ENG-2009 — Page 68

24 Constitution and Administration

• the public sector continues to improve its quality, transparency and efficiency.

Two exceptions to the monitoring system are the Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, both of which have their own separate bodies for dealing with public complaints. The

complaints. The 19 major public organisations in the schedule are: the Airport Authority, Employees Retraining Board, Equal Opportunities Commission, Financial Reporting Council, Hong Kong Arts. Development Council, Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, Hong Kong Housing Authority, Hong Kong Housing Society, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited, Hospital Authority, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, Legislative Council Secretariat, Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Securities and Futures Commission, Urban Renewal Authority, Vocational Training Council and West Kowloon Cultural District Authority.

Apart from investigating complaints, The Ombudsman may initiate direct investigations of his 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, 69 such investigations have been completed six of them in the reporting year 2008-09. These six investigations concern:

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• Effectiveness of the Integrated Call Centre in handling complaints;

• Government's measures for street management;

• Control of roadside banners;

• Prevention of abuse of special grants under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) scheme;

• Support for students with specific learning difficulties; and

• Free admission scheme for using Leisure and Cultural Services Department's leisure facilities from July to September 2008.

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 is also empowered to act as an independent review body in respect of an alleged breach of the code.

The office received 14 005 enquiries and 5 386 complaints in the reporting year 2008-09, compared with 12 169 enquiries and 4 987 complaints in the reporting year 2007-08. The areas attracting substantial numbers of complaints were related