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, regulation of private columbaria, 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 629 classes, which were attended by 12,564 trainees, adding up to a total of 38,077 trainee-days. These included induction training programmes for a total of 549 new recruits to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to discharge their duties. In addition, the Department approved nine applications for sponsorship for staff members to pursue employment-related studies outside office hours, and 19 officers were placed in 14 training programmes outside Hong Kong, involving a total of 196 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, five management studies and two statistical surveys 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 2019, the Department spent $8,029 million, including $3,913 million on salaries and allowances and personnel related expenses, $3,888 million on departmental expenses and other charges, and $228 million on capital and non-recurrent expenditure.
By activities, the majority of the expenditure ($3,983 million) was on environmental hygiene. This was followed by $1,880 million on market management and hawker control, $1,268 million on food safety and public health, $436 million on administration and development, $384 million on monitoring the food trade, and $78 million on public education and community involvement.
During the year, the Department received a revenue of $827 million. Most of the revenue came from the rental of stalls in public markets managed by the Department ($356 million) and from licence and permit fees ($187 million). Other sources included revenue from court fines and statutory penalties ($82 million), slaughterhouse and other concessions ($81 million), cemeteries and crematoria services ($79 million), meat examination ($14 million) and miscellaneous services ($28 million).
Capital Works
In the Government's 2019 Capital Works Resource Allocation Exercise, the five-year allocation on capital projects for food and environmental hygiene services is estimated at $3,723 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 Site IJ4 in Kai Tak Development was completed in 2019. In-situ reprovisioning of the Camp Street Temporary RCP within a residential development was completed in 2019 whilst the reprovisioning of the Wing Hong Street Temporary RCP within a commercial development, and the Shanghai Street Temporary RCP to Hau Cheung Street will be completed in 2020. The reprovisioning of the Interim RCP at Hip Wo Street/ Tung Yan Street will be completed in 2021.
Public Toilets
As promulgated in the 2019 - 20 Budget, the Government will allocate additional resources of about $600 million to commence refurbishment or facelifting works for about 240 public toilets of the Department by phases in the coming five financial years (i.e. 2019 - 20 to 2023 - 24). The projects will also improve toilet facilities and enhance their cleanliness and hygiene condition. During the year, 49 public toilets were refurbished/ facelifted, including 15 public toilets at major tourist spots. Another 114 are in progress or being planned.
Public Markets and Cooked Food Centres
The Government is pursuing seven new market projects, which are at different stages of planning. They include the development of new public markets in Tin Shui Wai, Tung Chung Town Centre, Tseung Kwan O, Kwu Tung North New Development Area (NDA), Tung Chung New Town Extension and Hung Shui Kiu NDA as well as the establishment of a temporary market in Tin Shui Wai. The Government will consider adopting new approaches to the design, construction and operation of these projects. The Department is working with relevant departments in delivering these new markets so as to provide more choices to the public in purchasing fresh provisions. The Modular Integrated Construction method is being adopted to shorten the on-site construction time of the temporary market in Tin Shui Wai as far as possible. Subject to the actual progress, the temporary market is expected to be completed and commissioned by the end of 2020.
Apart from the development of new public markets, the Government has earmarked $2 billion for the implementation of the 10-year Market Modernisation Programme (MMP) to carry out hardware improvement works for public markets, with the aim of improving the operating environment of public markets to benefit the public and tenants. The implementation of the MMP is in full swing. The pioneering project of the MMP is the overhaul of Aberdeen Market. At the same time, the Department plans to overhaul another three public markets and kick-start minor refurbishment or improvement works for about 10 public markets in different districts across the territory.
Besides, the Government has been taking forward measures to improve the operating environment of public markets, including replacement of aged lifts and escalators, improvement of ventilation, lighting systems and fire service equipment, refurbishment of external walls and toilets, etc. as appropriate. To ensure smooth operation of lifts and escalators in public markets, the Government has been replacing by phases aged lifts and escalators and earmarked to date $ 445 million to replace 53 lifts and 125 escalators in 33 public markets.
