Hong Kong’s 1823 hotline failed to resolve public inquiries, complaints involving multiple departments, ombudsman says
- Almost 60 per cent of complaints escalated by 1823 took more than 30 days to handle, while about 7.5 per cent remained unresolved for six months, ombudsman investigation reveals
- Probe also finds 2.5 million 1823 calls go unanswered each year
A Hong Kong hotline dealing with inquiries from the public has failed to resolve cases involving multiple government departments, resulting in a months-long delay in handling complaints, an investigation by the ombudsman has revealed.
The probe also found the 1823 hotline with about 500 employees could only take 42 per cent of the calls it received every year, leaving about 2.5 million ones unanswered annually.
Ombudsman Winnie Chiu Wai-yin released the findings on Thursday and urged the Efficiency Office, which manages the portal that handles grievances ranging from fallen trees to waste management, to enhance its services and capacity in handling public inquiries and complaints.
“In the process of clarifying responsibilities, 1823 is often stuck in a position of having responsibilities but no authority,” she said.
“This process is not only time-consuming and impeding on the efficiency of 1823, but the public may think the departments are shirking responsibilities and become dissatisfied with the delay in handling complaints.”
The portal, which acts as an inquiries and complaints hotline for 23 government departments or agencies, handled an average of 1.9 million inquiries and 550,000 complaints every year between 2018 and 2023.