HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 51 of 126
91
Firstly, I would like to assure Mr. WONG that the hotline was established precisely to enable the public to have easy and quick access to the Department; at the same time it is the Department's intention that all calls be dealt with promptly, courteously and effectively.
The Departmental hotline is manned during normal office hours. Outside office hours, calls received are taped automatically and are followed up on the next working day. When enquiries or complaints are received, these are referred initially verbally to the relevant subject officer for attention, followed by a written report for follow-up action. This call is also registered to facilitate subsequent checking on the subsequent action taken.
As regards urgent complaints specifically relating to food hygiene matters, one telephone each on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon is manned 24-hours a day throughout the year to receive and refer complaints to Health Inspectors on standby duty for immediate attention. Arrangements will be made to further publicise these two telephone numbers and to highlight the particular purpose they serve.
It must be appreciated however that owing to the variety and complexity of issues received over the hotline, our officer is often unable to give immediate answers to the caller in the majority of cases. Simple food hygiene matters are normally resolved within one or two days, whereas those concerning environmental hygiene, hawking activities etc. may require an investigation period ranging from a few days to a few weeks. There are also cases which require communication with other government departments; thus even more time is required.
Mr. WONG, your question highlighted the need for improvement of this facility for the public. I have therefore asked the Department to review the purpose of this hotline and the procedure regarding the handling of public complaints and enquiries over the telephone and I will report back as soon as possible to members on the actions to be taken.
MR. WONG SIU-YEE (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I have two supplementary questions. The first question concerns automatic recording. During holidays, when calls come in, the recording will tell the callers to call another number. When the callers phone this number, the person answering will tell the callers that they are only concerned with removal of dead bodies and they will not deal with other matters. So I wonder whether the automatic recording system is already outdated, and have we not updated these calls to a more efficient line? The second question is: the answer just given tells us that there are two specific hot-lines which are operating even on holidays for public hygiene complaints. I would like to know the numbers of these two hot-lines and where I can obtain that information?
MRS. ELEANOR LING CHING-MAN (in English):—I am afraid I am not familiar with the recording service, but I have been reassured by the Department that calls when taken throughout the public holidays do not require longer than
Page 51 of 126
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 51 of 126
91
Firstly, I would like to assure Mr. WONG that the hotline was established precisely to enable the public to have easy and quick access to the Department; at the same time it is the Department's intention that all calls be dealt with promptly, courteously and effectively.
The Departmental hotline is manned during normal office hours. Outside office hours, calls received are taped automatically and are followed up on the next working day. When enquiries or complaints are received, these are referred initially verbally to the relevant subject officer for attention, followed by a written report for follow-up action. This call is also registered to facilitate subsequent checking on the subsequent action taken.
As regards urgent complaints specifically relating to food hygiene matters, one telephone each on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon is manned 24-hours a day throughout the year to receive and refer complaints to Health Inspectors on standby duty for immediate attention. Arrangements will be made to further publicise these two telephone numbers and to highlight the particular purpose they serve.
It must be appreciated however that owing to the variety and complexity of issues received over the hotline, our officer is often unable to give immediate answers to the caller in the majority of cases. Simple food hygiene matters are normally resolved within one or two days, whereas those concerning environmental hygiene, hawking activities etc. may require an investigation period ranging from a few days to a few weeks. There are also cases which require communication with other government departments; thus even more time is required.
Mr. WONG, your question highlighted the need for improvement of this facility for the public. I have therefore asked the Department to review the purpose of this hotline and the procedure regarding the handling of public complaints and enquiries over the telephone and I will report back as soon as possible to members on the actions to be taken.
MR. WONG SIU-YEE (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I have two supplementary questions. The first question concerns automatic recording. During holidays, when calls come in, the recording will tell the callers to call another number. When the callers phone this number, the person answering will tell the callers that they are only concerned with removal of dead bodies and they will not deal with other matters. So I wonder whether the automatic recording system is already outdated, and have we not updated these calls to a more efficient line? The second question is: the answer just given tells us that there are two specific hot-lines which are operating even on holidays for public hygiene complaints. I would like to know the numbers of these two hot-lines and where I can obtain that information?
MRS. ELEANOR LING CHING-MAN (in English):—I am afraid I am not familiar with the recording service, but I have been reassured by the Department that calls when taken throughout the public holidays do not require longer than
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