香港发展局局长反驳了关于设立专门机构协助业主处理楼宇维修招标一事存在政策“大倒退”的指责，坚称该机构计划的职权范围与十年前被否决的方案有根本不同。
Hong Kong’s development chief has refuted accusations of a policy U-turn over the establishment of a dedicated agency to help flat owners with building repair tenders, insisting the agency’s planned remit differs fundamentally from one rejected a decade ago.
发展局局长宁汉豪周五在记者会上详细阐述了将于今年底成立的“楼宇维修支援及服务委员会”的工作范围。她被问及此举是否与政府早前的表态相矛盾。
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, in a press conference on Friday, elaborated on the scope of work of the Building Maintenance Support and Services Council, which will be established by the end of this year. She was asked if this contradicted an earlier statement from the government.
“我对设立独立楼宇维修管理局存有保留。我一向对将执法与支援援助合二为一存有保留，因为两者之间存在内在矛盾，”她说。
“I have reservations about establishing an independent building maintenance authority. I have always had reservations about combining law enforcement with support and assistance, as there is an inherent contradiction between the two,” she said.
“独立机构（即委员会）提供支援，而监管和执法仍由屋宇署负责，那么今天提出的方案与我的观点并无重大冲突。”作为确保装修专业人士和承建商具备资格的改革一部分，政府提议设立楼宇维修支援及服务委员会，从投标者中推荐合资格承建商。
“The independent body [the council] provides the support, while regulation and law enforcement remain with the Buildings Department, then what is being proposed today does not present any major conflict with my view.”As part of an overhaul to ensure renovation professionals and contractors were qualified, the government proposed setting up the Building Maintenance Support and Services Council to recommend qualified contractors from among bidders.
该委员会将于今年内以政府拥有公司的形式成立，不具备法定权力。然而，业主若想获得补贴，将须遵循其推荐。屋宇署将继续监管香港的装修工程。
The council, which would be established as a government-owned company by this year, would have no statutory power. However, homeowners will be required to follow its recommendations if they want to receive subsidies. The Buildings Department will continue to oversee renovation projects in Hong Kong.
2015年，一宗标志性的串谋投标案引发各界呼吁政府设立独立机构，协助业主在楼宇翻新工程招标过程中把关。该案中，承建商邱瑞天承认就沙田花园壹号项目串谋提供利益一罪。设立新机构的诉求获得了广泛的议员、民间联盟和专业团体支持。
In 2015, a landmark bid-rigging case sparked calls for the government to set up an independent body to assist homeowners during bids for building renovation projects. In the case, contractor Yau Shui-tin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to offer an advantage concerning a project at Garden Vista in Sha Tin. Demand for the new body was backed by a broad spectrum of lawmakers, civil alliances and professional groups.
发展局局长马绍祥当时驳回了该想法，表示由不同机构——包括警方、廉政公署和竞争事务委员会——依据各自权力处理个案，会更“直接有效”。
n-Secretary for Development, Eric Ma Siu-cheung, brushed aside the idea, saying that it was more “direct and effective” for separate bodies – including the police, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Competition Commission – to handle cases under their powers.
他2015年对立法会议员说：“楼宇维修也涉及楼宇管理事宜。独立机构也难以介入业主之间就维修产生的纠纷。”
“Building maintenance also involves building management matters. An independent body would also find it hard to intervene in disputes among owners over maintenance,” he told lawmakers in 2015.
马绍祥还强调，设立独立机构势必涉及行政成本，这些成本“极有可能转嫁给业主”，推高维修工程费用。
Ma also stressed that setting up an independent body would inevitably involve administrative costs, which would “very likely be passed on to owners”, pushing up the cost of maintenance works.
当时为业主发声的人士包括前香港测量师学会会长何钜业，他现任该学会楼宇维修、保养、改建及加建工作小组主席。
Advocates for homeowners at that time included Vincent Ho Kui-yip, a former president of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS), who now chairs its Task Force on Building Repair, Maintenance, Alteration and Addition.
何钜业周五表示，政府的计划与2015年提出的建议高度一致，尽管倡议者当时希望设立法定机构。
Ho said on Friday that the government’s plan aligned closely with the proposal put forward back in 2015, although the campaigners had hoped a statutory body would be established.
不过，他认为政府通过修例赋予执法机构更大调查权力，以及对屋宇署进行内部改革，将为业主织就更稳固的“安全网”。
However, he believed that the government’s legislative amendments to give enforcement agencies more powers during investigations, and the internal overhaul of the Buildings Department, would create a more solid “safety net” for homeowners.
谈及改革为何耗时近十年才落地，何钜业指出，社会氛围在去年大埔致命火灾后发生了转变。
Commenting on why reforms took nearly a decade to materialise, Ho noted that social sentiment had shifted in the wake of last year’s deadly fire in Tai Po.
他说：“我常自问：若政府当时采纳我们的建议，当局会投入如此庞大的公共资源吗？这需要合适的社会氛围，公众才会接受。”
“I have often asked myself: if the government had pursued our recommendations back then, would authorities have committed such substantial public resources? It required the right sentiment for the public to become receptive,” Ho said.
“如今，公众已明白政府介入所产生的成本是值得的。最终，你因不法集团而损失的钱会更少。最重要的是，这能保证工程质量，保障你自身的安全和资产。” 前民主党成员、业主反围标联盟核心成员庄永辉也曾于2015年倡议设立独立监察机构。
“Today, the public understands that the costs incurred by government intervention are worthwhile. You end up losing less money to unscrupulous syndicates. Most importantly, it guarantees construction quality and safeguards your own safety and assets.”Winfield Chong Wing-fai, a former Democratic Party member and a core member of the Property Owners Anti-bid Rigging Alliance, also campaigned for an independent watchdog in 2015.
他表示，当时要求设立政府实体的诉求，源于业主们在向职能分散的政府部门投诉时，屡屡“碰壁”所产生的挫败感。
He said that at that time, demand for a government entity stemmed from frustration among flat owners who found themselves “hitting a brick wall” whenever they lodged complaints with disjointed government departments.
他怀疑，如果新机构的计划职权主要集中在提供支援服务上，这一问题依然会存在。
He suspected that this problem would remain if the planned remit of the new body focused primarily on providing support services.
“当时我们认为，政府应参照小额钱债审裁处或劳工审裁处的模式，设立一个专门裁决楼宇管理纠纷的专责机构，”他说。
“At that time, we felt the government should model an entity after the Small Claims Tribunal or the Labour Tribunal – a dedicated body to adjudicate building management disputes,” he said.
“即使无法立即绳之以法犯罪集团，至少也能有一个平台来解决业主之间的尖锐纠纷。”
“Even if you cannot immediately catch the criminal syndicates, you at least have a platform to resolve bitter disputes between owners.”