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Vision,Mission&ValuesOurVisionTobeacornerstoneoftheruleoflawinHongKongbydeliveringqualitylegalaidservices.OurMissionzToensurethatnoonewhoqualifiesforlegalaidisdeniedaccesstojusticebecauseoflackofmeans.zTomaintainthehigheststandardsofprofessionalexcellenceandethics.zTodevelopandmaintainahighly-motivated,dynamic,well-trainedandcommittedworkforce.zToworkinpartnershipwiththelegalprofessiontoreachourvision.zToanticipateandmeettheever-changingneedsofsociety.OurValueszIndependencezCommitmentzEfficiencyandeffectivenesszProfessionalismzTeamworkzCaringandresponsiveForewordIampleasedtopresentmysecondAnnualReportfortheLegalAidDepartment.2011wasanothereventfulandfruitfulyear.Wehaveimplementedanumberofnewinitiativesandmeasuresforenhancingthequalityoflegalaidservices.Iwouldliketohighlightsomeofthemhere.Five-yearlyReviewoftheCriteriaforAssessingtheFinancialEligibilityofLegalAidApplicantsFollowingtheconclusionofthelatestReviewin2010,severalsignificantimprovementmeasureswereimplementedwitheffectfrom18May2011.Firstly,thefinancialeligibilitylimitfortheOrdinaryLegalAidScheme(OLAS)hasbeenraisedfrom$175,800to$260,000andthatfortheSupplementaryLegalAidSchemefrom$488,400to$1,300,000.Secondly,thefinancialeligibilitylimitwasfurtherrelaxedforapplicantsaged60orabovebyprovidingthemwithacapitaldisregard.Whencalculatingthedisposablecapitalforthisgroupofapplicants,anamountequaltothefinancialeligibilitylimitofOLASisexcludedfromthecalculation.Thirdly,themedianmonthlyhouseholdexpenditurehasbeenadoptedinplaceofthe35-percentilehouseholdexpenditureasthebasisforcalculatingthestatutorypersonalallowances,whichwillbedeductedfromthefinancialresourcesoftheapplicantswhencalculatingtheirdisposableincome.ReviewofCriminalLegalAidFeesandScopeThereviewofthepaymentstructureforlawyersundertakingcriminallegalaidworkandtheexpansionofthescopeoflegalaidincriminalcaseshadentereditsfinalstage.WorkingtogetherwiththeHomeAffairsBureau,thedraftamendmentRulesweresubmittedtotheCriminalProcedureRulesCommitteeforvettinginMay.TheRulesoncepassedwillintroduceanewfeespaymentregimeforpractitionersundertakingcriminallegalaidworkandexpandcriminallegalaidtocoverappealcasesconsideredbytheCourtofFirstInstance,CourtofAppealandtheCourtofFinalAppealwhichdonotinvolveaconviction.VideoDocumentaryonLiabilityforCostsandReleaseofMoniesRecoveredAvideodocumentaryaimedatenhancingpublicunderstandingontheliabilityforcostsofaidedpersonsandthestepsinvolvedinthereleaseofmoniesrecoveredinaidedproceedingswasproducedandreleasedbytheDepartment.ThedocumentaryisavailableforpublicviewinginourHongKongandKowloonoffices.IthasalsobeenuploadedontotheDepartment'swebsite.FreeInterpretationServiceforEthnicMinoritiesInanon-goingefforttopromotelegalaidservicesamongethnicminorities,wehavetakenactivestepstopromotetheavailabilityoffreeinterpretationservicestoethnicminoritiesapplicants.ApplicantswhocanonlyreadorconverseinBengali,Hindu,Indonesian,Tamil,Thai,Tagalog,Urdu,Vietnamese,PunjabiandNepalicanapproachourstaffforassistanceusingspeciallydesignedcardswithappropriatemessagestoenabletheapplicantstocommunicatetheirrequeststoourstaff.MrWilliamChanHeung-pingDirectorofLegalAidMediationinLegallyAidedMatrimonialCasesSince2009,thelegalaidschemehasprovidedfundingtocovermediationincivilproceedingsinlinewiththeunderlyingobjectiveoftheCivilJusticeReformimplementedinthesameyear.Withaviewtopromotingbetterunderstandingofmediationinlegalaidcases,wehaveissuedaleafletonmediationinlegallyaidedmatrimonialcases.Itaimstoprovideinformationsuchaswhatismediation,whatcanbeachievedthroughmediationandtheroleoftheassignedlawyerinmediation.MobileVersionofMeansTestCalculatorInadditiontotheMeansTestCalculatorontheDepartment'swebsite,wehavelaunchedthemobileversionoftheMeansTestCalculatorwhichprovidesaconvenientwayformembersofthepublictofindoutwhethertheyarelikelytobeeligibleforlegalaidonmeans.LookingaheadItishearteningtoseethattheefforttoenhanceourservicestothepublicinthepastyearhasbornefruit.ThisisachievedthroughthecollaborativeeffortandhardworkofmydedicatedcolleaguesandcolleaguesfromtheHomeAffairsBureau.However,itisalsoimportantthatwedonotbecomecomplacentbutcontinuewithourpursuitofexcellenceinthedeliveryoflegalaidservicesintheyearsahead.IwishalsototakethisopportunitytopaymywarmtributetotheChairmanandMembersoftheLegalAidServicesCouncilfortheirinsightfuladviceandsterlingsupportforourworkduringtheyear.Mysincerethanksalsogotoourassignedlawyersfortheircommitmentinprovidingqualitylegalaidservicestothepublic.WilliamCHANHeung-pingDirectorofLegalAidMrWilliamChanHeung-pingDirectorofLegalAidBacktoTopChapter1DepartmentalStrategicPlanTheDepartment'sstrategicplansetsoutourobjectivesanddescribeshowtheobjectivescanbeachieved.Thestrategicplanprovidesarationalbasisuponwhichprioritiesaredeterminedandisregularlyupdatedtoensurethatresourcesarewelltargetedandusedeffectivelyhavingregardtothechangingneedsofsociety.TheDepartment'sstrategicplancanalsobeviewedattheDepartment'swebsite.ImplementationoftheStrategicPlanin2011ProcessingofLegalAidApplicationsandMonitoringofAssigned