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.
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 an important part of our work. They 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 359 classes, which were attended by 7,571 trainees, adding up to a total of 33,585 trainee-days. These included induction training programmes for a total of 713 new recruits to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to discharge their duties. In addition, the Department approved 13 applications for sponsorship for staff members to pursue employment-related studies outside office hours.
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 implementing the 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 2020, the Department spent $9,219 million, including $4,369 million on salaries and allowances and personnel related expenses, $4,588 million on departmental expenses and other charges, and $262 million on capital and non-recurrent expenditure.
By activities, the majority of the expenditure ($4,785 million) was on environmental hygiene. This was followed by $2,032 million on market management and hawker control, $1,398 million on food safety and public health, $494 million on administration and development, $444 million on monitoring the food trade, and $66 million on public education and community involvement.
During the year, the Department received a revenue of $516 million. Most of the revenue came from cemeteries and crematoria services ($158 million) and the rental of stalls in public markets managed by the Department ($120 million). Other sources included revenue from court fines and statutory penalties ($88 million), recovery of losses ($74 million), slaughterhouse and other concessions ($29 million), licence and permit fees ($27 million) and miscellaneous services ($20 million).
Capital Works
For the five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26, the funding earmarked for capital works for food and environmental hygiene services is estimated at $5,831 million, and will be spent on various types of works project.
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 reprovisioning of the Wing Hong Street Temporary RCP within a commercial development was completed in 2020, while the reprovisioning of Shanghai Street Temporary RCP to Hau Cheung Street will be completed in 2021. 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 has allocated about $600 million to carry out refurbishment or facelifting works for about 240 public toilets of the Department in phases from 2019 - 20 to 2023 - 24. The projects will improve toilet facilities and enhance their cleanliness and hygiene condition. During the year, 51 public toilets were refurbished/ facelifted, including three public toilets at major tourist spots. Another 111 are in progress or being planned.
Public Markets and Cooked Food Centres
The Government is pursuing six new public market projects, which are at different stages of planning, in Tin Shui Wai, Tung Chung Town Centre, Tseung Kwan O, Tung Chung New Town Extension, Kwu Tung North New Development Area (NDA), and Hung Shui Kiu NDA. 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. FEHD Skylight Market (formerly known as Tin Shui Wai Temporary Market), which adopted the Modular Integrated Construction method, was completed and commissioned in December 2020.
Apart from the development of new public markets, the Department is pressing ahead the overhaul of Aberdeen Market, the pioneering project of the 10-year Market Modernisation Programme (MMP). Our target is to commence the proposed overhaul works in the third quarter of 2021 for completion in 2022. The Department is also conducting preparation and consultation work for the overhaul projects in Yeung Uk Road Market, Ngau Tau Kok Market and Kowloon City Market, and carrying out the minor refurbishment or improvement works for 11 public markets under the MMP.
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. We have earmarked $488 million to replace, in phases, 61 lifts and 138 escalators in 35 public markets.
Cemeteries, Crematoria and Columbaria
The Government has been exploring all feasible measures to increase the supply of public columbarium facilities. These include promoting the 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 600,000 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 1,250 niches in the Cheung Chau Columbarium was completed in phases in 2019 and 2020, while 790 niches in the Mui Wo Lai Chi Yuen Extension were completed in 2020. Tsang Tsui Columbarium in Tuen Mun, providing about 163,000 niches, and a columbarium at Wo Hop Shek Cemetery (Phase 1 Development), providing about 44,000 niches, were completed in 2020. Construction works for 25,000 niches at Cape Collinson Road and 40,000 niches at Shek Mun are underway.
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 aims at greater cost-effectiveness and flexibility in the delivery of services. By end 2020, 176 contracts valued at $9,063.7 million were in force for the provision of services by private contractors. The breakdown is as follows.
| Type of outsourcing services | Number of contracts | Contract value ($) | Outsourced contract value by type of service (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street cleansing (including public toilet cleansing) | 38 | 4,785.9 million | 52.80% |
| Waste collection | 17 | 1,084.1 million | 11.96% |
| Market/Hawker bazaar cleansing | 7 | 285.0 million | 3.14% |
| Market management and related services | 15 | 671.5 million | 7.41% |
| Municipal services building cleansing | 12 | 49.1 million | 0.54% |
| Security guard | 23 | 303.5 million | 3.35% |
| Pest control | 23 | 1,124.7 million | 12.41% |
| Other services | 41 | 759.9 million | 8.39% |
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, 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 2020, the Department received 226,437 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 attract more visitors, the Centre enhances its facilities and revamps its exhibition panels from time to time. In 2020, the Centre revamped the green burial exhibition corner to include an introduction of the Green Burial Central Register. During the year, the Centre attracted 20,801 visitors, and organised 121 talks-cum-activities for kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools, 118 talks for elderly centres and 131 talks for the general public. The Mobile Education Centre (a publicity vehicle) also conducted 26 visits to schools, housing estates and public parks as part of the outreaching efforts in promoting health education. Amid the pandemic when the services of the Centre were suspended, animated videos of Keep Clean Ambassador Ah Tak and fun game sheets on health education have been uploaded to the Centre's webpage to continue the dissemination of information on personal, food and environmental hygiene to the public.
In 2020, 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.