Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hoi-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (April 30):
 
Question:

​It has been reported that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has progressively established more pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets in recent years. However, some members of the public have relayed that the hygiene conditions and locations of such facilities are unsatisfactory, and that the ancillary facilities are inadequate with some already damaged. Furthermore, most other recreation and leisure facilities under the LCSD, including public bathing beaches and holiday camps, still prohibit the entry of animals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the number of complaints received by the Government in each of the past five years involving the use of pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets, and the three most common types of these complaints together with their respective numbers;
 
(2) of the respective numbers of pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets that the LCSD (i) has currently established and (ii) plans to establish in the coming three years in the various districts throughout the territory (and their proportions in the total number of LCSD gardens and parks in the respective districts), and the respective land areas of such gardens and parks (and their proportions in the total areas of LCSD gardens and parks in the respective districts), together with a breakdown by the 18 districts across the territory; whether the LCSD will proactively examine the demand for such gardens and parks in the various districts with a view to setting the relevant targets and a timetable for their establishment;
 
(3) of the conditions and minimum standards set by the LCSD in relation to the size, facilities and management, etc. of pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets when they are established; the guidelines and requirements put in place by the LCSD to govern the management of these gardens and parks by outsourced management companies, such as the daily frequency of emptying dog excreta collection bins and the time taken to repair damaged facilities;
 
(4) of the number of complaints received by the Government in each of the past five years involving the bringing of pets into the various recreation and leisure facilities (including public bathing beaches and holiday camps) under the LCSD, and the number of enforcement actions taken in this regard;
 
(5) whether the LCSD will, by drawing on the experience of establishing pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets, consider creating pet-‍friendly spaces in facilities under its management, such as public bathing beaches and holiday camps; if so, of the details and implementation timetable; if not, the factors to be considered; and
 
(6) given that the arrangement to establish Inclusive Parks for Pets has been regularised for four years, when the LCSD plans to review the effectiveness of implementing the pet-inclusive concept in parks and assess the long-term feasibility of completely lifting the ban on allowing pets to enter parks and gardens?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
My reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Hoi-yan is as follows:
 
(1) The number of complaints received by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) involving the use of pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets in the past five years are as follows: 
 

Year	Number of complaints received (cases)
2020	82
2021	287
2022	858
2023	1 029
2024	695

 
Among the above complaints, the three most common categories are environmental hygiene (1 348 cases), venue facilities (383 cases), as well as relevant policies and arrangements such as requests for or objections to the establishment of more pet gardens or Inclusive Parks for Pets (352 cases).
 
(2) As at March 2025, the LCSD has set up a total of 55 pet gardens and 180 Inclusive Parks for Pets in the 18 districts across Hong Kong. Information on the number of LCSD parks and playgrounds, the number of pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets, as well as the proportion of these facilities in the total number and site area of LCSD parks and playgrounds by district are set out at the Annex.
 
The LCSD keeps an open mind and opens up its venues as pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets proactively, and will duly review public feedback. The LCSD plans to set up a total of over 20 additional pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets in the 18 districts across Hong Kong in the next three years. The proposed addition of pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets is subject to the support of relevant District Councils. Hence, the actual number and site areas are yet to be confirmed. More information will be released by the LCSD in due course when more concrete details of the plan are available.
 
(3) Pet gardens, which are for exclusive use by pets, are normally equipped with fences and double pet gates at entrances/exits to prevent pets from getting lost. Pets are allowed to move around freely in the venues without leashes. At present, the newly provided pet gardens under the LCSD normally cover an area of no less than 400 square metres, and are equipped with ancillary facilities (e.g. dog excreta collection bins/dog latrines and hand-washing facilities) for owners or their pets. Subject to the actual environment, some pet gardens are even furnished with lawns, drinking fountains and play equipment, etc. for exclusive use by pets. Separate areas for large/small pets are also designated in some of the pet gardens where feasible, with a view to catering to the varying needs of the users and their pets.
 
Inclusive Parks for Pets are not designed for exclusive use by pets. The concept is to allow members of the public to bring their pets to the parks and share the passive leisure facilities therein with other users. To facilitate the shared use of park facilities among different users, the LCSD will make minimal changes to the existing environment and facilities of the parks, and require owners to keep their pets leashed in the venues. In addition, depending on the actual environment and needs, additional basic ancillary facilities, such as dog excreta collection bins/dog latrines and hand-washing facilities will also be provided in the venues for the convenience of pet owners.
 
To ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of venues, cleansing service contractors will arrange frontline cleansing staff to conduct regular cleaning in accordance with the contractual requirements and actual operational needs. In general, frontline cleansing staff will empty the dog excreta collection bins daily, and step up the cleansing frequency in view of the actual operational needs. LCSD staff will also carry out regular inspections of various facilities in the pet gardens and Inclusive Parks for Pets. If the facilities are found to be damaged, the LCSD will request the works departments or arrange for contractors to carry out repair works as soon as possible. The time taken to repair damaged facilities depends on individual circumstances and the parts involved, making it difficult to generalise.
 
(4) The number of complaints received by the LCSD about pets being brought into leisure facilities by members of the public and the number of prosecutions instigated by the LCSD in this regard in the past five years (from 2020 to 2024) are as follows:
 

Year	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	Total
Number of complaints	114	120	114	167	211	726
Number of prosecutions	1	0	5	2	1	9

 
(5) Unlike passive parks or leisure facilities that are generally open for public use, holiday camps mainly provide venues for active recreation and sports activities such as archery ranges, rope courses, and sports climbing walls for campers. Water sports centres are also active recreation facilities, and among which, the water sports training venues comprise various zones for coaching, equipment assembling/disassembling and on-land practice etc. Pet-friendly spaces, if added, may hinder the flow and procedures of training, and even affect the safety of venue users and pets. In addition, the public beaches under the LCSD are mainly for members of the public to engage in recreation activities such as swimming, sand sculpting and sunbathing etc. Allowing pets on beaches will lead to hygiene issues such as the excreta of pets on beaches, which are more difficult to manage and may affect other users. Therefore, the LCSD does not consider the provision of pet-friendly spaces at venues such as public beaches, water sports centres and holiday camps currently.
 
(6) At present, members of the public have varying views and levels of acceptance regarding whether pets should be allowed in LCSD venues. The LCSD has to consider the actual environment as well as views and needs of members of the public, balance environmental hygiene and public health issues and consult the District Councils concerned before ascertaining whether to open up existing venues to pets or designate newly constructed venues as pet gardens or Inclusive Parks for Pets.
 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Lai Tung-kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (April 30):
 
Question:

     The Government has announced that it will reduce the civil service establishment by two per cent each year in 2026-2027 and 2027-2028, based on the establishment of the preceding financial year. Together with the civil service establishment reduced under the zero-growth policy for the civil service establishment implemented since 2021-2022, about 10 000 posts are expected to be deleted from the civil service establishment by April 1, 2027, within the term of the current Government. In addition, since March 31, 2021, there has been a cumulative reduction of around 2 000 posts in the civil service establishment, of which about 1 200 posts have been reduced between 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the cumulative number of posts in the civil service establishment that have been deleted since the current Government’s term of office;

(2) of the changes in the civil service establishment of policy bureaux/government departments/offices since the current Government’s term of office;

(3) as the authorities have indicated that the two per cent reduction in the civil service establishment in 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 will be achieved by treating each policy bureau and its subordinate government departments as a unit and reducing their total establishment by a uniform percentage, of the total establishment of each policy bureau and the government departments under its purview at present;

(4) whether, in conjunction with the reduction of the civil service establishment, the authorities will engage outsourced contract staff or non-civil service contract staff to maintain staffing levels; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(5) given that the Government is actively implementing computerisation to increase efficiency, whether the Government will study the abolition of obsolete grades or further reduction of posts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     Regarding the question raised by the Hon Lai Tung-kwok, the consolidated reply is as follows:

     To ensure the sustainability of public finances, the civil service establishment (Note) has maintained zero-growth since 2021-22 with the overall establishment controlled at a level not exceeding that as at end-March 2021 (about 196 000 posts). It does not mean there is no growth in the establishment of each bureau/department (B/D), which may still increase having regard to operational needs and with full justifications. Posts no longer required for operation will be deleted. It is anticipated that by March 31, 2026, the civil service establishment will have a reduction by approximately 3 000 posts on a cumulative basis. The current Government’s term of office commenced in July 2022. The change in the civil service establishment by bureaux/departments/offices and the total establishment of each bureau and its departments in 2022-23 and 2025-26 are set out in Annex.

