People-based Governance
110. Civil servants deliver public services in the front line. I am grateful to them for maintaining quality services at a time when they are required to achieve enhanced productivity. I take pride in them. They are Hong Kong's pride too. I will adhere to the "people-based" principle in public services planning. I will identify what our people need, so as to provide them with more efficient and convenient services.
111. For the business sector, the Government is both a regulator and a service provider. To enhance the efficiency of the building construction industry and property development market, we endeavour to speed up the planning and approval procedures for private works. As the first step, the District Lands Offices will set up dedicated teams with an integrated management structure to expedite the processing of lease modification and land exchange applications. To complement this initiative, the head office of the Lands Department will step up case management and monitor more closely the progress of processing applications. We will launch this pilot scheme in the next financial year by setting up the first dedicated team in the District Lands Office (Hong Kong West and South). This measure is expected to bring about a 10% reduction in the processing time of related cases within the district. We will also examine if further improvements can be made to urban planning, land administration and approval procedures for building construction. Separately, to enhance our competitiveness, the Government will conduct a comprehensive review on other business licensing processes and streamline application procedures.
