The Government today (March 27) announced the appointment of two new members and the re-appointment of one incumbent member to the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund (CIIF) Committee for a term of two years with effect fro… read more
The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) announced today (March 27) the rating results of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Cylinder Distributor Safety Performance Recognition Scheme for 2019 for public reference.
All the 167 distributors under the five registered gas supply companies supplying cylinder LPG in Hong Kong joined the Scheme. Among the participating distributors, 54 attained the highest level of safety performance, the gold rating, while 19 and 94 received silver and bronze ratings respectively. Compared with last year, six more distributors have attained gold ratings.
Under the Scheme, independent auditing companies commissioned by the registered gas supply companies rated the distributors based on their performance in various aspects such as LPG cylinder delivery arrangements, safety inspections of gas appliances, record keeping of customer receipts, employee training and maintaining gas safety operation records. The rating results were verified by the EMSD.
Distributors will display the Scheme’s logo and the rating certificate outside and inside their shops respectively for easy identification by the general public.
Organised by the EMSD and registered gas supply companies, the Scheme aims to further enhance the safety performance of the LPG cylinder trade. Details of the Scheme and the ratings of LPG cylinder distributors are available at the EMSD website (www.emsd.gov.hk/en/media/lpgcdsprs) and the EMSD mobile application “E&M Connect”.
Hongkong Post announced today (March 27) the postal service arrangements for the Ching Ming Festival on April 4. No mail delivery and no mail collection will be provided. All post offices will be closed. In accordance with the usual practice, mail posted on the public holiday will be processed on the next working day.
For more information, members of the public may visit Hongkong Post’s website at www.hongkongpost.hk or contact the Hongkong Post enquiry hotline at 2921 2222.
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The Chief Executive has appointed two new members and re-appointed 16 serving members to the panel of the Resolvability Review Tribunal (RRT); and appointed three new members and re-appointed 15 serving members to the panel of the R… read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) will pass on the rates concession for the four quarters of 2020-21, as set out in the Budget Speech of the Financial Secretary in February, to its domestic and non-domestic tenants starting from April 2020.
“Following approval by the Subsidised Housing Committee of the HA, the apportioned amount of rates concession will be transferred to domestic tenants on a monthly basis over a 12-month period from April 2020 to March 2021 by offsetting an equivalent amount in the rent payable by them, subject to a ceiling of $1,500 per quarter for each rateable property,” a spokesman for the HA said today (March 27). For tenancies that do not cover the entire month, the transfer of the rates concession will be made on a pro-rata basis.
“The rates concession passing-on arrangement will apply to all domestic lettings including interim housing licensees and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients,” the spokesman said.
“Similarly, the Commercial Properties Committee (CPC) of the HA approved that the rates concession for the financial year of 2020-21 for the HA’s non-domestic properties (excluding carparks) will also be passed on to the non-domestic tenants/licensees on a ‘no loss, no gain’ principle. Their monthly rates from April 2020 to March 2021 will be waived subject to a ceiling of $5,000 per quarter in the first two quarters and a ceiling of $1,500 per quarter in the remaining two quarters for each rateable non-domestic property,” the spokesman said.
For the HA’s 12 single-operator markets viz. Ching Long, Hung Fuk, Kwai Chung, Lei Muk Shue, Mun Tung, On Tai, Ping Yan, Shek Mun, Shui Chuen O, Tin Yan, Yan Tin and Ying Tung, the operators will also pass on the rates concession to their licensees in full.
“Given the small amount of rates concession to individual carpark users and the significant administrative costs involved for its distribution to these users, the CPC endorsed the exclusion of carparks from this exercise in line with the arrangements for passing on the rates concession in previous exercises. The rates concession for carparks received by the HA would be invested in enhancing the HA’s carpark facilities, such as the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities at suitable sites, replacement of energy-efficient lighting to promote environmental protection and upgrading of the security system, etc,” the spokesman said.
The maximum total amount of rates concession to be passed on to domestic and non-domestic tenants/licensees by the HA is estimated to be about $2,599 million and $58.9 million respectively. They will be individually notified of the arrangements. read more