     To optimise the use of manpower resources and to control public expenditure, the 2025-26 Budget proposed that the Government will reduce the civil service establishment by two per cent each in 2026-27 and 2027-28 basing on the establishment of the preceding financial year. Together with the civil service establishment reduced under the civil service establishment zero-growth policy implemented before 2026-27 by this term of Government, about 10 000 posts are expected to be deleted from the overall civil service establishment by April 1, 2027 within the current-term Government. 

     The Government will reduce the establishment on a bureau basis, reducing the total establishment of each bureau and its departments by an across-the-board percentage (i.e. two per cent each in 2026-27 and 2027-28). The reduction rates within a bureau and its departments need not be standardised. A bureau can determine the civil service posts to be deleted and ranks combination after itself and its departments have considered factors like the overall service demand, operational needs and vacancy situations, etc. The resources saved will be counted towards the two per cent savings of the recurrent expenditure of the B/Ds concerned for the respective financial years under the Government’s Productivity Enhancement Programme (PEP). 

     Under the PEP, B/Ds adopt the most suitable mode of public service delivery, like employing civil servants or non-civil service contract (NCSC) staff, or service outsourcing, having regard to such factors as operational needs, financial resources, service nature and effectiveness, etc. At the same time, B/Ds adopt management measures and digitalisation with a view to enhancing efficiency and optimising the use of manpower resources through reprioritisation, internal redeployment, streamlining of work processes and application of technology, such that high-quality public services will continue to be provided to the citizens, while the civil service establishment is being streamlined in parallel. If B/Ds adopt methods of public service delivery that incur additional expenditure, such as employing NCSC staff or service outsourcing, they must bear in mind that their recurrent expenditure will be reduced by two per cent in the respective financial years under the PEP and they should spend within their means. 

     The Government will continue to monitor from time to time whether the manpower requirements and functions of different grades and ranks need adjustments due to the changes in operations or circumstances, or due to technology application. For individual grades, if their future manpower needs are uncertain, such as those with surplus staff or those undergoing institutional reviews, they will be classified as “Controlled Grades”. These grades require the approval of the Civil Service Bureau before conducting recruitment exercises, which is not lightly granted unless they have clear prospect for development and the demand for manpower is obvious and certain. Besides, B/Ds will also delete posts which are no longer required for their operations. For grades that no longer have any establishment and strength, we will seek the approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council for deletion of those grades in due course.

Note: The civil service establishment does not include (i) Judges and Judicial Officers, (ii) Independent Commission Against Corruption officers and (iii) locally engaged staff of overseas Economic and Trade Offices.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The Education Bureau (EDB) today (April 30) announced that the fourth round of the Basic Law and National Security Law Test (BLNST) in the 2024/25 school year will be open for application from 9am on May 2 to 5pm on May 15. The test will be held on June 22 (Sunday).
      
The target participants for the fourth round of the test are persons without a bachelor’s degree and planning to join or change to another secondary school, primary school or kindergarten to take up a teaching post. Applications can be made through the EDB’s online application system (www.edb.gov.hk/en/blnst). Limited places for the test will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that a pass result in the test at a non-degree level is only applicable for applying for non-graduate teaching posts. Those who have already obtained a pass result in the BLNST organised by the EDB, the Civil Service Bureau or recruiting departments/grades will not be accepted to sit the test again.

Starting from the 2023/24 school year, all newly appointed teachers in public sector schools, Direct Subsidy Scheme schools and kindergartens joining the Kindergarten Education Scheme (including newly joined teachers and teachers changing schools) are required to pass the BLNST in order to be considered for appointment. The requirement applies to all ranks of the teacher grade including principals.

