Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law, at a media stand-up after the meeting of the Legislative Council Panel on Public Service today (June 21):

Reporter: Mr Law, just tell us how it is affecting civil servants right now. The CGO is being closed multiple times. Did you receive any complaints from civil servants themselves? And how is the contingency plan working so far?

Secretary for the Civil Service: The relevant bureaux and departments in CGO (Central Government Offices) have put in place their contingency plans under which civil servants can continue to provide our services and serve the public on a day-to-day basis. We hope by doing this, we can minimise the impact on the community. I believe our civil servants are professional. They will be able to adjust and adapt to all the different situations and continue to do our best to provide the best quality service for the public.

Reporter: Did you receive any complaints from civil servants themselves, now the CGO is being closed? Are they being affected?

Secretary for the Civil Service: All the civil servants who are affected will work according to our contingency plan. Thank you.

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Secretariat announced today (June 21) that all guided tours and services to the public in the LegCo Complex, including the service of the Public Complaints Office and visits to the LegCo Library, Archives and Children's Corner, are suspended from 2pm today onwards until further notice.

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The meetings of the Legislative Council (LegCo) House Committee and LegCo Finance Committee originally scheduled for today (June 21) at 2.30pm and 4.15pm respectively have been cancelled.

Attention TV/radio announcers:

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

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (June 21) that due to an insufficient number of lifeguards on duty, the lifesaving services at Golden Beach in Tuen Mun District have been suspended until further notice.

     First aid service will be maintained at the beach.

     The Transport Department (TD) announced today (June 21) that the application numbers of the 1 500 personalised vehicle registration mark (PVRM) applications selected by lot for the 39th exercise have been published on its website (www.td.gov.hk) and posted on the notice boards of the department's licensing offices.
 
     "The applicants have already been sent an acknowledgement of receipt bearing an application number. They may check the list to see whether their applications have been selected. Applicants will also be notified of the ballot results by post in batches," a department spokesman said.
 
     The department will later check the proposed PVRMs selected against the basic combination requirements. If, among the selected applications, more than one applicant proposes the same PVRM, only the one on which the lot falls first out of those applications will be further processed.
 
     If the selected PVRMs meet the basic requirements, the department will send notices by registered mail to the applicants in batches, requiring them to pay a deposit of $5,000 within the period specified in the notice. If an applicant fails to pay the deposit within that period, his or her application will be cancelled automatically and will not be further processed.
 
     Upon receipt of the deposit, the Commissioner for Transport will determine, with the assistance of a vetting committee, whether an application should be approved or rejected. PVRMs approved in the 39th exercise will be put up for auction in batches. Auction details will be published in newspapers and on the department's website in due course.
 
     For enquiries, applicants can call TD Hotline at 2804 2600.