Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ10: Number and distribution of licensed hawkers
Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-hing and a written reply by the
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council
today (June 29):
Question:
Regarding the number and distribution of licensed hawkers in Hong Kong, as well
as management of hawkers, will the Government inform this Council of the
following in each of the past ten years:
(a) the respective numbers of fixed pitch hawker licences and itinerant hawker
licences in Hong Kong, together with a breakdown by the 18 administrative
districts, licence type, age of licensees (in groups each covering ten years),
licence period (in groups each covering five years) and location of fixed pitch
hawker bazaars;
(b) the respective manning scales of Hawker Control Teams ("HCTs"), district HCT
squads and Hawker Control Task Forces, as well as the funding provisions for
expenditure on HCTs;
(c) the number of convictions resulting from the enforcement actions taken by
HCTs, together with a breakdown of the convicted persons by sex and age (in
groups each covering ten years), licence type (including "unlicensed hawkers"),
the offences involved and the number of times of repeated convictions for the
same offence;
(d) the number of cases involving confrontations between HCT staff taking
enforcement actions and members of the public, and the respective numbers of
resultant injuries involving the public and HCT staff; and
(e) the respective numbers of hawker licences suspended or cancelled, broken
down by licence type, the 18 administrative districts and reasons for
suspension, as well as the number of cancelled licences surrendered by licensees
voluntarily, together with a breakdown by licence type and the 18 administrative
districts?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has difficulty to provide
data for the period before its establishment in 2000 and the data given below
cover the period thereafter.
(a) Annual statistics on fixed pitch hawker licences (by licence type and
administrative districts) and itinerant hawker licences (by licence type and
urban area/New Territories) in Hong Kong are at
Annexes A(1) to A(6). Annual statistics on fixed pitch hawker licences by
location of fixed pitch hawker bazaars are at
Annex B. As the age of the licensees and their licensed period change over
time, FEHD is unable to provide the relevant data.
(b) The actual number of staff and the actual expenditure of the Hawker Control
Teams (HCT) (including district HCT squads and Hawker Control Task Forces) in
each year are shown in
Table 1.
(c) The number of convictions resulting from HCT enforcement actions by type of
offences in each of the past five years is shown in
Table 2.
FEHD is unable to provide data on the personal profile of convicted persons,
such as sex, age and number of convictions from the information available.
(d) Statistics on cases involving confrontation with HCT staff taking
enforcement actions and staff sustaining injuries in each of the past five years
are shown in
Table 3.
(e) Owing to various reasons (including the voluntary surrender of licences by
licensees for cancellation, non-renewal of licences upon expiry and cancellation
of licences upon the death of licensees), the number of hawker licences has
reduced progressively in the past five years. The figures are shown in
Table 4.
Ends/Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Issued at HKT 15:53
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