The EDB is conducting five rounds of the BLNST for degree holders and non-degree holders respectively this school year. Details are available on the EDB webpage (www.edb.gov.hk/en/blnst). The fifth round will be open for degree holders and will be held on July 19 (Saturday). Relevant arrangements will be announced in due course.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Lillian Kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (April 30): 

Question:

     It is learnt that the Government is committed to promoting STEAM (i.e. Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education and has provided schools with support measures, including offering learning grant schemes, optimising curriculum framework and enhancing teacher training. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the frequency of upgrading artificial intelligence (AI) teaching equipment and the coverage of smart classrooms in various publicly-funded primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong over the past three years;

(2) whether the Government will formulate guidelines and specifications in relation to AI ethics education and data security for schools; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) given that the Quality Education Fund (QEF) has implemented the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme to promote co-operation between the education and business sectors for the development of e-learning ancillary facilities that meet local education needs, and that the QEF will also sponsor schools to use the deliverables of the projects under the Programme, of the number of schools which have purchased the e-learning ancillary facilities developed under the Programme with the subsidy of the QEF since the launch of the Programme, and the details of such ancillary facilities; and

(4) of the number of schools currently adopting the teaching materials of the Enriched Module on Coding Education for Upper Primary Level and the Module on AI for Junior Secondary Level, and whether the Government will step up its efforts in promoting the adoption of such teaching materials by schools; if so, of the details?

Reply:

President,

     The Education Bureau (EDB) has been stepping up its efforts to promote STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education and digital education in primary and secondary schools. Through a range of diversified strategies, including ongoing curriculum renewal, strengthening teacher training, optimising education ancillary infrastructure, providing resource support, and organising student activities, the EDB assists schools in harnessing innovation and technology (I&T) (including artificial intelligence (AI)) to enhance the digital literacy and competence of both teachers and students, and foster learning and teaching effectiveness, with a view to nurturing talent for the future. Meanwhile, we have been enhancing our efforts in promoting media and information literacy to enable students to use digital technology effectively and ethically in daily life and learning.

     Our consolidated reply to the written question raised by the Hon Lillian Kwok is as follows:

Enhancing curriculum related to I&T (including AI)

     The EDB launched the Module on AI for Junior Secondary Level in the 2023/24 school year, with the aim of developing students’ understanding of AI and its applications. The EDB also launched the Enriched Module on Coding Education for Upper Primary Level to prepare primary school students for further studying the basics and applications of AI and big data in secondary schools. The Module on AI for Junior Secondary Level covers topics such as AI basics, AI ethics, societal impact and future of work, and enables teachers and students to learn about the ethics and appropriate application scenarios of AI, as well as relevant security topics such as personal data privacy and data security. At present, almost all publicly-funded primary and secondary schools have implemented the enriched coding education and AI education at the upper primary level and the junior secondary level respectively.

Developing relevant learning and teaching resources

     Last year, the EDB launched the updated “Information Literacy for Hong Kong Students” Learning Framework (2024) to cover education on AI ethics and data security. Apart from this, the EDB has also been developing various learning and teaching resources, including those on AI ethics education and data security. In collaboration with the Hong Kong Police Force and the Journalism Education Foundation, the EDB has launched the learning and teaching resources on Cyber Security and Technology Crime Information and Media and Information Literacy respectively, which include content to enhance students’ ability to discern the authenticity of information and promote the proper use of social media.

Providing professional development training for in-service teachers

     To tie in with the implementation of the above I&T curriculum modules, the EDB has continuously enhanced teacher training and strengthened the promotion and support for schools to adopt these modules. Since the 2023/24 school year, the EDB has organised 22 sessions of professional development programmes on AI education for the junior secondary level, with over 650 participating teachers. As for primary schools, a total of over 60 sessions of training programmes on coding education have been organised, with the attendance of over 1 550 teachers. The training programmes are conducted in both online and offline modes to benefit a greater number of teachers. In addition, the EDB has actively provided teachers with AI-related professional development programmes, covering topics like the development of AI, planning of applying AI in teaching and learning, as well as the application of AI tools in different subjects, and including such themes as safeguarding data security.

Strengthening digital education ancillary infrastructure

     The Quality Education Fund (QEF) has included STEM/STEAM education as one of the priority themes and implemented the Dedicated Funding Programme for Publicly-funded Schools starting from the 2018/19 school year. From the 2018/19 to 2023/24 school years, the QEF approved over 1 200 projects related to information technology (IT) in education and STEM/STEAM education through the Priority Themes Funding Programme and the Dedicated Funding Programme for Publicly-funded Schools, with a total funding of over $1.1 billion. The measures included enhancing facilities and support for schools to develop school-based STEM/STEAM education.

