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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
## Subsidy Scheme for Civic Centre Hirers
(a) Criteria for Subsidy
### Appendix
The general criteria for Council granting subsidy are as follows:
(i) Applications for subsidy should be limited to organisations;
(ii) The applicant should be registered under the Societies Ordinance or incorporated under the Companies Ordinance or formed by statute or registered on the list of approved charitable institutions or trusts of a public character.
(iii) Its constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association or Ordinance or Trust Deed should specifically provide that members do not take any share of the profits nor any share of the assets upon dissolution.
(iv) The function should be open to the public and in furtherance of artistic, cultural, educational, scientific or public health purposes. It can also be an arts activity held at one of the small venues which is not a performance and/or not open to the public.
(v) The amount of the subsidy will be decided according to the merits and financial needs of each applicant.
(b) Application Procedure
(i) An application for subsidy should be submitted after a booking has been confirmed but must be submitted no later than the second month before the month of the function.
(ii) All applications must be completed in full and should be duly signed by a senior official of the organisation.
(iii) The applicant is required to submit a projection of income and expenditure for the proposed function and if necessary, a balance sheet of the organisation's account to support its claim in the application form.
(iv) The applicant must settle all the hire charges for the booking in the manner as stated in the Confirmed Booking Form and Terms and Conditions of Hire.
(v) Successful applicants will be informed of the maximum provisional amount of subsidy approved before the function. They are required to give acknowledgement to the Urban Council for the subsidy in their publicity materials, e.g. by stating in the posters and house programmes: "This performance/function is presented with the financial assistance of the Urban Council."
(vi) The applicant is required to submit a copy each of all relevant publicity materials and a statement of income and expenditure signed by the Chairman and Secretary/Treasurer of the organisation within one month after the function for assessment of the actual amount of subsidy to be granted. The subsidy will be remitted to the applicant subject to the Urban Council's acceptance of the statement and the applicant's absolute observance of the Terms and Conditions of Hire of the Cultural Centre. The Urban Council reserves the right to scrutinise accounts and in the case of subsidies exceeding $50,000, to request an audited statement. If the information provided by the applicant is found to be untrue, the Urban Council reserves the right to recover the full amount of the subsidy.
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MR. MA LEE-WO asked the following question (in Cantonese):—Since the opening of the market at UC Po On Road Complex in March 1988, there have often been complaints about the environmental hygiene of the market, such as the existence of mosquitoes and waste water discharged from drains, the presence of rats and dusty ventilation ducts which are covered with spider webs. This unhealthy environmental condition also causes a nuisance to the local residents. I would like to ask the following questions:
(i) How is the daily cleaning services provided in the market?
(ii) It is said that the cleansing workers of the market are only responsible for carrying out cleansing work at places below 6 ft. in height. Is this true? What is the reason behind this?
(iii) It is said that since the opening of the market in March last year, no cleansing work has been carried out for areas of the market above 6 ft. in height. May I know when will these areas be cleaned up? Who will be responsible for the job? How often will such cleansing work be done?
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):—Mr. Ma asks three questions concerning the cleansing of Po On Road Market.
On the first question, 2 Foremen and 19 Workmen II perform daily cleansing duties in the market, in two shifts, from 7.00 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. The market has a floor area of 12,000 m2, with an area of 25,500 m2 to be cleansed every day. Daily cleansing duties include sweeping, brushing and hosing down of common areas, and cleansing of wall surfaces up to 3 metres (not 6 feet) from the ground, toilets, refuse storage chamber, staircases, goods lifts, escalators, loading/unloading bays and ramps. In addition, the staff are also responsible for refuse collection and seizure of articles causing obstruction in the market.
As regards the second and third questions, wall surfaces more than 3 metres from the ground and ceilings are not cleansed daily, as the degree of dirt and filth accumulated is relatively low. These parts of the market are cleansed every six months, section by section, by using dusters tied onto bamboo posts to remove dust and gossamers. To improve the cleanliness of these areas, the department is in the course of purchasing heavy-duty electric vacuum cleaners, expected to be available in 3 months' time, to overcome the strenuous, time-consuming and sometimes not too effective cleansing work done manually by staff at present.
Mr. Chairman, I might add for the information of Mr. MA that, the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee did visit these markets not too...
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