The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: As at noon today (April 22), public hospitals had reported to the Department of Health the admission of 28 patients (18 male and 10 female, aged six months to 84 y… read more
Following is a question by the Hon Tanya Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (April 22):
Question:
The Fanling Golf Course (FGC) is a sports and recreational facility developed by the Hong Kong Golf Club for use by its members on a piece of land leased from the Government under a private recreational lease (PRL). Under the relevant clause of PRL, FGC is currently required to open up its facilities for use by eligible outside bodies only for a maximum of three sessions of three hours each per week. In addition, the lessee of the land where FGC is located voluntarily opens up FGC’s facilities for use by eligible outside bodies from Monday to Friday, as well as its night range for public use from 6pm to 10pm every day. However, some members of the public have pointed out that in recent months, the driving range has often been fully booked in no time, rendering them unable to book the relevant facilities on many occasions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the utilisation rate of FGC, as well as the number of days and number of hours for which the relevant facilities were available for booking and actually hired by non-members, in each month of the past two years, with a tabulated breakdown by the targets to which the facilities were opened up (i.e. eligible outside bodies and the public); if not, whether it will request the lessee concerned to provide such data;
(2) even though the Government has indicated that it will, when granting FGC a new PRL, add a clause requiring “the further opening up of facilities to outside bodies” (i.e. requiring the lessee to open up 30 per cent of its total sports and recreational facility capacity to eligible outside bodies, and co-organise at least 240 hours of sports activities every month with sports bodies for participation by members of the public), FGC still occupies as vast as 140 hectares of land upon excluding 32 hectares to be used for housing purpose, whether the Government will, in the new PRL, require the lessee to open up more than 30 per cent of the facilities to outside bodies and increase the number of opening hours; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it has gained an understanding from the lessee concerned as to why members of the public have been unable to book FGC’s driving range on many occasions in recent months, and requested the lessee to examine (i) whether there have been cases of persons being improperly given the right to make priority bookings or failing to take up their booked sessions on multiple occasions, and (ii) whether appropriate follow-up actions have been taken in respect of such cases?
Reply:
President,
In 2011, the Executive Council (ExCo) approved the modification on the policy of Private Recreational Leases (PRL) pertaining to the requirement of opening up sports facilities to eligible outside bodies, i.e. adjusting from a maximum of three sessions of three hours per week to a minimum of 50 hours per month. The modified requirement for opening up facilities is applicable to the renewal of leases which expired in 2011 and 2012.
The current lease of FGC, which was granted in 1999 and will expire in August 2020, is not subject to the modification approved by the ExCo in 2011. Nevertheless, the Hong Kong Golf Club (HKGC) has voluntarily followed ExCo’s modification and opened up its sports facilities to eligible outside bodies (Note 1) for at least 50 hours per month. Details have been uploaded onto the website of the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB): www.hab.gov.hk/file_manager/en/documents/other_information/voluntary_open.pdf. Moreover, HKGC has opened up its 18-hole course at FGC for use on weekdays by members of the public holding valid handicap certificates issued by recognised golf clubs or golfers’ associations. Its driving range is also open for public use from 6pm to 10pm every day (weekdays and public holidays).
The reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
(1) The HAB requires PRL holders to submit quarterly reports for monitoring utilisation of facilities on PRL sites. The reports contain quarterly data without monthly breakdown. Information on utilisation of FGC’s facilities is tabulated below:
| Quarter | Actual number of hours utilised | ||
| Eligible outside bodies | Non-members | ||
| 2018 | Q1 | 3 647 | 55 193 |
| Q2 | 4 855 | 44 685 | |
| Q3 | 2 298 | 33 462 | |
| Q4 | 4 497 | 56 867 | |
| 2019 | Q1 | 4 738 | 61 750 |
| Q2 | 6 525 | 47 259 | |
| Q3 | 4 438 | 48 842 | |
| Q4 | 4 292 | 62 088 | |
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (April 22) the composite interest rate at the end of March 2020 (Note 1).
The composite interest rate, which is a measure of the average cost of funds of banks, decreased by 4 basis points to 0.95 per cent at the end of March 2020, from 0.99 per cent at the end of February 2020 (see Chart 1 in the Annex). The decrease in composite interest rate reflected decreases in the weighted funding cost for deposits during the month (see Chart 2 in the Annex) (Note 2).
