CE to hold monthly LegCo sessions

(November 21, 2017)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam will attend a monthly 30-minute meeting at the Legislative Council in addition to her four Q&A sessions with lawmakers every year.
 
She made the statement before attending today's Executive Council meeting, announcing the new arrangement will start next year.
 
Mrs Lam reiterated the current-term Government respects LegCo and attaches great importance to the relationship between the executive and legislature.
 
She will give brief remarks in the traditional Chief Executive Q&A sessions but not during the new half-hour sessions, to give legislators more time to ask her questions.
 
The move was suggested by LegCo and she notified the Secretariat about the new arrangement yesterday.
 
Mrs Lam said she respects LegCo's constitutional function to perform checks and balances on the Government's work, but the community also expects legislators to pass its bills in due course.
 
She urged lawmakers currently debating an amendment to the Rules of Procedure to discuss the issue with mutual understanding and accommodation.
 
Responding to questions about when the Government will re-table the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill, Mrs Lam said unless lawmakers clear more than 10 amendment bills still on the agenda there is no room for the Government to do so.