Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ13: Allocation arrangement of public niches

Following is a question by the Hon Wong Yuk-man and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (November 5):

Question:

An investigation report released last month by the Office of The Ombudsman has pointed out that the Diamond Hill Columbarium and Wo Hop Shek Kiu Tau Road Columbarium Phase V, which were completed in 2012, provide a total of some 45 000 columbarium niches (niches), but the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has been allocating these niches by three phases over a period three years, of which more than 24 000 niches are reserved for allocation at the last phase. At present, FEHD processes only 110 applications for niches each day. The Ombudsman has urged FEHD to expeditiously review its allocation arrangement. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of cases in which used niches were returned to FEHD in each of the past five years;

(2) of the justifications for FEHD to allocate new niches by way of ballot, instead of adopting a registration system and allocating them by order of registration; and

(3) as it has been reported that FEHD will review the niche allocation system only by the end of 2015 (i.e. after the completion of the allocation of the aforesaid niches), of the reasons for FEHD not conducting such a review right away?

Reply:

President,

In recent years, public demand for niches cannot be satisfied solely by public niches constructed and managed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD). The Government addresses the social need in this respect through a three-pronged strategy, i.e. making efforts to promote wider use of green burials such as scattering human ashes in Gardens of Remembrance or at sea, enhancing the supply of public niches (including relaxing the cap to allow storing added sets of ashes in each niche), and taking forward actions to better regulate the operation of private columbaria.

FEHD has been upholding the principles of fairness, openness and impartiality in the use of public resources, when allocating new niches to eligible persons in need. The existing allocation method involves assigning, on a random basis, a computer-generated priority number to eligible applications for new niches. Applicants will then be invited to select niches according to their priority numbers. FEHD allocates new niches at the new Wo Hop Shek Kiu Tau Road Public Columbarium and the Diamond Hill Columbarium extension in three phases. Allocation of niches under the first and second phases had been completed in May 2013 and May 2014 respectively, with a total of 20 697 niches allocated. The third phase, involving 24 474 niches, commenced in September 2014. Some 31 342 eligible applications were received. Drawing on the experience of the first and second phases, FEHD has increased the number of applicants invited to select niches from 110 to 125 per day, so as to expedite the allocation process.

My reply to the question raised by the Hon Wong Yuk-man is as follows:

(1) The number of niches returned in each of the last five years is as follows:
Year Number of niches returned
2010 639
2011 416
2012 255
2013 230
2014 (as at September) 152
Total 1 692


(2) In 2009, FEHD adopted the recommendation of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) when allocating the 18 501 new niches available in a new building inside the Diamond Hill Columbarium. In an open balloting exercise, all 22 097 eligible applications were allocated, on a random basis, a computer generated priority number. The applicants were then invited to select niches according to their priority numbers. By the time the allocation exercise was completed, all applicants were given a chance to select niches.

In 2012, the new public columbarium at Kiu Tau Road of Wo Hop Shek (providing 43 710 new niches) and the Diamond Hill Columbarium extension (providing 1 540 new niches) were completed. After consulting ICAC and taking into account the following factors, FEHD decided to keep using the allocation arrangements adopted in 2009:

(a) the allocation method must accord with the principles of fairness and transparency;

(b) Since the demand for public niches outstrips supply in recent years, any attempt to set, on top of the basic legal requirements governing the entitlement of residents to inter ashes at public columbaria(Note), other added conditions or qualifying criteria pertaining to the priority and allocation is liable to cause disputes among the public and stakeholders. It would be difficult to reach consensus over such matters; and

(c) Notwithstanding the strenuous efforts that we are making to solicit support from local communities and the public to expedite the building of new public columbaria, there remains uncertainty about the future volume of new supply in niches. In the circumstances, there is hardly any one allocation mechanism that could satisfy all demands. Should the "first-register-first-allocated" approach be taken, allocation will in effect be made on a first-come-first-served basis. Nonetheless, since supply is falling short, it is highly likely that those who pass away in later years would be denied access to public niches.

(3) When the allocation of new niches at Diamond Hill and Kiu Tau Road of Wo Hop Shek commenced in 2012, FEHD announced the allocation procedures for all three phases of the exercise at one go. For the sake of fairness and to avoid confusion, it is incumbent upon FEHD to stick to and follow through the exercise according to the arrangements that had been publicly announced. FEHD has taken note of the views received during the exercise and will review the situation in detail after the whole exercise is completed, including studying the possibility of speeding up allocation to improve the future allocation arrangement.

Note: According to section 13(3) of the Cremation and Gardens of Remembrance Regulation (Cap 132M), … any person shall, upon payment of the prescribed fee, be entitled to have the ashes of the human remains of any person:

(a) who was a resident of Hong Kong at the time of his death and whose remains were cremated in a Government crematorium within three months after his death; or

(b) who was a resident of Hong Kong for a period of at least 10 years during the period of 20 years immediately preceding his death and his remains were cremated outside Hong Kong, deposited at a Government crematorium or columbarium ….

Under section 13(5) of the Cremation and Gardens of Remembrance Regulation (Cap 132M), without prejudice to the provisions of subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4), upon application … and payment of the prescribed fee, the ashes of the human remains of any person may, at the discretion of the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, be deposited at any crematorium or columbarium the management and control of which is vested in the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene. Examples include ashes of human remains lawfully exhumed and cremated in a Government crematorium.

Ends/Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:27

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