TNAG-1449-FCO40-1953-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 68

Speech by the Attorney General, Mr. Michael Thomas, Q.C.,

Prisons (Amendment) Bill 1986

25 June 1986

Sir, I move that the Prisons (Amendment) Bill 1986

be read a second time.

2.

The Bill makes provision for the more efficient

administration of the existing Prisoners' Welfare Donation

Fund.

3.

At present prisoners' welfare donations are administered under a cumbersome and inefficient system.

Donations are credited to a deposit account held by the

Director of Accounting Services but disbursements are charged to an expenditure account under the Correctional Services Department Head of Expenditure. Each month a sum equivalent to that which has been disbursed from the expenditure subhead

has to be transferred from the deposit account to the general

revenue.

4.

Apart from administrative inconvenience, a further drawback of the present system is that the existing Prisoners'

Welfare Donation Fund does not receive the benefit of any

interest that may be paid on the balance held in the account because under the Public Finance Ordinance any interest

received on the deposit forms part of the general revenue.

5.

The present proposal is to establish a statutory

Prisoners' Welfare Fund that would be administered in line

with the Correctional Services Department Welfare Fund. Moneys due to the Prisoners' Welfare Fund would be paid to the Director of Accounting Services who would credit them to an account entitled "Deposits Prisoners' Welfare Fund". The Fund would be managed by the Commissioner of Correctional