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The Government will publish in the Gazette this Friday (May 24) regulations to align the fees and charges for sports and leisure facilities and services in the urban area and the New Territories, as well as licence fees for places of amusement and places of public entertainment.
The regulations, made by the Secretary for Home Affairs, are: the Public Health and Municipal Services (Fees and Charges) (Leisure Facilities) (Amendment) Regulation 2013 and the Public Health and Municipal Services (Fees and Charges) (Places of Amusement Licences) Regulation (the PAL Regulation) under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Chapter 132), and the Places of Public Entertainment (Licences) (Fees) Regulation (the PPEL Regulation) under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance (Chapter 172).
In his 2013 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced that the Government would introduce legislation to align fees and charges for leisure facilities and services based on the lower of the current levels, said a spokesman for the Home Affairs Bureau.
"The Leisure and Cultural Services Department provides a wide range of sports and leisure facilities and services, involving nearly 1 000 fee items. As a first step, we propose to align 130 or so fee items for which the new fee levels require amendments to current regulations. Alignment of the remaining fee items for sports and leisure facilities will take effect progressively," the spokesman said.
The items covered by the new regulations include admission fees for public swimming pools; hiring charges for tennis courts, basketball courts, squash courts, football pitches, table-tennis tables and badminton courts; camp fees for holiday camps; and licence fees for public bowling alleys, public skating rinks and billiard establishments.
In aligning the fees, where the fee differs between the urban area and the New Territories, the lower rate will prevail. Non-peak hour rates will also be introduced for facilities in the urban area with reference to the rates charged in the New Territories.
"Subject to the passage of the regulations within this legislative session, the new fee levels will come into effect from August 1. People who have made advance bookings to use facilities on or after August 1 will also pay the new fees," the spokesman said.
The PAL Regulation and the PPEL Regulation provide for alignment of the licence fees for places of amusement and places of public entertainment, in line with the principle of aligning fees at the lower of the existing levels, with effect from July 19.
The regulations will be tabled at the Legislative Council on May 29.
Ends/Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:51
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