Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (February 26):
 
Question:
 
     In order to enable students in need to stay at school outside school hours for care and learning support and allow their parents to take up jobs, the Government has proposed in the 2024 Policy Address to extend the School-‍based After-School Care Service Scheme to cover over 110 primary schools in the 18 districts across the territory. In parallel, the Education Bureau has set up the School-based After-school Learning and Support Programmes to support schools in providing after-school learning activities for needy students. Alongside in the community, after-school care services run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) provide homework guidance, skill development and social activities for primary school children. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective numbers of (i) Primary One to Primary Six students and (ii) primary schools in various districts, as well as (I) ‍participating schools/centres (with the number of their service places) and (II) beneficiaries (with the utilisation rates) of (a) the School-based After-School Care Service Scheme, (b) the School-‍based After-school Learning and Support Programmes and (c) the after-school care services run by NGOs over the past two years (set out by District Council district in the following table);

District Council district	(i)	(ii)	(a)		(b)		(c)
			(I)	(II)	(I)	(II)	(I)	(II)
……
Total

 
(2) in respect of the three types of after-school care and support service/scheme/programme mentioned in (1)(a) to (c), of the following information for each of them over the past two years: (i) ‍the overall expenditure, (ii) the average amount of government funding received by each school/centre in respect of the relevant service/scheme/programme and (iii) the amount of subsidy per student;
 
(3) in respect of the three types of after-school care and support service/scheme/programme mentioned in (1)(a) to (c), of the respective numbers of beneficiaries under each of them over the past two years who were from (i) single-parent families, (ii) families receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and (iii) ‍families receiving full grant under the Student Financial Assistance Schemes for primary and secondary school students, as well as the respective percentages of students with special educational needs under each type of service/scheme/programme;
 
(4) of the current number of after-school care service units mentioned in (1)(c) which offer pick-up and drop-off arrangements for students so that students can be sent to such units after school for care services; whether the authorities have provided resources to assist these service units in offering pick-up and drop-off arrangements; if not, of the reasons for that;
 
(5) given that many dual working parents have indicated that one of the difficulties they encounter is bringing their children to and from schools, whether the authorities will, in the long run, consider developing student escort platforms or services in the community using different modes such as innovative technology and neighbourhood support, so as to facilitate dual working parents in picking up and dropping off their children; and
 
(6) as there are views pointing out that while the three types of after-‍school care and support service/scheme/programme mentioned in (1)(a) to (c) are mainly targeted at underprivileged families at present, dual working families in general have a need for such services too, whether the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review and consolidate such service/scheme/programme, so that they can be extended to cover dual working families; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Education Bureau (EDB) and the Social Welfare Department (SWD) have implemented the School-based After School Care Service Scheme since the 2023/24 school year. Under the Scheme, participating schools will provide venues, and the Community Care Fund will provide funding for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide services for students in need (particularly those from single-parent families) to stay at school after-school hours for care and learning support in a safe and familiar environment, thereby allowing their parents to take up jobs. In addition, the EDB implements the School-based After-school Learning and Support Programmes (SALSP) to support needy students to participate in after-school learning activities with a view to facilitating their whole-person and all-round development. The SWD provides the Fee-waiving Subsidy Scheme (FWSS) under After School Care Programme (ASCP) to support primary students from low-income families to receive the ASCP service operated by NGOs.
 
     After consulting the EDB, our consolidated reply to the Hon Kenneth Leung’s question is as follows:
 
(1) SALSP and ASCP, implemented by the EDB and the SWD respectively, are existing programmes, while the School-based After School Care Service Scheme is a new scheme implemented by the Government in the 2023/24 school year. The information on the utilisation of the aforementioned three types of scheme/programme is set out in Annex 1. The School-based After School Care Service Scheme was implemented at 59 primary schools located at seven districts offering some 3 000 service places in the 2023/24 school year, and expanded to cover more than 120 primary schools in all 18 districts across the territory offering about 6 000 service places in the 2024/25 school year. Subject to actual utilisation and outcome of the Scheme, the Government plans to encourage more schools to participate in the Scheme, without capping the number of places, in the 2025/26 school year.
 