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 the Peng Chau Columbarium and 670 additional niches in the Cheung Chau Columbarium was completed in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Construction of a columbarium with 855 niches at Wong Nai Chung Road was completed in 2019. The Tsang Tsui Columbairum, Tuen Mun provided about 160,000 niches by phases from 2019. Other construction works include Wo Hop Shek Cemetery Phase 1 Development (provision of about 44,000 niches by phases from 2020), and at Cape Collinson Road (provision of about 25,000 niches by phases from 2022) as well as site formation and associated infrastructural works for development of columbarium at Sandy Ridge Cemetery are underway. Besides, extension of the Cheung Chau Columbarium (provision of about 580 additional niches in 2020) 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 2019, 169 contracts valued at $6,985.1 million were in force for the provision of services by private contractors. The breakdown is as follows.
| Type of outsourcing services | Number of contracts | Contract value ($) | Outsourced contract value by type of service (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street cleansing (including public toilets cleansing) | 34 | 3,451.1 million | 49.41% |
| Waste collection | 16 | 1,058.9 million | 15.16% |
| Market/Hawker bazaar cleansing | 7 | 176.6 million | 2.53% |
| Market management and related services | 14 | 258.6 million | 3.70% |
| Municipal services building cleansing | 12 | 49.1 million | 0.70% |
| Security guard | 23 | 254.9 million | 3.65% |
| Pest control | 19 | 892.2 million | 12.77% |
| Other services | 44 | 843.7 million | 12.08% |
Examples of outsourcing services include: street cleansing, waste collection, market/ hawker bazaar cleansing, market management and related services, municipal services building cleansing, security guard, pest control, mechanical street sweeping, mechanical street washing, mechanical gully cleansing, collection of recyclables, 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.
In accordance with the measures announced by the Chief Executive in October 2018, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has adopted the following enhancement measures for service tenders issued on or after 1 April 2019 to protect non-skilled workers employed by its outsourced service contractors:
- the weighting of technical assessment of the marking scheme increases from the current 30% to 50%;
- the weighting of wage level increases to 25 points out of 100 points (25%) in the technical assessment;
- a contractual gratuity being 6% of the total wages earned by a non-skilled worker is provided for the worker with no less than one year's service of a continuous contract upon completion of an employment contract or termination of employment (save for summary dismissal as a serious disciplinary action);
- statutory holiday pay is provided for a non-skilled worker having been employed under a continuous contract for not less than a month; and
- if a non-skilled worker is required to work when typhoon signal no. 8 or above is hoisted, the amount of wages for that day/shift's work should be at least 150% of the wages that the worker is originally entitled to.
Complaints Management
The Complaints Management Section is responsible for formulating and reviewing policies on, and procedures for, handling all types of complaints. In 2019, the Department received 221,910 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. To sustain the appeal to the public and enhance visitation, the Centre enhances its facilities and revamps its exhibition panels from time to time. In 2019, the Centre carried out maintenance projects on external walls and conducted roof waterproofing work to conserve the heritage building. Exhibition panels on the work of the FEHD and Good Toilet Behavior and Symbolism, and cartoon figures of Miss Ping On, Miss Super Clean and Dragon of Cleanliness displayed in the Centre were revamped. During the year, the Centre attracted 78,404 visitors, and organised 983 talks-cum-activities for kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools, 765 talks for elderly centres and 369 talks for the general public. The Mobile Education Centre (a publicity vehicle) also conducted 209 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 FEHD Nam Cheong Offices and Vehicle Depot at Yen Chow Street West, 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. During the year, the CRU conducted 181 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.
In 2019, 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, Instagram and YouTube, mobile applications, banners, posters, pamphlets and leaflets, as appropriate. Through the dedicated Facebook page and the Instagram page of Keep 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, public libraries, 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, public markets and public parks for disseminating green burial messages through broadcasting videos and distributing leaflets and souvenirs. In 2019, the team arranged a total of 337 promotional activities of various kinds.