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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Kwok-hung and an oral reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng in the Legislative Council today (June 11):
Question:
I have recently received complaints from community organisations concerning the common areas (such as podiums, sitting-out areas and parks) in public housing estates ("PHEs"), which are currently managed by The Link Management Limited ("The Link"). The complaints alleged that The Link requires community organisations or offices of District Council members or Legislative Council Members, which apply for conducting community activities or residents' meetings in such common areas, to submit proposals, take out insurance, and pay rental fees to The Link for using such venues. Regarding the management of common areas in PHEs, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the above common areas which are currently managed by The Link in each of the PHEs in Hong Kong, broken down by the type of estate (i.e. public rental housing estates or Tenant Purchase Scheme estates), and which of these areas are included in the sale and purchase agreement signed in 2005 when the Hong Kong Housing Authority sold its retail and car-parking facilities to The Link;
(b) whether the arrangement that The Link or other out-sourced management companies charging organisations using the above common areas a fee has the approval of the Housing Department; if so, of the grounds for granting approval for charging fees and the number of approved cases; and whether the Housing Department has issued any guidelines to the management companies concerned regarding the lending of such common areas; if it has, whether the guidelines have included requirements such as submitting proposals, taking out insurance and paying rental fees, etc.; and
(c) whether the authorities will conduct a review of the above requirements (including the fee-charging arrangement) regarding the lending of common areas in PHEs, so as to reduce the restrictions imposed on members of the public for using such areas for meeting, social gathering or receiving information purposes?
Reply:
Madam President,
My reply to the three-part question is as follows:
(a) Most area in Public Rental Housing (PRH) and Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) estates which can be used for organising activities is owned and managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA). Among the 43 performance theatres, only 6 were included by the HA in the divestment portfolio of The Link Real Estates Investment Trust (The Link) due to practical considerations. Information of the estates with divested performance theatres is at Annex 1.
Besides, amongst the divested podiums and rooftops located at detached shopping centres or car parking buildings within housing estates, 63 are suitable for organising activities. Information of the estates with these facilities is at Annex 2.
The aforementioned facilities are owned and managed by The Link after the divestment exercise and are included in the concerned Agreement for Sale and Purchase of Properties.
(b) Upon its public listing on November 25, 2005, The Link has become a private entity and its business strategies and day-to-day operations are entirely independent of the Government and the HA. However, all facilities in PRH and TPS estates are governed by the terms of the vesting orders, government leases or Deeds of Mutual Covenant (DMC). So long as The Link complies with the relevant legislation, conditions of the government leases, requirements under the DMC and terms of the covenants and agreements made between The Link and the HA, the Government and the HA will not intervene in the day-to-day management and business strategies of The Link. Hence, it is for The Link to determine the arrangements for individual applicants to hold activities within its area. Approval from the Housing Department (HD) is not required. As the management companies of such area are appointed by The Link, they are not subject to the supervision of the HD. The HD will not issue any guidelines on lending the use of venues to these companies.
According to the information published by The Link on its website on renting the use of promotion venues, The Link would, on individual merits, consider applications for venue rent waiver from non-profit-making or charitable organisations for holding activities such as charity fund-raising, community building or civic education, etc.
(c) As I have mentioned before, so long as The Link complies with the relevant legislation, conditions of government leases, requirements under the DMC and terms of the covenant and agreements made between The Link and the HA, the Government and the HA will not intervene in the day-to-day management and business operations of The Link. In fact, most area in housing estates which can be used for organising activities is still owned and managed by the HA. The HA welcomes local organisations to apply to use these facilities for non-profit-making and charitable purposes. The HA will not charge the organisers any fees if the activities are charitable or fund-raising in nature. In 2007-08, the HA provided 28,000 days of free venues for use by local organisations. The abovementioned arrangements for using the area for organising activities are aimed at protecting the safety of residents and to ensuring the estates are orderly managed, so as to facilitate residents to make proper use of the concerned facilities and provide an appropriate regulatory framework for organisations holding activities.
Ends/Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Issued at HKT 13:29
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