     As regards SALSP, which has been implemented since the 2005/06 school year, its aim is to support needy students to participate in after-school learning activities with a view to facilitating their whole-person and all-round development. All public sector schools (including special schools) and schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme can make application and there is no school quota. The main target beneficiaries of SALSP are Primary 1 to Secondary 6 students in receipt of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) or full grant under the Student Financial Assistance Schemes (SFAS). Participating schools could exercise discretion to benefit those students who are not in receipt of CSSA or full grant of SFAS but identified by schools as needy. The discretionary quota is capped at 25 per cent of the number of eligible students of the respective schools. Also under SALSP is the Community-based Projects, activities of which are organised in the respective districts by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and collaborating schools. Eligible students may participate in various activities under the School-based Grant and Community-based Projects at the same time. As such, the actual number of beneficiaries and utilisation rate are not applicable to the School-based After-school Learning and Support Programmes. The EDB encourages schools to flexibly deploy the School-based Grant and other related funding to enhance synergy, thereby organising diversified after-school learning activities for needy students.
 
(2) In respect of the School-based After School Care Service Scheme and ASCP, (i) the overall expenditure, (ii) the average amount of funding allocated to each school/centre under the scheme/programme and (iii) the amount of subsidy for each student, over the past two years (2022-23 and 2023-24) are set out in Annex 2.
 
     As for SALSP, the amount of School-based Grant that a school receives is calculated based on its number of students in receipt of CSSA or full grant under the SFAS as at the end of March of the respective school year, as well as its number of approved classes in the following school year. When calculating the amount of the grant, the rate for each of the above student is $400. Should schools have an 80 per cent or above utilisation rate of the School-based Grant in the previous school year, the rate of $600 per eligible student will be adopted as an incentive. As for the Community-based Projects, the applications submitted by NGOs are assessed on the basis of the content and nature of the activities, as well as the number of students and sessions involved, etc, and therefore the amount of funding for each activity differs. Eligible students may participate in various activities based on their needs and interests. In the 2022/23 and 2023/24 school year, $140 million and $137 million were provided to primary schools and NGOs respectively.
 
(3) In respect of the aforementioned three types of scheme/programme, the respective numbers of beneficiaries that were (i) from single-parent families, (ii) receiving CSSA and (iii) receiving full level of assistance under the Student Financial Assistance Schemes, and the respective percentages of students with special educational needs (SEN) over the past two years (2022-23 and 2023-24) are set out in Annex 3.
 
(4) ASCP aims at providing care services for children whose parents are unable to give proper care to them during after-school hours because of work or other reasons. It is operated by NGOs on a self-financing and fee-charging basis, providing care and support services for primary school children, including homework guidance, parental guidance and education, skill learning and social activities. The SWD provides financial assistance for the low-income families in need through the Fee-waiving Subsidy Scheme. The SWD does not maintain information of the service unit providing escort service for children attending ASCP.
 
(5) and (6) The Government will complete the evaluation of the School-based After School Care Service Scheme in the 2025/26 school year to decide on the way forward.  read more

     The Education Bureau (EDB) announced today (February 26) that an agreement by the Ministry of Education (MoE) has been obtained to progressively relax the quota for admission of Mainland students by the six self-financing institutions with the approval to admit Mainland students to degree programmes, and to allow relevant institutions to admit students from all provinces (regions/municipalities) of the country, with a view to further supporting the healthy and sustainable development of the self-financing post-secondary education sector, making more proactive contributions to Hong Kong’s development into an international post-secondary education hub. The six institutions concerned are Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Chu Hai College, Tung Wah College, and the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong under the Vocational Training Council.
 
     The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, said, “I am very grateful for the support of the MoE towards the capacity expansion and quality enhancement of self-financing post-secondary institutions. Following the doubling of the enrolment ceilings for non-local students of Government-funded post-secondary institutions to 40 per cent from the 2024/25 academic year, this relaxation arrangement can help harness the advantages of Hong Kong’s self-financing sector in terms of its flexibility and diversity to nurture talent for the country and Hong Kong, supporting the high-quality development of the country, while adding impetus to Hong Kong.”
 
     She said, “The EDB has long been supporting the healthy development and continuous quality enhancement of the self-financing sector by providing targeted support and strengthening regulation, including the plan to introduce a bill to amend the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320) into the Legislative Council shortly. The EDB will continue to keep in view institutions’ track record of operating self-financing programmes, performance in student admissions and utilisation of the prevailing quota, and liaise with the MoE to explore feasible further enhancements as and when appropriate. The EDB will also continue to collaborate with institutions to attract more students from around the world to build Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talent.”
 