The historical data of the composite interest rate from the end of the fourth quarter of 2003 to the end of March 2020 are available in the Monthly Statistical Bulletin on the HKMA website (www.hkma.gov.hk).
Note 1: The composite interest rate is a weighted average interest rate of all Hong Kong dollar interest-rate-sensitive liabilities, which include deposits from customers, amounts due to banks, negotiable certificates of deposit and other debt instruments, and all other liabilities that do not involve any formal payment of interest but the values of which are sensitive to interest rate movements (such as Hong Kong dollar non-interest bearing demand deposits) on the books of banks. Data from retail banks, which account for about 90 per cent of the total customers’ deposits in the banking sector, are used in the calculation. It should be noted that the composite interest rate represents only average interest expenses. There are various other costs involved in the making of a loan, such as operating costs (e.g. staff and rental expenses), credit cost and hedging cost, which are not covered by the composite interest rate.
Note 2: Since June 2019, the composite interest rate and weighted deposit rate have been calculated based on the new local “Interest rate risk in the banking book” (IRRBB) framework. As such, these figures are not strictly comparable with those of previous months. read more
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (April 22) that the overall Rodent Infestation Rate (RIR) for 2019 was 4.2 per cent, higher than the figure recorded in 2018 (3.4 per cent). Rodent infestatio… read more
Following is a question by the Hon Charles Mok and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Kevin Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (April 22):
Question:
In the last school year, the Government launched an assistance programme known as “Provision of Subsidy to Needy Primary and Secondary Students for Purchasing Mobile Computer Devices to Facilitate the Practice of e-Learning” (the assistance programme) under the Community Care Fund (CCF), to subsidise students to purchase mobile computer devices. One of the conditions for applying for the assistance programme is that students are “studying in schools and classes implementing e-learning and adopting “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD). However, only about 26 per cent of secondary schools, 22 per cent of primary schools and 18 per cent of special schools had implemented or were formulating measures relating to BYOD in the 2017-2018 school year. Based on such figures, it is estimated that the majority of students have been unable to receive subsidies through the assistance programme. On the other hand, in view of the severe situation of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, the Education Bureau (EDB) has earlier extended for several times the class suspension arrangements at schools and recommended that schools should provide students with learning materials through school websites, e-learning platforms, etc. during the period of class suspension, so that students can continue their studies at home. It is learnt that as some grass-roots families cannot afford to purchase computers for their children who are students or pay for Internet access charges, and that they have not received the required technical support, the students concerned are unable to learn at home through e-learning platforms. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number and percentage of public schools which implemented the BYOD policy in the past three years, together with a tabulated breakdown by type of schools (i.e. secondary school and primary school) and finance type of schools (i.e. government, aided, caput, Direct Subsidy Scheme, and special schools);
(2) of the respective numbers of students whose applications were received and approved under the assistance programme so far, and the percentage of the number of students whose applications were approved in the total number of students eligible for application, together with a tabulated breakdown by type of schools and finance type of schools (as shown in (1));
(3) whether it knows the respective numbers of grass-roots families which encountered difficulties last year in purchasing computers for their children who were students, paying for Internet access charges, and seeking relevant technical support; given that the majority of students of public schools have been unable to benefit from the assistance programme, how EDB assists them in learning through e-learning platforms;
(4) whether it knows the number of cases in the past three months in which students from grass-roots families were unable to learn at home through e-learning platforms during the period of class suspension, and the relevant details; of the new measures to assist them in undertaking e-learning at home;
(5) whether it will conduct a review of the assistance programme, including studying the following issues: extending the coverage to schools which have not implemented the BYOD policy, setting a target rate of subsidy and a timetable, and assigning the co-ordination work to EDB, with a view to benefitting all students from grass-roots families as soon as possible;
(6) given that the Hong Kong Jockey Club has recently launched, in collaboration with two non-governmental organizations, the “Bandwidth Support for E-learning at Home Scheme” to provide grass-roots primary and secondary students (particularly those who live in subdivided units, old buildings and remote areas and thus do not have access to high-speed Internet services) with free mobile data bandwidth for four months, so that they can undertake e-learning at home during the period of class suspension, whether the Government will consider launching a similar scheme on its own in the future to be run on a regular basis, with a view to providing support for students from grass-roots families in a systemic manner; and
(7) whether it will study the establishment of regional e-learning resource centres in various public libraries and study rooms and the acquisition of the relevant equipment (including WiFi and printers), so that students from grass-roots families can undertake e-learning at such centres?
