A spokesman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) said today (October 14) that in view of the outbreak of a wave of COVID-19 in the community in mid-July, the LCSD had closed its leisure and cultural venues/facilities from July 15 again, and that programmes to be organised or subvented by the LCSD were also cancelled during this period. To relieve the impact of the epidemic, a new round of ex-gratia payment is being arranged to those personnel engaged in these programmes, including coaches and instructors.  
      
     The ex-gratia payment will be offered to those directly engaged by the LCSD, or sports coaches and staff hired by National Sports Associations (NSAs) or sports organisations (SOs) to conduct subvented programmes under the Sports Subvention Scheme, or sports coaches from NSAs or SOs who were engaged by the LCSD through the Direct Purchase Authority Management System to provide services. The ex-gratia payment is equivalent to two-thirds of their original remuneration for the cancelled programmes scheduled to commence or to be held from July 15 to September 30.
          
     Coaches and personnel benefiting from this subsidy scheme are not required to submit applications. The LCSD will release the ex-gratia payment to the personnel directly or through the relevant NSAs and SOs. Disbursement of the ex-gratia payment is expected to start in November in batches.
          
     In addition, the LCSD will make the same arrangement and provide the ex-gratia payment to instructors and speakers of seminars, workshops and music training courses organised by the Hong Kong Public Libraries and the Music Office whose programmes were cancelled and could not be rescheduled due to venue closures, school suspensions or the epidemic. Part-time ushers and part-time ticketing assistants affected by the closure of cultural venues will also be provided with the ex-gratia payment.

Ends/Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Issued at HKT 11:00

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