     With effect from the 2025/26 academic year, the quota for Mainland, Macao and Taiwan (MMT) students of full-time locally-accredited self-financing local sub-degree and undergraduate (including top-up degree) programmes of relevant institutions will be increased in phases to 40 per cent, in accordance with an orderly and progressive approach having regard to the utilisation of the prevailing quota by relevant institutions. The EDB will require relevant institutions to submit reports on matters and statistics pertinent to, among others, their admission arrangements and student support services to determine the quota applicable to each institution.
 
     At the same time, the EDB will rationalise the calculation methodology of the relevant quota, with a view to providing self-financing institutions with greater certainty in admission planning and more effectively utilising the educational resources of institutions. The EDB will maintain communication with relevant institutions to facilitate their understanding and implementation of the relevant admission arrangements, while upholding a robust quality assurance mechanism to ensure the quality of self-financing post-secondary programmes and safeguarding students’ interests.
 
     In accordance with the prevailing policy, save for MMT students, there is no quota restriction on the admission of non-local students to full-time locally-accredited self-financing local sub-degree, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Currently, the quota for MMT students enrolling in full-time locally-accredited self-financing local sub-degree and undergraduate (including top-up degree) programmes is 10 to 20 per cent. There is no quota restriction for postgraduate programmes. So far, there are a total of six local self-financing institutions which have been approved by the MoE to admit Mainland students to their degree programmes (including undergraduate and postgraduate programmes).  read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Carmen Kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (February 26):

Question:

     The Immigration Department officially launched the Advance Passenger Information (API) System on September 3 last year to prevent undesirables, including potential non-refoulement claimants, from boarding flights heading to Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the authorities have, since the launch of the API System, compiled statistics and kept information on the number of undesirables prevented from boarding flights heading to Hong Kong each month, the distribution of their nationalities, points of embarkation, and the airlines they chose; if so, of the details (set out in a table); if not, the reasons for that;

(2) of the number and names of aircraft operators which have connected to the API System since its launch, and their percentage in the total number of aircraft operators operating inbound flights to Hong Kong (set out in a table); among the aircraft operators which have connected to the API System, of the number of those which have successfully prevented undesirables from entering Hong Kong by providing API, and the reasons why some aircraft operators have not yet connected to the API System;

(3) as there are views that the authorities should take the opportunity to review the entire mechanism of preventing undesirables from boarding flights heading to Hong Kong by the time when all aircraft operators are required to connect to the API System after the 12-‍month transitional period, whether the authorities have, in the light of the operational experience gained during the transitional period, reviewed the direction of optimising the aforesaid mechanism; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) given that the API System can only prevent undesirables from coming to Hong Kong by flights, whether the authorities have stepped up efforts to prevent entry of such persons through other channels; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(5) given that as stated in the 2024 Policy Address, the Government has since October 16, 2024 relaxed the criteria for nationals of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar applying for multiple-entry visas for travel and business, and extended the validity period of multiple-entry visas from two years to three years for these countries (as well as Vietnam which has enjoyed the relaxation since 2023), of the number of undesirables from these four countries coming to Hong Kong each month since the implementation of the relaxation, and whether there is a rising trend;

(6) as there are views that with the relaxation of the visa-free entry policies by the Mainland earlier on, undesirables may possibly come to Hong Kong via the Mainland (including by legal and illegal means), how the authorities step up co-operation with the Mainland in preventing entry of such persons to Hong Kong via the Mainland; and

(7) as there are views that there are signs of an increasing number of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) who prematurely terminate their employment contracts and subsequently lodge non-refoulement claims in order to extend their stay in Hong Kong for the purpose of applying for government subsidies or engaging in illegal employment, etc., of the number of such cases in each of the past five years, the nationalities of the FDHs involved, and the average number of days of their extended stay in Hong Kong (with a tabulated breakdown by quarter); of the measures put in place by the authorities to prevent and curb the abuse of the non-refoulement claim mechanism by such individuals?