Reply:
President,
The Government has been promoting information technology in education for over 20 years, providing schools with basic infrastructure and support. Schools have been implementing e-learning to varying degrees according to their contexts. Teachers are adept at utilising the diversified teaching and learning resources available online to support students to learn. The EDB launched the Fourth Strategy on Information Technology in Education (ITE4) in the 2015/16 school year. One of the key measures of ITE4 is to establish Wi-Fi campus by phases for all public sector schools in the territory to facilitate e-learning in class. BYOD refers to students bringing their own mobile computer devices to school for learning on the advice of their schools. It is one of the initiatives for promoting e-learning but not an essential component of e-learning. To cope with the change in teaching mode and achieve the aim of enhancing e-learning effectiveness, schools planning to implement BYOD should give careful consideration to a number of questions, such as scale of implementation involving whole-school or individual levels and subjects, the need of owning a computer device by every student, models and operating system requirements of the device, suitability of full implementation of e-learning inside and outside classroom for young students, potential negative health impact, parents’ and students’ awareness of the stakes involved, precautionary measures against abuse and problem of Internet addiction. These issues call for careful planning and close communication with parents for forging a consensus. Under school-based management, schools should decide whether it is necessary for them to implement BYOD according to their specific contexts, including pedagogical design, learning characteristics and needs of students, parents’ views and other supporting measures (such as enhancing students’ information literacy, etc.). By optimising the use of various grants from the EDB, some schools have acquired mobile computer devices for students’ use in schools so that e-learning in class is possible without adopting BYOD. Some schools have implemented BYOD to enable more personalised learning. Through the Community Care Fund, the EDB has been providing subsidy to needy primary and secondary students from schools implementing BYOD to purchase mobile computer devices since the 2018/19 school year. The application for this school year has originally closed. In view of the fact that many schools have attempted to continue with teaching via electronic platforms amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the EDB will handle new applications submitted by schools for their needy students flexibly. Apart from keeping school premises open, schools are actively supporting students to learn at home during class suspension by various means, such as lending mobile computer devices to students and helping them apply for relevant assistances.
Our reply to the Hon Charles Mok’s question is as follows:
(1) As mentioned above, schools may decide whether to implement BYOD and to which levels of study and subjects will BYOD be implemented based on their contexts. The EDB does not maintain formal statistics on the number of schools implementing BYOD and the percentage of these schools in the total number of schools. The percentages of “schools (that) had implemented or were formulating measures relating to BYOD” quoted in the question are from the findings of the questionnaire survey on information technology in education conducted in the 2017/18 school year targeting mainly public sector schools which had completed the enhancement works of their Wi-Fi campuses. Taking part in the survey is voluntary. The percentage of school respondents in the total number of public sector schools varied in the past few years, not reflecting the full picture and the changes between school years.
(2) Public sector schools (including government, aided, caput and DSS schools) that implement the BYOD policy can participate in the “Provision of Subsidy to Needy Primary and Secondary Students for Purchasing Mobile Computer Devices to Facilitate the Practice of e-Learning” (the assistance programme) to purchase appropriate mobile computer devices and accessories for eligible students (Note 1) according to their needs. After completing the procurement procedures, schools will submit a report to the EDB for determining the funding required. About 190 primary and secondary schools participated in the assistance programme in the 2018/19 school year. The number of student beneficiaries is set out below:
| Type of Schools | Number of Student Beneficiaries in the 2018/19 school year | ||
| Government Schools | Aided Schools (Note 2) | Total | |
| Primary schools | 18 | 5 512 | 5 530 |
| Secondary schools | 191 | 7 665 | 7 856 |
| Special schools | Not applicable | 470 | 470 |
| Total | 209 | 13 647 | 13 856 |