     Moreover, to optimise education ancillary infrastructure, the QEF has allocated $500 million for the implementation of the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme to develop e-learning ancillary facilities that meet local learning and teaching needs through co-operation between the education and business sectors. A total of 22 projects have been funded under the Programme and have commenced in the beginning of the 2023/24 school year. The learning platforms and resources developed under these projects deploy innovative technologies such as big data and AI to enhance learning and teaching effectiveness in a wide array of subjects/areas. The development period of each project ranges from two to three years. As at end-March 2025, around 400 schools participated in the collaborative development projects, involving around 31 000 students. It is expected that the deliverables of the projects will be successively released for subscription by schools in mid-2025 and will be available for use starting from the 2025/26 school year. The QEF will also sponsor publicly-funded schools to use the deliverables of the projects to facilitate the sustainable development of the projects. As the Programme is still at the development stage, figures on the numbers of subscribing schools and student beneficiaries, as well as the sponsored amount are not available for the time being.

Providing resource support

     In applying digital technology to facilitate teaching, starting from the 2004/05 school year, the EDB has been providing all public sector schools with the Composite Information Technology Grant (CITG). Schools may deploy the grant flexibly, according to their school-based pedagogical needs, to purchase and enhance various kinds of hardware and software for teaching (including AI teaching equipment and smart classroom-related facilities), subscribe to Wi-Fi services, and strengthen their IT staffing support. In the 2024/25 school year, the rate of CITG for each school ranges from $275,355 to $898,390, depending on the school type and the number of classes. The grant rates will be adjusted annually in accordance with the movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index.

     Over the years, publicly-funded primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong have been flexibly updating the hardware and equipment in schools, having regard to the school-based circumstances and the learning and teaching needs of students and teachers. The relevant expenditures are subject to vetting by the school management committees/incorporated management committees. The EDB does not maintain relevant statistics on the updating of teaching equipment including AI equipment and the coverage rate of smart classrooms in schools.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Vincent Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (April 30):

Question:
 
     It has been reported that the Schools Sports Federation of Hong Kong, China (HKSSF) has earlier on launched the inaugural HKSSF Finals, featuring a number of Jing Ying tournaments or inter-area competitions held at the Kai Tak Sports Park, which have brought heightened interest and attention to inter-school competitions. In addition, the Chief Executive has proposed in the 2024 Policy Address to include Physical Education (PE) in the primary school internal assessments starting from the 2026/27 school year, so as to encourage student participation in physical activities on a regular basis. Regarding the promotion of the sports atmosphere in schools, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) as it is learnt that about 30 000 inter-school competitions are currently held each year in Hong Kong, and quite a number of new sports or urban sports have emerged in recent years, whether the authorities have plans to allocate additional resources to the HKSSF to enhance the arrangements of inter-school competitions, thus enabling the school sector to organise more varieties of competitions of high quality;
 
(2) given that at present there are Jing Ying tournaments and all Hong Kong inter-school competitions in nine and eight sports events respectively for secondary schools, whether the authorities have plans to introduce more territory-wide inter-school competitions (especially elite sports that are popular among students, such as fencing and cycling), so as to enable student participation in more high-level competitions, thereby identifying more athletes with potential for training and better dovetailing with the development of elite sports; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(3) as it has been reported that there are four major assessment domains (i.e. physical fitness, attitudes, sports skills and knowledge) for the PE subject in the primary school internal assessments, of the criteria based on which schools are required to determine students’ scores in the subject; how the authorities will encourage schools to make use of this opportunity to further cultivate students’ interest in doing sports; and
 
(4) whether the authorities have plans to assist schools in organising more new or interesting sports events and allowing students to participate on their own terms, thereby promoting the sports atmosphere in schools; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     In consultation with the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the Schools Sports Federation of Hong Kong, China (HKSSF), our consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Vincent Cheng is as follows:
 
 (1) and (2) The Government actively supports the development of sports and promotes sports in the community through subsidising various national sports associations (NSAs), including the HKSSF. With the completion of the Kai Tak Sports Park, the Government also provides quality competition venues to host different inter-school sports events, with a view to attracting the participation of more young people and students and enhancing the sports ambience in schools.
 