Reply:

President,

     To meet the aviation security requirements of the Convention on International Civil Aviation and to align Hong Kong with other aviation hubs worldwide, as well as to enable the Immigration Department (ImmD) to further enhance its passenger clearance and enforcement capabilities to prevent undesirables, including potential non-refoulement claimants, from boarding flights heading to Hong Kong, the ImmD has implemented the Advance Passenger Information (API) system since September 3, 2024, requiring aircraft operators to comply with the Immigration (Advance Passenger Information) Regulation (Cap. 115Q) (the Regulation) by transmitting advance information to the ImmD about flights and passengers heading to Hong Kong.

     To allow sufficient time for aircraft operators to connect to the API system and to ensure the system will run in a smooth and orderly manner, the rollout has been carried out in phases. A transitional period of around 12 months was also adopted. The offences and defences, and the miscellaneous provisions under Part 4 and 5 of the Regulation will come into effect after the transitional period, starting from September 1, 2025.

     In consultation with the ImmD and the Labour Department (LD), my reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Carmen Kan is as follows:

(1) to (3) Since the rollout in phases of the API system on September 3, 2024, as at February 21, 2025, 82 airline operators have been connected to the system, including Hong Kong-based airline operators, such as the Cathay Pacific Airways, the Hong Kong Airlines, the Greater Bay Airlines and the Hong Kong Express Airways, etc. As for the nearly 70 remaining airline operators, the ImmD will continue to maintain close communication with them with a view to ensuring that relevant system connection works will be completed in an orderly manner before September 1, 2025. The list and number of airline operators connected to the API system, and the percentage out of the total number of relevant airline operators are at Annex.

     In just a few months of operation, the API system has been effective in successfully identifying and denying boarding of flights by ineligible persons, including persons who had lodged non-refoulement claims in Hong Kong but were eventually rejected and repatriated to their places of origin. As regards the relevant figures, as well as the nationality distribution, the places of departure and the airlines chosen for the cases concerned, it is considered not suitable to disclose such information due to security reasons as sensitive internal procedures are involved.

     The ImmD will make reference to the operational experience of the API system during the transitional period and maintain close communication with the airline operators and relevant stakeholders, with a view to continuously reviewing and optimising the system and the related operational procedures.

(4) and (6) In addition to the API system, the ImmD will continue to examine arriving passengers in a stringent manner at all control points and enhance intelligence exchanges with law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong and other places through various channels to prevent the entry of undesirable persons into Hong Kong. 

     On the other hand, the Government will also continue to spare no efforts in preventing entry of illegal immigrants (IIs) into Hong Kong. In view of the general resumption of international flights on the Mainland after the pandemic, the Mainland visa-issuing authorities abroad have resumed issuing visas to Mainland China to foreigners since March 2023. Coupled with rumours inducing IIs to come to Hong Kong, the number of non-ethnic Chinese (NEC) IIs intercepted had once increased in the second half of 2023. The Mainland and local law enforcement agencies have worked together to strengthen intelligence exchange; tighten the issuance of visas to Mainland China and control over the entry of NEC tourists into the Mainland; investigate syndicates organising cross-boundary illegal immigration; conduct interception at black spots in the Mainland and joint patrols at sea to deter NEC IIs from entering Hong Kong.

     With the concerted efforts of various parties, the number of NEC IIs intercepted in Hong Kong dropped significantly by 84 per cent from the peak of 364 in October 2023 to a monthly average of 57 in 2024, and the number of NEC IIs intercepted further reduced to 37 in January 2025. The ImmD will continue to maintain intelligence exchange with the law enforcement agencies in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao through the established anti-smuggling collaborative mechanism, and timely conduct joint enforcement operations to deter NEC IIs smuggling into Hong Kong on all fronts.

(5) Following the relaxation of criteria for Vietnamese nationals applying for multiple-entry visas for travel or business on October 25, 2023, to foster closer ties with countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ImmD has extended the relaxation to include nationals of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar starting from October 16, 2024. Meanwhile, the validity period of multiple-entry visas for nationals of these four ASEAN countries has also been extended from two years to three years. Since the commencement of relevant measures and up to end-January 2025, the ImmD has issued some 4 700 multiple-entry visas to applicants from those four countries. The ImmD does not maintain the number of persons refused entry by nationality.

