The Social Welfare Department (SWD) will invite employers of persons with disabilities to submit applications for the 22nd batch of the Support Programme for Employees with Disabilities (SPED) from tomorrow (September 10) until October 19.
      
     To support the employment of persons with disabilities, the SWD launched the SPED in June 2013 to provide employers of persons with disabilities with a one-off subsidy for each employee with disabilities for procurement of assistive devices and/or workplace modifications. The programme seeks to assist employees with disabilities in discharging their duties in the workplace and enhance their work efficiency.
      
     The subsidy is capped at a maximum support level of $20,000 for each employee with disabilities. Starting from 2014-15, a grant of up to $40,000 may be considered for deserving cases for which the price of a single item of assistive device and its essential accessories exceeds $20,000.
      
     A wide range of assistive devices and workplace modifications which cater to the special needs of employees with disabilities in the workplace will be considered. Examples include computer accessories or adaptive equipment, optical magnifying devices, hearing and assistive devices, Braille products and handrails.

     The Po Leung Kuk has been commissioned to serve as the SPED Administrator. It will assist in administering and promoting the SPED, provide advisory services and follow up on the progress of the subsidised programmes, prepare assessments on the applications and make recommendations to the Committee on the SPED set up by the SWD for consideration.
      
     Employers may apply for a subsidy under the SPED through nomination of the following referring organisations:
 

1. non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating SWD-subvented vocational rehabilitation services;
2. NGOs running training courses for persons with disabilities or persons recovering from work injuries with the funding support of the Employees Retraining Board;
3. the Selective Placement Division of the Labour Department;
4. the Vocational Training Council; or
5. the SPED Administrator (the Po Leung Kuk).

             
     Employers may submit their completed application forms together with the required documents by mail or by hand to the SWD through the referring organisations. No application fee is required and each applicant may submit more than one application.
      
     For enquiries, please contact the Po Leung Kuk SPED Office by phone at 3980 9677, by email at sped@poleungkuk.org.hk or by fax at 3980 9633.
      
     For more details, the information note and SPED application form, people may visit and download from the SWD homepage www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_rehab/sub_listofserv/id_vocational/id_sped.

     The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, will depart for San Francisco, the United States, tomorrow (September 10) to attend the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) and its affiliate event, the Cities4Climate conference, both co-organised by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. He will also meet with leaders of participating cities to exchange views on environmental issues and call at various local agencies and facilities to understand more about their work on various fronts including environmental protection and innovation.

     Mr Wong will speak at the Cities4Climate conference on September 12 (San Francisco time) on Hong Kong's work in combating climate change. The two-day GCAS will start on September 13 and aims at bringing together global political and business leaders as well as different stakeholders to showcase their decarbonisation actions and discuss ways to tackle the climate crisis. Mr Wong will attend various sessions of the GCAS and deliver a speech on September 14 (San Francisco time) on Hong Kong's efforts in mitigating climate change.

     Mr Wong will conclude his visit in the late hours of September 14 (San Francisco time) and return to Hong Kong in the morning of September 16.

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said today (September 9) that because of an oil spill, the red flag has been hoisted at Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach in Tsuen Wan District. The beach has been closed until further notice. Beach-goers are advised not to swim at the beach.

     A team of eight Hong Kong students achieved outstanding results in the 3rd International Olympiad of Metropolises (IOM). The Hong Kong team won three gold medals and five silver medals, as well as a gold award in the team competition.

     The IOM is a competition covering four disciplines: physics, mathematics, chemistry and informatics. The competition was held in Moscow, Russia, from September 2 to 7, with around 260 students from 33 cities of 26 countries participating in the event.

     In the physics competition, Gaurav Arya (King George V School) and Chau Chun-wang (St Margaret's Co-educational English Secondary and Primary School) each won a gold medal. Cheng Yan-yau (Discovery College) and Alvin Tse (Yew Chung International School – Secondary) won a gold medal and a silver medal respectively in the mathematics competition. In the chemistry competition, Wong Chi-fung and Prudence Mok (both from La Salle College) each won a silver medal. Last but not least, Wai Ka-hei (Pui Ching Middle School) and Choi Chun-ming (Sing Yin Secondary School) each attained a silver medal in the informatics competition.

     The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (September 9) on their excellent achievements in the competition.

     "Amid the 21st century's rapid development in technology, the Education Bureau (EDB) has been striving to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education to unlock and nurture the youth's talent in science and technology. 

     "The impressive achievements of the Hong Kong team in the competition demonstrated the great potential of Hong Kong students in the relevant fields," he said.

     He added that the EDB will continue to support STEM-related learning activities, and strengthen the nurturing of talented students so that their potential could be developed.

     The members of the Hong Kong team were fully funded by the EDB to join the competition. The success of the Hong Kong team this year once again demonstrated the fruitful collaboration among different parties, including the EDB and the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) as well as the tertiary institutions and professional bodies concerned, in nurturing talented students in Hong Kong.

     To nurture more talents, the EDB is proposing to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council an injection of $800 million into the Gifted Education Fund to support the enhancement of services of the HKAGE and to provide quality advanced learning programmes for gifted students by different gifted education service providers, so as to further enhance the development of gifted education in Hong Kong.

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Liquor Licensing Board:

     The Liquor Licensing Board will meet on Tuesday (September 11) to consider nine applications for new issue, renewal or amendment of liquor licences.

     The applications are (not in order of discussion):
 
Hong Kong:
————–
Old China Hand in Kennedy Town
UOGASHI JAPANESE RESTAURANT in Sheung Wan
BIG SUR and OOLAA in Central
Amoy Pub and The Stone Nullah in Wan Chai
Focus Bar in Shau Kei Wan
 
Kowloon:
———–
RUBATO in Tai Kok Tsui
 
Hong Kong Waters:
———————–
Xin Guang
 
     The meeting will be held at 9.45am in the conference room, Room 102, 1/F, 258 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai. Members of the public are welcome to attend, except during the private session on confidential items.