The Secretary for Housing, Planning & Lands says the Government's measures following an investigation into the building problems of public-housing units are in line with the recommendations in a Legislative Council's Select Committee report.

In LegCo, Michael Suen thanked the Committee for its hard work in the past two years and described its report - published today - as "thorough and comprehensive."

He also noted that the Government and the Housing Authority have taken follow-up measures to prevent a recurrence of the short-piling scandal which forced the 1999 demolition of two newly built public housing blocks and the ongoing foundation strengthening works at two other blocks.

"The Government is committed to providing for the housing needs of those families in need. Through sustained efforts in the past decades, we have built up an enormous public housing programme providing affordable and quality homes for half of the population in Hong Kong, which deserves the community's recognition," he said.

"We regret that the building quality problems discovered three years ago have to some extent tarnished the achievements of our public housing programme."

While the individual incidents were caused by criminal acts of contractors' and consultants' dishonest staff members, they also reflected the then shortcomings in the Housing Department's project-management systems and malpractices in the construction industry, Mr Suen said.

When these incidents were discovered, the Government and the Housing Authority promptly reviewed public-housing production systems and introduced comprehensive and effective follow-up measures, primarily in four areas.

* Contractors' and consultants' dishonest staff members were prosecuted and disciplinary actions have been started against Housing Department staff who were considered to be negligent in discharging their duties.

* The Housing Authority implemented a series of reform measures to strengthen project management and enhance the quality of public housing, such as forging partnership with stakeholders, strengthening site supervision and works control, and adopting quality-oriented procurement strategies.

* The institutional framework for the delivery of public housing has been streamlined, with clearer definition of the roles and responsibilities of various housing-related organisations and better integration of policy formulation and implementation.

* Government and Housing Authority representatives now work with the construction industry to end malpractices and foster a quality culture.

These reform measures are broadly in line with the Select Committee's recommendations, Mr Suen said. "This confirms that the steps we are taking are in the right direction."

The Housing Authority will also study the Committee's report carefully with a view to improving construction quality.

Authority Chairman Dr Cheng Hon-kwan - who just received the report - said the Authority will seriously consider its findings and recommendations and take appropriate follow-up action.

The Authority is committed to building-quality reform and has undertaken comprehensive and effective measures to address past problems, said Dr Cheng.

"I am pleased with the effectiveness of the initiatives introduced over two years ago, and look forward to continuing cooperation with the construction industry for the provision of quality housing in Hong Kong."