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such as the East Kai Tak Hall at 37%, Aberdeen Hall at 46% and Chun Wa Road Hall at 50%. We are very much concerned about the situation.
Vacant venues are a waste of resources. The air-conditioning and lighting cannot be switched off because of vacancy. Nor can we cut staff because of periodical vacancy. In order that our venues are not laid to waste, I think the Council should consider making good use of them to the benefit of our citizens. Of course, for those venues with high usage rates of 96% or over 80% such as the Fa Yuen Street or Sai Wan Ho Complex, asking them to offer free use is unreasonable and will pose difficulties. However, I think the Council should seriously consider implementing this suggestion at venues with low usage rates.
The original motion asks for the offer of free use to schools and non-profit making organization during non-peak hours. I think it should be explored. For some schools with little space to manoeuvre, finding space to conduct physical education lessons is a big job. Very often, PE teachers have to conduct lessons in open air playgrounds and they are affected by the weather and the environment. I think if the Council can arrange to let the students use vacant venues so that they can have PE lessons despite inclement weather conditions, the suggestion is worthy of consideration.
For non-profit making bodies, if they can use venues free of charge, they can have more opportunities to draw new service targets or stage more activities for specified target groups. As such, I feel that giving voluntary agencies free use of venues is a positive proposal. The Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood and myself endorse this proposal. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MS. JENNIFER CHOW KIT-BING (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, statistics show that to tackle the low usage rate of sports facilities during off-peak hours, the USD has been offering half-fare concession to students, voluntary agencies and schools. Many kinds of activities have been held for the elderly and housewives as well. Unfortunately, the existing usage rate has not yet reached 50%. As for the usage taken up by schools and voluntary agencies, they are 3.5% and 0.1% respectively. From the financial angle, whether or not the 38 venues are in use, their overhead cost remains fixed, maybe only a little more for air-conditioning, but not too much. Indeed, the USD should consider opening up IGHs during off-peak hours for use by voluntary organizations. The reasons are as follows:
1. There is not enough space at schools in the urban area for sports and recreation activities and PE lessons. This is detrimental to schools hoping to develop the students' skills in recreation and sports. The USD should consider providing venues free of charge for schools to organize sports activities;
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such as the East Kai Tak Hall at 37%, Aberdeen Hall at 46% and Chun Wa Road Hall at 50%. We are very much concerned about the situation.
Vacant venues are a waste of resources. The air-conditioning and lighting cannot be switched off because of vacancy. Nor can we cut staff because of periodical vacancy. In order that our venues are not laid to waste, I think the Council should consider making good use of them to the benefit of our citizens. Of course, for those venues with high usage rates of 96% or over 80% such as the Fa Yuen Street or Sai Wan Ho Complex, asking them to offer free use is unreasonable and will pose difficulties. However, I think the Council should seriously consider implementing this suggestion at venues with low usage rates.
The original motion asks for the offer of free use to schools and non-profit making organization during non-peak hours. I think it should be explored. For some schools with little space to manoeuvre, finding space to conduct physical education lessons is a big job. Very often, PE teachers have to conduct lessons in open air playgrounds and they are affected by the weather and the environment. I think if the Council can arrange to let the students use vacant venues so that they can have PE lessons despite inclement weather conditions, the suggestion is worthy of consideration.
For non-profit making bodies, if they can use venues free of charge, they can have more opportunities to draw new service targets or stage more activities for specified target groups. As such, I feel that giving voluntary agencies free use of venues is a positive proposal. The Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood and myself endorse this proposal. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MS. JENNIFER CHOW KIT-BING (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, statistics show that to tackle the low usage rate of sports facilities during off-peak hours, the USD has been offering half-fare concession to students, voluntary agencies and schools. Many kinds of activities have been held for the elderly and housewives as well. Unfortunately, the existing usage rate has not yet reached 50%. As for the usage taken up by schools and voluntary agencies, they are 3.5% and 0.1% respectively. From the financial angle, whether or not the 38 venues are in use, their overhead cost remains fixed, maybe only a little more for air-conditioning, but not too much. Indeed, the USD should consider opening up IGHs during off-peak hours for use by voluntary organizations. The reasons are as follows:
1. There is not enough space at schools in the urban area for sports and recreation activities and PE lessons. This is detrimental to schools hoping to develop the students' skills in recreation and sports. The USD should consider providing venues free of charge for schools to organize sports activities;
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