     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has allocated around $620 million in 2025-26 as block grant under the Sports Subvention Scheme to various NSAs to promote sports in the community, youth training programmes, community participation, squad training at all levels and overseas exchange programmes and competitions. Over the past six years, the block grant provided by the LCSD to the NSAs has increased from around $300 million per year to over $600 million per year. In approving funding for each NSA (including the HKSSF) each year, the LCSD considers factors including the annual plans submitted by the NSAs, as well as their past performance, expenditure patterns, programme arrangements, and subvention management.
 
     The HKSSF, a recognised NSA of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China subsidised by government departments including the LCSD and the Education Bureau (EDB), organises and participates in various local and overseas inter-school sports competitions. To better dovetail with the development of elite sports, the HKSSF has established with other NSAs a system of training and selection for elite athletes to provide student athletes with specific sports training of a high standard, thereby feeding potential athletes to relevant NSAs and preparing them for higher-level competitions in future. In the past year, over 1 000 primary and secondary schools across the territory participated in activities organised by the HKSSF, accounting for about 97 per cent of the total number of schools in Hong Kong; around 130 000 students participated in inter-school competitions, covering about 37 sports, approximately 70 per cent of which were elite sports such as fencing, swimming, and athletics. These competitions also involved urban sports such as 3-on-3 basketball and futsal. With dedicated efforts of the Government, there are already a great variety of high quality sports competitions in the school sector, enabling students’ participation in more high-level competitions and facilitating the identification of more athletes with potential.
 
(3) In October 2024, the EDB announced the optimised arrangement of the weighting of subjects in the Internal Assessments (IA) for the Secondary School Places Allocation. Physical Education (PE) will be included in the IA in the second term of Primary five from the 2026/27 school year, so as to further help students develop a habit of joining sports activities from young age for strengthening their physique as well as provide them with the motivation to understand and improve their physical fitness, thereby achieving the learning goal of “Healthy Lifestyle”. The new measure has received general support from various stakeholders.
 
     Promoting the healthy growth of students is the first and foremost aim of the IA of PE, with an emphasis on foundation skills as well as objective and achievable health ratings. The IA of PE also builds on the domains and standards of PE assessment currently adopted by schools in general, including Physical Fitness, Attitudes, Sports Skills, and Knowledge (abbreviated as F.A.S.K.), and is a regular task of schools. Schools will refer to the relevant curriculum documents published by the EDB, including curriculum guides, the “Physical Education Learning Outcomes Framework”, and the assessment standards for physical fitness specified in the School Physical Fitness Award Scheme (Note 1) in adopting diversified modes of assessment, so as to enhance the effectiveness in learning and teaching through allowing students to demonstrate their learning outcomes in various ways and catering for their diverse potential, abilities and needs. Schools are required to set out clear learning objectives, scope of assessment, focus and format of assessment, and assessment criteria, etc, to enable students and parents to understand the relevant assessment criteria and arrangements. 
 
     The EDB will continue to update curriculum documents, develop learning and teaching resources, and organise professional development programmes for teachers. In addition, the EDB will provide a series of support measures to promote PE development in schools with a life-wide learning approach, including organising briefing sessions for schools and parents, and setting up a professional network of “Primary School PE Assessment Learning Circle”, so as to further assist students in developing an active and healthy lifestyle.
 
(4) The EDB has included the World Health Organisation’s recommendation that children and adolescents aged five to 17 should accumulate at least an average of 60 minutes daily of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activities (MVPA60) across the week as one of the directions of the PE curriculum. It has also introduced the “MVPA60 Award Scheme” with the slogan “Let’s exercise every day, exercise together and exercise with others” to encourage students to exercise regularly with their families, classmates or friends. More than 210 000 students have participated in the Scheme since its inception. In addition, the “Active Students, Active People” Campaign (Note 1) has also been launched since the 2021/22 school year to rally the efforts of schools and parents as well as other stakeholders to promote an optimised sports ambience in schools and in society. The Campaign offers a series of PE activities as well as learning and teaching resources to support schools in mobilising students’ participation in physical activities and further engaging them in developing an active and healthy lifestyle. Demonstrations of different sports and experiences of Olympic and emerging sports are featured in these activities to enhance students’ interest and provide them with opportunities in participating in physical activities, thus promoting the sports ambience in schools. The Campaign has recorded the participation of more than 60 000 students since its launch. The EDB will inject new elements into the Campaign in a timely manner so as to meet the needs of schools.
 
