The Home & Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) held the first training session of the year for members of the District Councils (DC) at the Central Government Offices today, during which Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak shared the Government's handling of the fire.

The training covered the Government's support and response work after the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po.

It aimed to provide guidance to the DC members on how to respond to and help affected residents in the event of a major disaster, as well as enhancing the collaboration with District Committee members and care teams, thereby giving full play to the functions of the “troika” in district governance.

DC members were also requested to assist in improving the efficacy of building management in their daily work in order to prevent the reoccurrence of similar incidents.

Miss Mak shared the Government's handling of the fire, in particular areas under the purview of the HYAB team. These included immediately opening community halls as temporary shelters, mobilising care teams to assist residents, helping with the receipt and distribution of supplies and the disbursement of emergency subsidies, establishing the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to render assistance to residents of Wang Fuk Court and support various related initiatives, and co-ordinating with operators of hotels and youth hostels/camps to provide emergency short-term accommodation for the residents.

The Government also invoked for the first time section 31 of the Building Management Ordinance to apply for dissolution of the then management committee of the owners' corporation (OC) of Wang Fuk Court, and appointment of an administrator to assist in clarifying the legal liabilities and entitlements of the OC and the owners, and examining the accounts of the OC.

Miss Mak said that the Government was pressing ahead with improvement measures on various fronts and implementing systemic reforms to break down barriers of vested interests.

The HYAB and the Home Affairs Department are conducting a comprehensive review of the Building Management Ordinance following five preliminary amendment directions.

The HYAB will consult the property management sector, OCs and owners on proposals for further amendments to the ordinance, and will also collect views at the district level through the DCs' Working Group on Building Management (WGBM) to take forward the subsequent legislative amendment exercise.

Miss Mak told DC members that the incident had highlighted the advantages of the executive-led system after improving district governance, where districts could effectively mobilise the “troika” and the HYAB had greatly enhanced its capability to take action.

She reminded DC members that being at the frontline of district governance, they should proactively assist owners and residents in need in handling matters relating to building management, and make good use of the WGBM to provide suggestions to the Government.

Miss Mak encouraged DC members to enhance communication and interaction with residents and listen to their imminent concerns, with a view to identifying, intervening and resolving problems faced by the people at an early stage.

She also expects DC members to work together with the Government to drive the post-fire reforms to build a safer Hong Kong.