TNAG-1855-FCO40-2630-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-memoranda-and-minutes-of-me-1989 — Page 66

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL —15 March 1989

香港立法局

-一九八九年三月十五日

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responsibility for study rooms, could I defer to the Secretary for Education and Manpower because I am not quite sure who is responsible for those.

SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER: Sir, I understand that the position is a bit complicated in a sense that this provision comes from different sources. The planning guidelines do provide for branch libraries and the libraries are provided at the rate of one to every 200 000 persons and each library is required to have a study centre on a standard of one seat for every 1 000 people. Those libraries and study rooms are provided by the Urban Services Department and the Regional Services Department. But in addition to that, the Education Department, the Social Welfare Department, and voluntary agencies also provide study rooms in accordance with what they see as the demand in particular districts and as they conveniently can. My own knowledge is limited to Education Department provision which is not related, as Secretary for Lands and Works said, to the planning guidelines. They take two forms. There is what they regard as pure study rooms independent of other activities run by voluntary agencies in public housing estates with the Education Department subventing rents and rates. And then they have what they call temporary study rooms on school premises run by the Education Department in the evening to meet the peak period of demand before major examinations, that is, in April, May, and June. And I understand that the department carries out an annual review of the provision of their study rooms in each district based on actual usage rates, and they subsequently try to adjust the supply to meet what they see as the demand within each district.

MR. TAI: Sir, in respect of the Secretary for Lands and Works's answer relating to provision of public facilities in the rural areas under the policy programme, could the Secretary set out the policy in writing and also give details of facilities to be provided within the next five years?

SECRETARY FOR LANDS AND WORKS: Sir, I will do my best. (Annex II)

蘇周艷屏議員問:主席先生,現行的香港規劃標準和準則何時訂立?其後有否按照社會發展的步

伐加以修訂?

SECRETARY FOR LANDS AND WORKS: Sir, they were first established in the early '70s, I believe, and they are under constant review.