The Office of The Ombudsman on Tuesday issued 19 recommendations to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) on ways to improve how it allocates public columbarium niches.

Ombudsman Jack Chan noted that previously, only the Tsang Tsui Columbarium offered monthly allocations on a trial basis.

Under the standard system, people who missed the annual application period often had to wait nearly a year for the next round.

To resolve this, the Ombudsman recommended that the FEHD hold allocation exercises monthly, or at least on a quarterly basis.

The FEHD agreed with the proposal and is standardising monthly allocations across all available public niches starting this month.

Chan pointed out that the Tsang Tsui pilot scheme launched back in 2020, criticising the FEHD for failing to roll it out to other columbaria sooner.

He urged the department to conduct timely reviews to better meet public demand and ensure resources are used efficiently.

The investigation also revealed a massive gap in processing times, as online applications submitted via the FEHD online platform are generally automatically approved within a single day upon meeting specific criteria, compared to up to 50 days for paper or email submissions.

Chan noted that many applicants were unaware of this difference and urged the department to better educate the public and the funeral industry.

Following a separate Ombudsman report issued earlier, the FEHD recently launched a dedicated website for information on after-death arrangements.

While Chan called the site a “significant step forward” for facilitating access to information, he noted that some of it overlaps with the FEHD’s main website and contains inconsistent wording and content.

He recommended consolidating the two platforms for better clarity.

On a positive note, the Ombudsman praised interdepartmental collaboration, highlighting that the FEHD is working with other government agencies to build a one-stop digital platform covering death registrations, cremation permits, and related services.

Chan also commended the FEHD for its efforts in promoting eco-friendly funerals, saying the percentage of ash disposals in the form of green burials has recorded a steady rise over recent years.

The FEHD has accepted all the recommendations, and already begun implementing the monthly allocation arrangement.

The department added it will carefully study other suggestions and continue to improve its service quality.


Edited by Aaron Tam