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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kenneth Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (June 8):
Question:
With effect from August 1 this year, the permanent exhibitions of five fee-charging museums under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will be open free to the public, and the permanent exhibitions of another two museums will be open free to full-time students. Regarding the operation of various LCSD museums (the museums), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the operating expenditure of each museum in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by expenditure item;
(2) of the staffing establishment of each museum in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by grade and rank; and
(3) whether the authorities will conduct a review of the impacts and effectiveness of the aforesaid arrangement of free admission to the museums after implementation for some time, and whether they will consider opening the permanent exhibitions of more museums free to the public in light of the review outcome; if they will, of the detailed plan and timeframe of the review; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
To further promote the appreciation of art, culture, history and science, and to broaden the museum audience base, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will offer free admission to permanent exhibitions of five of its fee-charging designated museums to the general public, namely the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Museum of History, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence and Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum; and offer free admission to permanent exhibitions of the Hong Kong Science Museum (HKScM) and the Hong Kong Space Museum (HKSpM) to full-time students. Subject to the passage of the Public Health and Municipal Services (Fees and Charges) (Museums) (Amendment) Regulation 2016 within the current legislative session, the new measure on free admission to permanent exhibitions of the above museums will be implemented from August 1, 2016 onwards. My reply to the various parts of the Dr Hon Kenneth Chan's question is as follows:
(1) A breakdown by expenditure item regarding the actual expenditure of museums under the LCSD in each of the past three years is at Annex 1.
(2) A breakdown by grade and rank regarding the staffing establishment of museums under the LCSD in each of the past three years is at Annex 2.
(3) After implementing free admission to permanent exhibitions of museums, the LCSD will review the impact and effectiveness of such arrangements. Depending on the situation of the HKScM and the HKSpM (including their visitor flows, capacities and the extent of damage to their exhibits, etc.), the LCSD will consider whether the admission fees of the two museums should be further waived or adjusted downwards. If the new measure is implemented in 2016-17, the review will be conducted in 2017-18.
Ends/Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:01
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