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Following is a question by the Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (April 13):
Question:
According to the information on the web site of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), members of the public or organisations may bid for permits to conduct light refreshment business (permits) at light refreshment kiosks (kiosks) under LCSD. LCSD will enter into agreements with the successful bidders of the permits (agreements). However, it has been reported that LCSD has left some of these kiosks vacant for a long time without putting them up for bidding, which is a waste of public resources. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current number of LCSD sites on which kiosks have been built, with a tabulated breakdown by District Council (DC) district; the current vacancy rate of such kiosks, together with a tabulated breakdown of the number of vacant kiosks by DC district and the number of years for which they have been left vacant (i.e. less than three years, three years to less than five years, five years to less than 10 years, and 10 years or more);
(2) of the tendering procedures for and the validity periods of the permits in general; whether, when the validity period of a permit will soon expire, the original holder has a priority right to be granted a new permit, and the penalties to be imposed on permit holders who fail to operate the kiosks in accordance with the business hours stipulated in the agreements;
(3) of the respective numbers of cases in each of the past three years in which the permit holders and LCSD requested to terminate the agreements within the validity period of the agreements, with a tabulated breakdown by reason for the termination of the agreement;
(4) whether, before conducting an open tender, LCSD will invite certain individuals or organisations to submit quotations for those kiosks in respect of which the permits will soon expire; if so, whether LCSD will proceed with the open tender process under the circumstances in which quotations have been received; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) whether LCSD will convert the sites the kiosks on which have been left vacant for a long time for other uses; if so, for how long after the kiosks have been left vacant will LCSD do so; if not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the questions raised by the Hon James To is as follows:
(1) The information regarding the services provided by light refreshment kiosks under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) is listed in table 1.
(2) The validity period of a contract for operating a light refreshment kiosk is usually three years. The existing operator of a kiosk does not have priority in renewing the contract. Contracts for operating kiosks will be available for bidding by eligible individuals or organisations through invitation for quotation or open tender. A tenant who fails to operate his/her kiosk in accordance with the business hours stipulated in the contract during the validity period of the contract will be advised or warned by LCSD to make improvement. Should the breach persist, LCSD may consider suspending his/her business or terminating the contract pursuant to its terms.
(3) The respective numbers of cases in which light refreshment kiosks ceased operation before the expiry of their contracts and LCSD requested termination of light refreshment kiosk service contracts within the contract period in the past three years are set out in table 2.
(4) Following the established procurement procedures of the Government, LCSD invites eligible individuals or organisations to bid for contracts for operating light refreshment kiosks, fast food kiosks or restaurants at LCSD venues through invitation for quotation or open tender, and assesses their quotation and tender accordingly. LCSD will have copies of the notice of invitation for quotation or tender of the new contract uploaded to its website, posted at the leisure venue where the kiosk is located and issued to the existing operator about four to six months before the current contract ends. Individuals or organisations interested in bidding for the contract are required to submit their quotation or tender together with relevant documents before the specified date in accordance with the requirements set out in the quotation or tender documents. Each quotation or tender submitted will be assessed by the relevant quotation or tender assessment panel according to established procedures. The panel will then make recommendations to the relevant tender board or authorised persons to accept a conforming quotation or tender.
(5) Under the existing procedures, LCSD will conduct two open tender exercises consecutively for vacant food premises (such as light refreshment kiosks). For premises that are not successfully let out, LCSD will make a third attempt by revising the term(s) of the contract to attract more bidders. If the food premises still cannot be let out, LCSD will consider converting the premises to other uses such as storeroom. LCSD has not set a time frame for changing the use of food premises.
Ends/Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Issued at HKT 12:05
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