ENG-2002 — Page 52

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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Apart from investigating complaints, The Ombudsman may initiate direct investigations of her own volition into matters of public interest and widespread concern, and publish the reports. This proactive and preventive approach aims at addressing problems affecting a broad spectrum of the community. The direct investigations are particularly useful in redressing administrative flaws of a systemic nature and addressing fundamental problems or underlying causes for complaint.

Since 1994, when The Ombudsman was empowered to undertake direct investigations, 39 such investigations have been completed seven of them in 2002. These seven concerned the following subjects: the management of construction projects by the Housing Authority and the Housing Department; the administration of public examinations; the anti-smoking enforcement mechanism; the secondary school places allocation and relief mechanism; funding of sports programmes and activities by the Hong Kong Sports Development Board; the administration of auctions of vehicle registration marks; and the mechanism for handling missing patients in Hospital Authority hospitals. The reports of all direct investigations have been published and are available for public scrutiny at the Office's Resource Centre. The Ombudsman Ordinance also empowers The Ombudsman to investigate complaints of non-compliance with the Code on Access to Information against government departments, including the Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The Ombudsman acts as an independent review body for any alleged breach of the code.

The Office received 15 207 enquiries and 4 662 complaints in 2002, compared with 13 138 enquiries and 4024 complaints in 2001. The areas attracting substantial numbers of complaints were related to error, wrong advice or decision, disparity in treatment, negligence or omission, lack of response or unhelpfulness concerning complaints and ineffective control. The departments or organisations receiving the most complaints were: Housing Department, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Correctional Services Department, Transport Department, Home Affairs Department, Lands Department, Buildings Department, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Social Welfare Department and the Hospital Authority. The very nature of their services has a closer impact on the community and they have more direct, frequent and extensive contact with members of the public.

Although The Ombudsman has no authority to enforce her recommendations, over 95 per cent of the recommendations made have been accepted by the organisations concerned.

Office of the Director of Audit

The Audit Commission was formerly known as the Audit Department. The Audit Commission is established under the Basic Law, which provides that the Audit Commission shall function independently and be accountable to the Chief Executive of the HKSAR. The Audit Commission is one of Hong Kong's oldest departments. The first Auditor-General was appointed in 1844.

The Audit Ordinance, enacted in 1971, provides for the audit of the Government's accounts by the Director of Audit and for the submission of his report to the President of the Legislative Council. The Director also audits the accounts of the Hong Kong Housing Authority, five trading funds and more than 60 statutory and non-statutory funds and other public bodies. Furthermore, the Director reviews the