     The ImmD has all along been playing a stringent gatekeeping role to ensure that only applicants meeting the relevant requirements will be granted visas. During immigration examination on arrival, in addition to considering whether the visitor possesses a valid travel document (including visas (if necessary)) and meets normal immigration requirements, the ImmD also decides whether to allow entry of relevant visitor with due consideration to the actual circumstances, having regard to the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and prevailing immigration policies.

(7) Over the past five years, the number of non-refoulement claims raised by former foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) are tabulated below, with breakdown by nationality and quarter:
 

Year		Indonesian	Filipino	Others	Total
2020	1st quarter	13	13	8	34
	2nd quarter	28	15	8	51
	3rd quarter	22	11	6	39
	4th quarter	52	35	23	110
	Full Year	115	74	45	234
2021	1st quarter	161	47	37	245
	2nd quarter	305	109	79	493
	3rd quarter	86	41	27	154
	4th quarter	106	30	13	149
	Full Year	658	227	156	1 041
2022	1st quarter	41	13	3	57
	2nd quarter	134	36	16	186
	3rd quarter	186	46	21	253
	4th quarter	157	52	22	231
	Full Year	518	147	62	727
2023	1st quarter	133	45	21	199
	2nd quarter	139	25	10	174
	3rd quarter	134	26	21	181
	4th quarter	135	31	16	182
	Full Year	541	127	68	736
2024	1st quarter	128	32	13	173
	2nd quarter	89	23	15	127
	3rd quarter	101	31	14	146
	4th quarter	111	38	19	168
	Full Year	429	124	61	614

     â€‹The Government actively combats the abuse of premature termination of employment contracts by FDHs to change employers (commonly known as job-hopping), including stringently vetting employment visa applications from FDHs who have frequently changed employers. In May 2024, the LD also promulgated a revised Code of Practice for Employment Agencies to request employment agencies to clearly brief FDH job seekers on the relevant immigration regulations, and not to adopt business practices such as providing monetary incentives to induce FDHs in employment to prematurely terminate their employment contracts. The Government has also all along been maintaining close communication and co-operation with Consulates-General of the major source countries of FDHs. The relevant Consulates-General agreed to step up efforts in providing correct information to their nationals about the non-refoulement claim mechanism and the fact that illegal employment is a serious offence liable to imprisonment in Hong Kong.

     Under the Government’s multi-pronged strategy in handling the relevant issue, the situation of former FDHs raising claims has improved. The number of claims raised by former FDHs in 2024 was reduced by 41 per cent compared to the peak in 2021, while the portion to the total claims received in the respective year also dropped from 41 per cent to 22 per cent. The Government will continue to actively co-operate with relevant stakeholders and step up publicity and education. The ImmD does not maintain the breakdown of other statistics mentioned in this question. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Andrew Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (February 26):
 
Question:

     Regarding the promotion of directorate Administrative Officers (AOs) of the AO grade structure, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the current establishment and strength of AOs at the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade C;

(2) of the average length of service as an Administrative Officer Staff Grade C for those who were promoted by one rank to become an Administrative Officer Staff Grade B in the past five years; and

(3) whether any AOs at the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade C or above were exceptionally promoted to more than one rank in the past five years; if so, of the details?

Reply:

President,

     The Administrative Service is a cadre of multi-skilled professional administrators who play leadership roles in different bureaux and departments, and are core members of the executive authorities and the governing team of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Administrative Officer Grade comprises seven ranks, including Administrative Officer, Senior Administrative Officer, Administrative Officer Staff Grade C (AOSGC), Administrative Officer Staff Grade B (AOSGB), Administrative Officer Staff Grade B1, Administrative Officer Staff Grade A and Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1. Officers promoted to AOSGC rank normally serve as Assistant Director in departments or Principal Assistant Secretary in the Government Secretariat.

     Our reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:

(1) As at January 1, 2025, the establishment and strength of AOSGC stood at 216 and 196 respectively. Of note is that not all AOSGC posts are filled by officers of the same substantive rank. Some AOSGC officers are acting up at the AOSGB rank, while some AOSGC posts are being acted up by Senior Administrative Officers.

(2) and (3) Promotion in the Administrative Officer Grade is based on objective criteria, such as personality, ability, performance, experience and potential. Administrative Officers are selected and promoted through a fair process, rather than according to their seniority. Promotion boards are convened on a regular basis to assess candidates’ suitability for promotion to the next higher rank. No Administrative Officer can be promoted for more than one rank at a time.

