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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
## ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, may I call the meeting to order.
## MINUTES
The minutes of meeting held on 13 April 1993 were confirmed.
## PAPER
The following paper was laid on the table:
(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of April 1993.
## QUESTIONS
1. THE HON. MAN SAI-CHEONG asked the following question (in Cantonese): In view of the substantial number of complaints lodged by restaurant operators about the lengthy period required for the Urban Council to issue food licences, which allegedly jeopardizes their business investments, I would like to know:
(a) What is the average time currently required to issue the relevant licences? (b) Would a thorough review of existing licensing procedures be conducted to enhance efficiency, so as to benefit the catering business?
(c) Would there be further consultations with various government departments with a view to stepping up coordination and speeding up the licensing process so that restaurants can commence business as soon as possible or avoid having to operate 'illegally'?
MR. WONG SHUI-LAI, VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-Mr. Chairman, the three-part question concerns the licensing of restaurants and other food premises.
The first part asks about the average time currently taken by the Urban Council to issue the relevant licences. It is very difficult to speak about the 'average processing times' in terms of restaurant licensing. There is little commonality between applications. There are obviously vast differences between applications in terms of size of premises and, in part related to this, in terms of the structural and building works necessary to transform the premises into restaurants. It is also very relevant whether or not professionals are employed by the applicant to not only develop plans in the proper format but also to progress such plans expeditiously and in accordance with the requirements of the concerned departments. Bearing this in mind, a review of our licensing records for 1991 and 1992 revealed that licensing was achieved 'on average' in 9-10 months.
These relatively long average times and even longer times for premises whose applications fall beyond these 'average' relate almost entirely to:
(a) the requirements in many cases to carry out extensive structural works and get approval for the carrying out of such works;
(b) the unwillingness of the applicants to meet the requirements and indeed the willingness of the applicants to take shortcuts which would enable early, albeit illegal, operation;
(c) frequent changes to the plans made by the applicant indicating a lack of foresight by the applicant many of whom seem content to plan as the works progress;
(d) the poor quality of plans many of which bear little resemblance to the premises in question.
It should be particularly noted that these relatively long licensing times relate almost entirely to the requirements of other interested departments. The requirements of Council—that is health and hygiene—are basically simple and minor in the context of the overall requirements.
The second and third parts of the question ask if a thorough review of the existing licensing procedures will be conducted to enhance efficiency, so as to benefit the catering business.
Licensing procedures have been reviewed on several occasions. Several initiatives have been taken by the Department over the past few years to further streamline the process and provide greater assistance to the applicants. Over the past several months restaurant licensing has been looked at again by the two Municipal Services Departments in conjunction with the Fire Services Department and Buildings and Lands Department and in association with both the ICAC and the Efficiency Unit of the Government Secretariat. The general conclusion has been that whilst there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the system itself, certain new proposals may further improve the licensing process.
In this connection the Department is now examining the mechanics of setting up a Central Vetting Panel so that applicants may meet an inter-departmental team of licensing experts at the very outset, in order to be given clear advice on whether or not their intended premises are suitable for licensing and, if so, what steps and actions they must take in order to be able to meet the necessary licensing conditions. The procedures under which this Panel will operate are now being worked out.
In parallel, consideration is being given to the practicability of implementing some form of conditional licensing system. It is too early to assess whether or not this will be feasible and, in any event, it would require Council's approval and amendments to the Bylaws. The details of any such system still need to be worked out and it is premature to speculate at this stage about how precisely it might operate.
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, may I call the meeting to order.
MINUTES
The minutes of meeting held on 13 April 1993 were confirmed.
PAPER
The following paper was laid on the table:
(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Secretary, Urban Council, for the
month of April 1993.
QUESTIONS
1. THE HON. MAN SAI-CHEONG asked the following question (in Cantonese): In view of the substantial number of complaints lodged by restaurant operators about the lengthy period required for the Urban Council to issue food licences, which allegedly jeopardizes their business investments, I would like to know:
(a) What is the average time currently required to issue the relevant licences? (b) Would a thorough review of existing licensing procedures be conducted to
enhance efficiency, so as to benefit the catering business?
(c) Would there be further consultations with various government departments with a view to stepping up coordination and speeding up the licensing process so that restaurants can commence business as soon as possible or avoid having to operate 'illegally'?
MR. WONG SHUI-LAI, VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-Mr. Chairman, the three-part question concerns the licensing of restaurants and other food premises.
The first part asks about the average time currently taken by the Urban Council to issue the relevant licences. It is very difficult to speak about the 'average processing times' in terms of restaurant licensing. There is little commonality between applications. There are obviously vast differences between applications in terms of size of premises and, in part related to this, in terms of the structural and building works necessary to transform the premises into restaurants. It is also very relevant whether or not professionals are employed by the applicant to not only develop plans in the proper format but also to progress such plans expeditiously and in accordance with the requirements of the concerned departments. Bearing this in mind, a review of our licensing records for 1991 and 1992 revealed that licensing was achieved
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
'on average' in 9-10 months. These relatively long average times and even longer times for premises whose applications fall beyond these 'average' relate almost entirely to:
(a) the requirements in many cases to carry out extensive structural works and
get approval for the carrying out of such works;
(b) the unwillingness of the applicants to meet the requirements and indeed the willingness of the applicants to take shortcuts which would enable early, albeit illegal, operation;
(c) frequent changes to the plans made by the applicant indicating a lack of foresight by the applicant many of whom seem content to plan as the works progress;
(d) the poor quality of plans many of which bear little resemblance to the
premises in question.
It should be particularly noted that these relatively long licensing times relate almost entirely to the requirements of other interested departments. The requirements of Council-that is health and hygiene--are basically simple and minor in the context of the overall requirements.
The second and third parts of the question ask if a thorough review of the existing licensing procedures will be conducted to enhance efficiency, so as to benefit the catering business.
Licensing procedures have been reviewed on several occasions. Several initiatives have been taken by the Department over the past few years to further streamline the process and provide greater assistance to the applicants. Over the past several months restaurant licensing has been looked at again by the two Municipal Services Departments in conjunction with the Fire Services Department and Buildings and Lands Department and in association with both the ICAC and the Efficiency Unit of the Government Secretariat. The general conclusion has been that whilst there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the system itself, certain new proposals may further improve the licensing process.
In this connection the Department is now examining the mechanics of setting up a Central Vetting Panel so that applicants may meet an inter-departmental team of licensing experts at the very outset, in order to be given clear advice on whether or not their intended premises are suitable for licensing and, if so, what steps and actions they must take in order to be able to meet the necessary licensing conditions. The procedures under which this Panel will operate are now being worked out.
In parallel, consideration is being given to the practicability of implementing some form of conditional licensing system. It is too early to assess whether or not this will be feasible and, in any event, it would require Council's approval and amendments to the Bylaws. The details of any such system still need to be worked out and it is premature to speculate at this stage about how precisely it might operate.
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