     In addition, the EDB disbursed a one-off grant of $150,000 to schools in March 2024 to support them in organising various activities, subsidising students’ participation in diversified sports activities (e.g. emerging or fun sports), purchasing or upgrading PE/sports equipment in schools, etc., with a view to increasing opportunities for students to participate in sports and promoting the sports ambience in schools on all fronts.
 
     Regarding teacher training, the EDB collaborates with local universities to organise the annual Hong Kong Physical Education Teachers Conference, which brings together various experts in PE to conduct thematic sharing. Teaching workshops on various sports, including urban sports such as 3-on-3 basketball and sport climbing, and such emerging sports as pickleball, tchoukball, floorball and Baseball5, are also held to enrich teachers’ professional knowledge and assist them in organising diversified activities for students within and outside the classroom, with a view to promoting students’ participation in different kinds of sports activities and enriching their sports learning experiences.
 
     Moreover, the EDB has been collaborating with government departments, relevant bodies and organisations to organise various physical activities and sports programmes, such as the School Sports Programme, as well as “Project MuSE” and “Jump Rope Together” Rope Skipping Scheme 2.0 funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, to provide students with more opportunities to participate in sports activities during leisure time, foster a sporting culture in schools and identify student athletes with potential for further training.
 
Note 1: The School Physical Fitness Award Scheme (spfas.hkuhealth.com), jointly developed by the EDB, the Hong Kong Childhealth Foundation and the Physical Fitness Association of Hong Kong, China, has been in place and developed in the school sector for over 35 years.
 
Note 2: www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/kla/pe/asap/index.html

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

(7) of the three most common reasons given by ordinary families waiting for PRH for refusing the units allocated to them; whether the Government has reviewed the savings in administrative costs in processing PRH applications with successful allocations on the first offer as compared to those requiring several offers before an allocation is successful?

Reply:
 
President,
 
The objective of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) is to provide public rental housing (PRH) to those who cannot afford private rental accommodation. With regard to the question raised by the Hon Tang Ka-piu, my reply is as follows:
 
(1) Given the limited PRH resources, it is the prevailing policy of the HA to accord priority to general applicants (i.e. family applicants and elderly-one person applicants) over non-elderly one-person applicants in the allocation of PRH flats. The relative priority of flat allocation to general applicants is determined according to the principle of rational allocation of PRH resources and strictly in accordance with the order of registration date/G-number Equivalent Date (Note) (if any) of applications. Apart from the general applicants, we have set another queue for non-elderly one-person applicants and the priority of flat allocation is determined by the Quota and Points System (QPS). Unlike that of general applicants, the order of the applications is not in accordance with the sequence of the date of registration, but is determined by the total points accumulated by such applicants under QPS.
 
     To cater to the housing needs of the elderly, encourage younger families to take care of their elderly parents or dependent relatives, and provide incentives to families applicants to encourage childbearing, there are several allocation priority schemes under the HA, including “Elderly Persons Priority Scheme”, “Harmonious Families Priority Scheme”, “Single Elderly Persons Priority Scheme” and “Families with Newborns Allocation Priority Scheme”. Eligible applications under individual priority schemes will generally be processed earlier than applications by ordinary families. For example, eligible applications under the “Harmonious Families Priority Scheme” and “Families with Newborns Allocation Priority Scheme” will be processed earlier by six months and one year respectively, and will be assigned a G-number Equivalent Date. Details on the above-mentioned schemes and arrangement are set out at Annex.
 
(2) The progress of PRH allocation depends on various factors, including the applicants’ choice of district, the number of applications with same family size in individual districts, the supply of new and refurbished PRH flats in individual districts, the acceptance of flat offers by other applicants of higher priorities, the change of family particulars during the waiting period, etc. Therefore, the waiting time of applicants in individual districts may vary. For individual applicants, the latest allocation status of PRH applications in various districts can better enable them to estimate the waiting time required for them to be housed. In this regard, the Housing Department (HD) would publish in newspapers the latest allocation status of each district on a monthly basis, and would upload relevant information to the HA’s/HD’s website (www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/flat-application/allocation-status/index.html 
     Moreover, general applicants can make reference to the future supply of PRH in different districts so as to estimate their waiting time. To this end, the Housing Bureau (HB) would update and publish the public housing production forecast for the next five years, and would upload the relevant public housing project information (including name of project, location, estimated number of flats, completion year, etc.) to the HB’s website (www.hb.gov.hk/eng/publications/housing/public/phpf/index.html 
(3) The HA has enhanced the allocation mechanism since September 2023 by taking into account an applicant’s place of residence when allocating flats based on his/her choice of district. In processing individual application under the enhanced allocation mechanism, the computer system will allocate a PRH flat which is near to the applicant’s place of residence to the applicant, subject to the availability of public housing resources in the applicant’s chosen district, in order to increase the applicant’s chance of accepting the allocated PRH flat nearer to his/her current place of residence. Following the system enhancement, the proportion of applicants who are allocated with flats near their place of residence has increased by about 10 per cent, and the acceptance rate has increased by about 5 per cent accordingly.
 