     In the past five years, it generally took more than 10 years for AOSGC officers to be promoted to the next higher rank at AOSGB; the longest case took 22 years while the shortest was about 10 years. The average length of service is as follows:
 

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Years of service at AOSGC rank	15	13	13	12	12

read more

     â€‹Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a reply by the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, in the Legislative Council today (February 26):

Question:

     Regarding the leasing status of commercial premises under the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA), will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective vacancy rates of shopping centres and markets under HA in the past three years (set out in a table);

(2) of the respective areas of HA’s commercial premises designated in each of the past three years for (i) leasing to government departments, (ii) handover to government departments for allocation on its behalf, and (iii) leasing to non-governmental organisations at concessionary rent, together with the respective vacancy rates of such areas (set out in a table); the respective ratios of the areas leased out or utilised under these three arrangements to the total area of the commercial premises;

(3) given that nine of HA’s shopping centres do not have western medical clinics, whether HA will consider inviting Chinese medicine practitioners to set up clinics in these shopping centres to increase healthcare services in the respective districts;

(4) given that HA has earlier launched the “Well Being•Start-Up” Programme in its shopping centres, which offers rent-free shop premises to young people, of the current status of implementation of the programme; whether HA will consider renewing the tenancies of such commercial tenants after the programme ends, and whether it will seek other business premises to continue the implementation of the programme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(5) whether the authorities have reviewed if the trade mix of HA’s shopping centres can provide an adequate and comprehensive range of social services for the respective districts (e.g. to address the problem of ageing population in public rental housing estates); if they have, of the details; if not, whether they will undertake such a review from the perspective of usage?

Reply:
 
President,

     The reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Hak-kan is as follows:

(1) The policy objective of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) is to provide affordable rental housing to low-income families with housing needs. The HA also provides, where appropriate, various ancillary facilities such as retail facilities and actively introduces different trades of goods and services to bring shopping convenience to residents, with a view to catering for and meeting their basic needs in daily life. As at end-December 2024, the overall vacancy rate (Note) of the HA’s commercial premises was 3.87 per cent, indicating an improvement compared with the rate of 3.95 per cent in the previous quarter (at September 2024). Compared with the rate of about 7.8 per cent in the private sector in the same period (at December 2024), the leasing status of the HA’s commercial premises was relatively better. At present, about 85 per cent of the HA’s retail facilities have maintained a vacancy rate lower than four per cent despite the impact brought by the changes in consumption patterns (such as going north for spending and shopping online) of some residents. In many of the HA’s shopping centres, including Ching Long Shopping Centre, JoysMark, Ying Tung Shopping Centre and Ping Yan Shopping Centre, most of the commercial premises, if not all, have been leased out. As for the HA’s markets, all the shopstalls in many of the markets have been leased out, including Choi Hung Estate Market, Ping Shek Estate Market, Ying Tung Market, Mun Tung Market and Tin Yan Market.

     The vacancy rates of shopping centres and markets under the HA in the past three years are set out as follows: 

	Vacancy Rate　(As at January 31 of each year)
HA’s Retail Facilities	2023	2024	2025
Shopping centres	1.2 per cent	2.52 per cent	3.73 per cent
Markets	7.01 per cent	10.71 per cent	13.32 per cent

(2) When planning for public housing projects, the HA follows relevant government policies as well as planning requirements and liaises with relevant departments to reserve space for the provision of suitable welfare, community and recreational as well as sports facilities to serve the residents. 

     The non-domestic space in public housing estates (PHEs) is limited and the demand of residents for various non-domestic facilities to cater for their daily needs, such as retail shops, community, education and welfare facilities, car parks and ward offices, is keen. Over the past three years, no commercial premises under the HA have been designated for leasing to government departments or handover to departments for allocation on the behalf of the HA. As for leasing of non-domestic premises at a concessionary rent to eligible non-government organisations (NGOs) for the provision of welfare or community services to residents, the HA strives to provide suitable premises in PHEs as welfare premises. We will keep in view the use of non-domestic properties in PHEs and will update information on vacant welfare premises available for direct application by NGOs on a monthly basis. The information will also be uploaded onto the HA/Housing Department’s websites, allowing eligible NGOs which are interested in leasing welfare premises to make applications. 

