The Government today issued a consultation document to solicit further views from the public on its proposed licensing scheme to strengthen the regulation of private columbaria.
The consultation exercise will close on March 30.
Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow introduced the Public Consultation on the Licensing Scheme for Private Columbaria to the Legislative Council Food Safety & Environmental Hygiene Panel today.
The Government proposes to formulate a new piece of legislation titled the Private Columbaria Ordinance, under which all private columbaria, unless exempted, shall be subject to regulation under the licensing scheme. A statutory Private Columbaria Licensing Board will also be set up as the licensing authority.
The licensing scheme will impose appropriate regulation on private columbaria in various aspects, including the right of the columbarium operator to use the premises, compliance with all statutory requirements and land lease conditions, management of niches and consumer protection. A licence to operate a private columbarium shall be valid for five years, subject to renewal.
The licensee will be required to comply with a list of licensing conditions, including entering into a contract with consumers, keeping a register of patrons, formulating a management plan, setting up a maintenance fund and submitting a maintenance report, as well as complying with a Code of Practice promulgated by the licensing authority.
The legislation will also regulate how operators handle cremains upon business cessation.
“We consider it will be the responsibility of the operator to exert all reasonable efforts to get in touch with the owners/descendents, and to sustain such efforts over a period of time while keeping the interred cremains intact,” Dr Chow said.
“The operator’s task would only be completed when satisfactory arrangements in respect of all the interred cremains have been made with the owners/descendents. Failure to do so would be an offence. We recommend the maximum penalty for such an offence should be pitched at a relatively heavy level and include imprisonment.”
The consultation document also covers arrangements for pre-existing private columbaria. At present, there are many private columbaria which have operated for many years in the market, providing a place for the storage of cremains of deceased family members for many members of the public. However, some of them do not meet all the statutory or Government requirements. Dr Chow considers these columbaria should actively seek regularisation, so as to obtain a licence for legitimate operation under the future regulatory regime.
“We understand it takes time to seek regularisation. To allow the operators of those private columbaria which cannot satisfy all the licensing requirements to maintain the operation of the columbaria, they will be given temporary suspension from liability under the licensing scheme. The purpose of giving such temporary suspension from liability is to allow the operator to continue maintaining the operation of the niches already sold while working to regularise its irregularities,” he said.
“Any columbaria given temporary suspension from liability should strive to regularise its irregularities and freeze the sale of its remaining niches. The licensing authority may also attach conditions to such suspension.”
Dr Chow said under no circumstances should private columbaria that pose obvious or imminent danger in terms of building and fire safety be exempted from the licensing scheme. Exempted private columbaria will still be required to comply with the conditions imposed by the licensing authority, including cessation of sale of their remaining niches, reduction of noise and air pollution.
The Government also proposes the private columbaria operating within private cemeteries listed under Schedule 5 to the Public Health & Municipal Services Ordinance, as well as undertakers of burials, be exempted from the licensing scheme. It is considered that the latter only provide temporary storage of cremains.
The Government aims to table the bill at the Legislative Council in the last quarter of 2013.
Click
here for details on the consultation exercise.