     Eligible applicants are entitled to three housing offers (one at a time). If applicants have special requests for PRH allocation (such as wishing to be accommodated to a specific area or a specific type of PRH flat in their choice of district) and have obtained the recommendation from government departments or organisations concerned (such as the Social Welfare Department or the Hospital Authority) supporting their special requests, the HD will, having regard to the applicants’ individual circumstances and subject to the availability of resources, arrange allocation of PRH flats to the applicants according to the area or type of flat recommended as far as practicable. If the applicant can furnish sufficient reasons that are acceptable by the HD for refusing the housing offer, the HD will arrange an extra flat offer for him/her according to his/her special need.
 
(4) In view of the supply and demand situation as well as the distribution of PRH flats, the HA had, on several occasions, reviewed and regrouped the geographical districts to speed up the allocation of suitable flats to applicants. Due to the different number of flats supply and distribution in all geographical districts, the choices available for applicants in different district may vary. Therefore, the smaller the district boundary, the chance for successful flat allocation will be lower. In order to improve the situation, the HA consolidated the number of PRH districts from fourteen to eight in 1993. This could expedite the allocation process and enable early allocation of suitable flats to applicants.
 
     In tandem with urban development, the number of public transportation facilities connecting various districts is increasing, which greatly shortens the travelling time between districts. The HA further reduced the number of PRH districts from eight to four in 1998 in order to speed up the allocation work even more flexibly and further expedite the PRH allocation. The prevailing arrangement with four districts allows a more even distribution of supply of flats in each district and more effective allocation work. In fact, the Average Waiting Time (AWT) of general applications as at March 1998 was 6.6 years. Upon consolidating the PRH districts to four districts by the HA, and coupled with the increased supply of PRH, the AWT gradually reduced to around two years in 2000, proven that it is a good arrangement for consolidating the districts.
 
(5) Comparing with the 1990s, the infrastructure and transportation facilities in Tung Chung are well-developed today. The public transport links between districts are also very convenient. Reservation of some newly completed PRH flats in Tung Chung for special allocation arrangements would be unfair to other applicants who are waiting for allocation.
 
(6) Among the general applicants who were allocated PRH flats in the past three years (i.e. from 2022-23 to 2024-25), around 43 per cent of the applicants accepted the first offer, while around 27 per cent and 30 per cent of the applicants accepted the second and third offer respectively. If a flat is not accepted by an applicant, we will immediately allocate it to another applicant.
 
(7) Putting into consideration that each applicant has different housing needs for PRH flats, the HA will provide up to three housing offers to eligible applicants. Applicants can decide whether to accept the offers in accordance with their individual preferences and circumstances. Applicants may refuse to accept the housing offer for different reasons (not limited to a single reason). The HA does not maintain relevant statistical information.
 
Note: The HA will issue a registration date to the applicant upon registration of a PRH application. As the registration date cannot be changed, the HA will issue an adjusted registration date (i.e. G-number Equivalent Date) reflecting the adjusted waiting time due to implementation of PRH allocation policies (e.g. waiting time credit of one year will be given for “Families with Newborns Allocation Priority Scheme”, waiting time will be frozen for one year if all members included in the application are currently living in PRH, etc). If there is a G-number equivalent date in the application, that date will be taken as the basis for future flat allocation and implementation of PRH application policies. When a G-number Equivalent Date is issued, the applicant will, at the same time, be issued with a corresponding range of application numbers which may be used as a reference for enquiring about the PRH application status.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region