(3) and (5) The HA has all along been letting out its commercial premises through invitation of tenders in accordance with business principles, and the rental amount is assessed based on the prevailing market value. It has been the HA’s established policy to accord priority to business trades that are able to meet the basic needs of residents, such as pharmacies and Chinese and western medical clinic services catering for the daily needs of the elderly.
     
     Currently, among the nine HA’s shopping centres which are not equipped with western medical clinics, apart from Tin Ching Shopping Centre, there is at least one Chinese medical clinic and/or a pharmacy with provision of Chinese medicine consultation services, providing healthcare services to residents at their convenience. As for Tin Ching Shopping Centre, in its vicinity, there is a Jockey Club Tin Shui Wai Community Health Centre in the Tin Ching Amenity and Community Building, which provides healthcare services such as Chinese and western medical consultation and treatment as well as health checks. In the past, the HA had attempted for many times to invite tenders for the vacant premises in the shopping centre for Chinese and western medical clinics or relevant trades, but the tenders were unsuccessful. To better utilise the resources, the premises concerned were eventually leased out for other trades and all of the premises in Tin Ching Shopping Centre are now occupied.

     The HA has been collaborating with charitable organisations and NGOs to provide regular and convenient mobile Chinese medical or physiotherapy services in PHEs. Equipped with various medical equipment such as lifting platforms for the disabled, the “mobile Chinese medical vehicles” provide healthcare services including a range of medical services such as acupuncture, to residents in PHEs where Chinese medical or physiotherapy services are not available. From November 2023 to October 2024, the “mobile Chinese medical vehicles” have provided to 33 PHEs a total of more than 1 800 days of Chinese medical or physiotherapy services. 

     The HA will review the trade mix of its commercial facilities from time to time and will conduct appropriate and timely feasibility studies on the conversion of vacant premises for other suitable trades. The HA will adopt flexible marketing and leasing strategies and respond duly to the ever-changing market trends and customer expectations, with a view to providing more shopping choices and a wide variety of services to the residents and local community. In estates with a higher population ratio of elderly residents, the HA will take the initiative to approach potential tenants/organisations which target at serving the needs of the elderly and invite them to operate trades such as sale of rehabilitation and medical products, pharmacies, clinics and community centres to cater for the daily needs of the elderly. In addition, the HA has set up a hotline to provide leasing information on its commercial premises to facilitate potential tenants to contact the HA directly. To increase the chance of successful letting, QR codes have also been posted at shopping centres and markets, enabling potential tenants to browse the latest tender notices and subscribe to tender information related to commercial premises. Over the past year (from February 2024 to January 2025), the HA has successfully leased out over 200 shops and market shopstalls, with a certain portion of shops catering for the needs of the elderly for healthy lifestyles. These shop premises were successfully leased out after marketing efforts and formulation of/change for suitable trades in response to market trends. Examples include the Chinese and western medical clinic(s) in Lai Kok Estate, Ching Tao Court, Fuk Loi Estate and Shek Kip Mei Estate, the shop(s) selling rehabilitation and medical products in Tin Ching Estate, as well as the community service centres (with Chinese medicine services) run by NGOs in Shek Mun Shopping Centre and Shui Chuen O Plaza. This demonstrates the positive impact of the abovementioned flexible, effective and comprehensive leasing strategies.

(4) To encourage and support young people in pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams, the HA launched the “Well Being • Start-Up” Programme last year, offering rent-free shop premises in its shopping centres for young people to trial their business plans. If the participants make a profit from the programme, 20 per cent of the net profits will go to the HA to fund and sustain the development of the programme. The programme has been well received since its launch, with about 180 applications received. Currently, 17 selected teams are operating in different shopping centres under the HA. In view of the widespread support from young people and various sectors of the community for the programme, the HA is now actively considering the expansion of the programme. Private shopping arcades and landlords in the commercial sector will be encouraged to provide more chances for young people to start their businesses, make use of the vitality and innovative ideas of young people to provide residents with a more diversified choice of goods and shopping experience, and provide young people with more resources and opportunities to start their businesses and realise business plans with great potential.
     
     Note: Overall vacancy rate is calculated by: vacant lettable indoor floor area/lettable indoor floor area x 100 per cent. read more