A man and a company were fined $1,800 and $3,000 respectively at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (July 23) for contravening the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance.

     The courts heard that in December last year, officers from the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department conducted an inspection at a club on Foo Ming Street in Causeway Bay, which had been operating with a certificate of compliance (CoC).
      
     OLA officers posed as customers and patronised the club for food without being asked to show their membership status or being invited to join the club as members. Condition 19 of the CoC was breached.
      
     The man and the company, being the manager of the club and the CoC holder of the club respectively, were charged with contravening section 21(1) (a) and section 21(2) of the Ordinance.

     A spokesman for the department reminded all CoC holders to comply with the conditions as stipulated therein. Enforcement action will continue to be taken against illegal club operations.

     Having thoroughly considered the review report submitted by the Task Force on School-based Management (SBM) Policy, the Education Bureau (EDB) today (July 23) decided to accept all the 27 recommendations contained therein.
      
     The Task Force set up under the Education Commission (EC) submitted its report on July 8 this year, putting forward a total of 27 recommendations with a view to improving the quality of governance, strengthening the administration capabilities of schools and unleashing capacity for teachers and principals, and enhancing the participation of major stakeholders in school governance which includes optimising the mechanism on handling teachers' complaints. The recommendations are set out in the Annex.
      
     The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, said, "The Task Force's recommendations are pragmatic and constructive in further enhancing the effectiveness of SBM. The EDB attaches great importance to the effective implementation of SBM. We have earlier adopted the Task Force's preliminary views and announced that starting from the 2019/20 school year, all public sector schools (including special schools) and schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme would be provided with additional resources of $570 million each year for the implementation of two of the recommendations, including the 'One Executive Officer for Each School’ initiative and the SBM Top-up Grant.
      
     "After thorough consideration of the review report, we have decided to implement 14 other recommendations gradually starting from the 2019/20 school year, such as enhancing manager training and school visits, setting up focus groups to understand the stakeholders' needs, implementing the soft training targets for school managers, and following up with the Panel of Review Boards on School Complaints to expand the scope of its review to cover teachers’ complaints. The EDB is currently formulating the implementation details."
            
     He added that as the remaining 11 recommendations concern school sponsoring bodies or incorporated management committees, the EDB would contact them as soon as possible, calling on them to implement the recommendations starting from the 2019/20 school year and providing them with appropriate assistance.
      
     The full review report can be viewed on the EC website (www.e-c.edu.hk/en/publications_and_related_documents/education_reports.html).

     A spokesman for the Labour Department (LD) today (July 23) reminded operators of employment agencies (EAs) to conduct their business in compliance with the law and the requirements of the Code of Practice for EAs (the Code) at all times.
      
     The LD has revoked the licence of Saint Happy Maids Agency located in Mong Kok, Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan. The EA failed to meet the requirements set out in the Code, such as becoming involved in the financial affairs of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs), failing to draw up service agreements with employers, failing to include all required items in the service agreement with employers and FDHs, and failing to provide payment receipts to employers.
      
     Under section 53(1)(c)(iva) and (e)(ii) of the Employment Ordinance (EO), the Commissioner for Labour (the Commissioner) may revoke the licence of an EA if he is satisfied that the licensee concerned or an individual employed by the licensee has not complied with the Code.
      
     "The Code sets out the salient legal requirements that EA operators must observe in operating their business, as well as the minimum standards which the Commissioner expects from EAs. The Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, which came into effect on February 9, 2018, stipulates that the Commissioner may refuse to issue or renew a licence, or may revoke a licence, if he is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the licensee or the person intending to be the licensee of an EA, or a related person of or an individual employed by the licensee or the person intending to be the licensee has contravened any provision of Part XII or any regulation made under section 62 of the EO, such as overcharging job seekers, operating an EA without a license, or has not complied with the Code issued under section 62A(1) of the EO," the spokesman added.
      
     This is the third revocation of an EA licence in 2019. In 2018, there were eight cases of revocation/refusal of renewal of EA licences.
      
     For enquiries about matters related to EAs or complaints regarding possible malpractices, please call the Employment Agencies Administration of the LD at 2115 3667, or visit its office at Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) today (July 23) announced that in consideration of the latest composite consumer price index, the service fee for the Participating Service Providers (PSPs) in the General Outpatient Clinic Public-Private Partnership (GOPC PPP) Programme will be increased from $3,283 to $3,408, representing an increase of around 3.8 per cent, per patient per year at the maximum with retrospective effect from July 1, 2019.
 
     The HA spokesperson said calculation of the adjustment was based on the commonly used Composite Consumer Price Index (Medical Services), published in the Monthly Report on the Consumer Price Index by the Hong Kong Government's Census and Statistics Department for the period from July 2018 to June 2019.
 
     "The maximum total payment to PSPs per patient per year, covering up to 10 consultations, will be increased from $3,283 to $3,408. Participating patients, however, will continue to pay only the HA GOPC fee of $50 per attendance," the spokesperson said.
 
     The GOPC PPP Programme has been implemented in all 18 districts in Hong Kong. The territory-wide implementation gives patients more choices in selecting their family doctors all over Hong Kong. As at the end of June 2019, over 400 PSPs are providing consultation services to more than 32 000 GOPC patients who have joined the Programme.
 
     "All HA PPP Programmes work on Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS) platforms. PSPs and patients have to register for eHRSS if they wish to join the programmes, including the GOPC PPP Programme," the spokesperson added.
 
     The HA will continue to monitor closely the implementation of the GOPC PPP Programme and keep in view closely the feedback from service providers, patients and other parties concerned.

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has announced that the lifesaving services at Golden Beach in Tuen Mun District resumed today (July 23). The lifesaving services at the beach were suspended earlier due to an insufficient number of lifeguards on duty.