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Following is the translation of a speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Rafael Hui, at the Legislative Council Meeting today (May 16) to present the Government Minute in response to the "Report No. 47 of the Public Accounts Committee dated February 2007":
Madam President,
Laid on the table today is the Government Minute responding to Report No. 47 of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
When presenting PAC Report No. 47 on February 7 this year, the Chairman of the PAC set out in detail the comments of the PAC on three selected chapters from Director of Audit's Reports, viz. the collection of fines imposed by Magistrates' Courts, the management of outstanding medical fees by the Hospital Authority (HA) and the management of medical fee waivers of HA and Social Welfare Department (SWD). The Administration is grateful for the effort and time that the PAC has devoted. Today, I would like to highlight the key measures that have been or are being taken in the relevant areas. Details of the measures that the Government has taken or is taking on the conclusions and recommendations contained in the PAC Report are set out in detail in the Minute.
Collection of fines imposed by Magistrates' Courts
On the collection of fines imposed by Magistrates' Courts, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) met with the Judiciary Administration and relevant departments in April this year to review the progress of implementing the accepted recommendations of the Audit Commission and the PAC. I would like to highlight here the progress we have made so far in taking forward the key recommendations.
Since January this year, the Judiciary Administration has been providing nine user departments with quarterly reports culled from its Computerised Case and Summons Management System. Such reports contain information on the number of outstanding warrants as well as the amount of overdue fines to help departments manage the collection of fines.
To enhance action against defaulters who have outstanding traffic fines, the Police and departments concerned have agreed to lower the threshold for issuing distress warrants and non-payment warrants relating to outstanding traffic fines so that prompt actions can be taken against defaulters. For example, the existing threshold of $1,500 for the application of non-payment warrants relating to moving offences will be removed while that for distress warrants relating to parking contraventions will be adjusted downward from the existing $50,000 to $5,000. These changes will be put in place as soon as practicable following the necessary enhancements to Transport Department (TD)'s Vehicles and Drivers Licensing Integrated Data IV computer system tentatively scheduled to be completed in August this year. The Judiciary Administration has also set target times on making execution attempts for compliance by bailiffs. If additional information concerning defaulters is not received in a timely manner, the Judiciary Administration will issue reminders to prosecuting departments to ensure promptness in the execution of distress warrants.
To tackle the problem of persistent defaulters, the Immigration Department has since April 15 this year included defaulters with five or more non-payment warrants in its watch list and intercept them at control points for action by the Police.
In preventing defaulters from using dishonoured cheques to circumvent the control measures, TD has implemented a new arrangement under which licensing applications from applicants who choose to settle their traffic fines by cheques will be processed seven working days after making the payment in order to allow sufficient time for cheque clearance.
The Department of Justice has introduced legislative amendments to enable the Magistrates to order costs when making orders in respect of moving violation fixed penalty notices under the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance. The first reading of the relevant Amendment Bill took place on April 25.
By and large, the Judiciary Administration and concerned departments are taking active measures to address the Audit and the PAC's recommendations. These measures will render the collection of fines a more effective process, and improve communication and co-ordination amongst departments. At this moment, we consider that there is still no need to designate a specific body to oversee and co-ordinate the inter-departmental efforts in the collection of fines. However, we accept the PAC's recommendation that FSTB will conduct a review with the Judiciary Administration and concerned departments in one year's time to review the progress of implementation and assess the extent of improvement.
Management of Outstanding Medical Fees
In respect of the PAC's findings on the management of outstanding medical fees, the HA accepted that there was room to improve the recovery process of outstanding medical fees. The HA has tightened up the timeframe for follow-up actions in its debt recovery process and will take more robust legal action against defaulters. Under the new procedures, the HA aims to file claims against defaulters at the appropriate court level within six months from the date of their discharge from hospitals, as against the average of over 18 months before.
On measures to minimise the need for recovery and write-off of fees, the HA plans to introduce a new administrative charge on outstanding medical fees in July this year. In addition, the HA has already enhanced its computer systems so that registration staff are alerted when patients with outstanding fees return for service. This allows the HA to identify promptly the frequent defaulters for taking timely debt recovery action.
To ensure prompt implementation of the above enhanced measures, the HA has increased the number of staff at its Head Office responsible for collection of outstanding fees. The HA will keep the manpower requirement of the fee collection team under review.
The Administration shares the PAC's concern about the use of public hospital services and the associated default payments by non-eligible persons (NEPs). In line with its policy that priority should be given to the locals in utilising public healthcare resources, the HA will cease to provide non-emergency medical treatment to NEP defaulters before they settle the outstanding payments.
Management of Medical Fee Waivers
Both the HA and the SWD have worked together conscientiously and continuously to improve the management of medical fee waivers.
Medical social workers (MSWs) play a key role in assessing medical fee waiver applications. Both the HA and SWD therefore consider it important to ensure that the MSWs possess the professional knowledge to process the applications which should be assessed against a set of clear guidelines as far as practicable. In this regard, the HA and the SWD have reviewed and updated the waiver guidelines. These include clearer guidelines for MSWs to verify documents, seek supporting evidence, document their reasons for granting/rejecting applications and consulting their supervisors as necessary. There are also practical examples for handling cases involving unusual transactions in patients' bank books and processing applications from patients with financial resources greatly exceeding the limits. The guidelines will be updated periodically and supervisors of MSWs will be informed of the detailed procedures to ensure compliance. To complement the implementation of the updated waiver guidelines, the HA and the SWD will continue to assess the training needs of MSWs, and arrange for them, when necessary, training on processing waiver applications.
In response to the PAC's recommendation, the SWD will commit additional resources from 2007-08 to strengthen clerical support to MSWs, thereby relieving MSWs from the clerical duties. The HA and the SWD will explore further the possibility of setting up specialised teams to handle waiver applications made purely on financial grounds.
In addition, the HA and SWD are upgrading their respective computer systems to allow on-line checking of the status of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients before the recipients are given waivers. The plan is to complete the system enhancement in two to three months.
The above measures aim to strengthen management of the waiver system upstream. At the downstream, the HA set up a Post-approval Checking Team in March this year to conduct investigations referred by MSWs on suspicious and high-risk waiver cases in order to prevent and detect fraud and abuse cases.
Both the HA and SWD will continue to review the improvement measures to ensure that the medical fee waiver system would be tightened to minimise abuse.
Finally, I would like to thank the PAC for its comments and recommendations. These comments and recommendations are useful in ensuring value for money in the delivery of public services. The Administration is pleased to accept constructive criticisms and comments. As always, we stand ready to respond promptly. Thank you.
Ends/Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:00
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