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Expenses for overseas duty visits made by heads of department and other departmental officers are subject to scrutiny by policy secretaries through the examination and endorsement of Departmental Expenses in the context of the annual draft Estimates. Policy Secretaries also monitor departmental expenditure through the regular Programme Reviews with Controlling Officers. Where acceptance of an advantage or sponsorship is involved in the visits, approval from the Civil Service Branch is required.
In determining whether it is necessary for heads of department to attend overseas conferences or undertake overseas duty visits, the following criteria will be taken into consideration: the nature of the event, its relevance to the work of the department, the appropriate level of representation required, and whether the visit is essential to pursue or protect Hong Kong's interests.
End/Wednesday, June 21, 1995
Number of beggers in busy streets increased
Following is a question by the Hon Timothy Ha and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
The number of beggars at busy locations in the territory is on the increase. The presence of these beggars, some of whom have come from other places, greatly affects the tidiness of the territory. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council:
whether a survey has been conducted to find out the age, sex, nationality and methods of begging of beggars; if so, what the results are;
(a)
(b)
whether measures have been put in place to curb begging activities;
(c)
of the number of prosecutions instituted in the past three years together with the percentage of successful prosecutions;
(d)
whether the Social Welfare Department has provided sufficient assistance to beggars so that they will give up begging; and