.61% |
| Market/Hawker bazaar cleansing | 7 | 126.2 million | 2.26% |
| Market management and related services | 14 | 274.6 million | 4.91% |
| Municipal building cleansing | 11 | 42.0 million | 0.75% |
| Security guard | 20 | 184.1 million | 3.29% |
| Pest control | 19 | 609.7 million | 10.90% |
| Other services | 38 | 614.2 million | 10.98% |
Examples of outsourcing services include: street cleansing, waste collection, mechanical street sweeping, mechanical gully cleansing, collection of recyclables, market management, cleansing, pest control and related services, rodent, mosquito and other pest control services, municipal services building cleansing, security guard services, animal carcass collection, cleansing and horticultural maintenance services for cemeteries and columbaria, tree risk assessment and arboricultural services, etc.
Measurable performance standards are written into contracts to ensure the quality of services provided. Labour protection and occupational safety clauses have also been included in contracts to safeguard the rights and promote the well-being of non-skilled workers. In addition to daily checking on the relevant records, surprise site inspections are conducted to ensure compliance with contract requirements by contractors at all times.
Complaints Management
The Complaints Management Section is responsible for formulating and reviewing policies on, and procedures for, handling all types of complaints. In 2018, the Department received 215,490 cases of service request and complaint from the public.
Quality Assurance
Continuous improvement is one of the priority tasks of the Department to ensure provision of quality services to the public.
The primary objective of the Quality Assurance Section is to monitor and improve service quality. To achieve this objective, the section conducts day-to-day regulatory inspections on services provided by the Department and service contractors. Recommendations are made for improvements to services with identified inadequacies in existing operational systems, procedures and guidelines. The section also recommends good performers for Quality Assurance Awards and Certificates of Meritorious Performance to give recognition to outstanding and hardworking frontline staff. In addition, the section investigates staff-related cases of dereliction of duty and employment-related complaints of service contractors in an independent, objective and fair manner. The section also conducts audit inspections and employment-related inspections to check service contractors' compliance with employment-related commitments.
Public Education and Publicity
Public education plays an important role in ensuring food safety, improving environmental hygiene and promoting green burial as a more sustainable form of disposal of cremated human ashes. To this end, the Department organises publicity and educational programmes including talks, exhibitions and outreaching programmes to enhance the general public's awareness of these issues.
The Department operates a Health Education Exhibition and Resource Centre (the Centre) inside Kowloon Park to serve the public. It arranges group visits and guided tours for schools, elderly centres, other non-government organisations and the public. Talks and outreaching activities are also conducted regularly. In 2018, the Centre revamped the exhibits on genetically modified food and litter bug cartoon figures. A cartoon figure of the Keep Clean Ambassador Ah Tak was also displayed in the Centre, enriching its collection of Keep Hong Kong Clean mascots. During the year, the Centre attracted 97,450 visitors, and organised 1,072 talks-cum-activities for kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools, 901 talks for elderly centres and 402 talks for the general public. The Mobile Education Centre (a publicity vehicle) also conducted 223 visits to schools, housing estates and public parks as part of the outreaching efforts in promoting health education.
To meet the targeted risk communication needs on food safety, there is also a dedicated Communication Resource Unit (CRU) under the Centre for Food Safety to serve the public and the food trade. Located at the Fa Yuen Street Municipal Services Building, the CRU maintains a collection of food safety related promotion resource materials. It has designated exhibition and information corners equipped with audio-visual facilities. The CRU also entertains requests for organised visits and food safety talks, and provides loan service of resource materials, exhibition boards and audio-visual resources for schools, community centres and other interested public. Apart from supporting initiatives and events on food safety risk communication, the CRU conducts regular education programmes throughout the year. In 2018, the CRU conducted 328 seminars, workshops and various types of publicity activities including roving exhibitions on food safety for the public and selected target groups, including food handlers, school children, the elderly and ethnic minorities.
During the year, the Department continued its publicity on environmental hygiene, food safety and green burial through Television and Radio Announcements in the Public Interest, social media such as Facebook and YouTube, mobile applications, banners, posters, pamphlets and leaflets, as appropriate. Through the dedicated Facebook page and the new Instagram page of Keep Hong Kong Clean Ambassador Ah Tak as well as Ah Tak's presence at public functions, the Department disseminated various information on personal, household and environmental hygiene to the public and appealed　for their co-operation and support in keeping Hong Kong clean. Anti-rodent and anti-mosquito campaigns were organised to solicit public support and participation in pest control. Support was also given to cleansing campaign/work by non-governmental organisations.
To promote green burial, the Department set up a dedicated team in 2018 to step up efforts to enhance public acceptance of green burial as a sustainable form of ash disposal, including scattering ashes in gardens of remembrance (GoR) or at sea. Apart from elderly centres/homes, talks on green burial were offered to tertiary institutions, hospitals, churches, Area Committees and District Councils. The team also extended collaboration with non-governmental organisations to arrange talks or set up promotional booths on life and death/life planning issues in their publicity events, and arrange visits to GoR or sailing service for observing scattering ashes at sea. Regular roving exhibitions were set up at public housing estates for disseminating green burial messages through broadcasting videos and distributing leaflets and souvenirs. In 2018, the team arranged a total of 341 promotional activities of various kinds.