XN000022-1996-04-24 — Page 66

(b)

(c)

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of the criteria adopted by the Industry Department for determining whether funds would be allocated; and

whether other bodies may apply for similar funding?

Reply:

Mr President,

The application from the Hong Kong Toys Council and the Hong Kong Plastics Manufacturers Association Limited was for a sum of $0.568 million (not $1 million) from the Industrial Support, Fund (ISF) to compile a plastics factory safety and health guide. The application was approved in February 1996.

Regarding question (a), applications to the ISF are not normally made available for examination by the Legislative Council or the public. The applications or project proposals themselves may contain information which the applicants wish to keep confidential, and the assessment procedure is designed to respect this confidentiality. On the other hand, there is nothing to stop an applicant making public its application any time it wishes to do so. With regard to those applications selected for funding, the applicants are required, upon completion of the projects, to disseminate the results and deliverables to relevant parties and/or the public. These results and deliverables can be made available for examination by this Council and the public.

Regarding question (b), the principal criteria adopted for determining whether funds should be allocated include -

(a)

the benefits that the proposed project will bring to the industrial sector of Hong Kong:

(b)

whether there is a demonstrated need for the proposed project;

(c)

the technical and project management capability of the applicant;

(d)

whether the proposed project's schedule of implementation is well- planned and the duration reasonable;

(e)

whether the proposed budget is reasonable and realistic;

(f)

whether the proposed project should be more appropriately funded by

other sources such as the University Grants Committee or the Applied Research & Development Scheme: