Transparency

Departments responsible for licensing have introduced clear and reasonable performance pledges for the licensing process, providing a clearer basis for the industry in planning its business.

An example is the launch of a new performance pledge on the time required for notifying licence applicants of the results of their applications upon receipt of the report of completion of the required upgrading works to further enhance the transparency in the licensing process for hotels and guesthouses. 

A pre-submission enquiry service has been provided for purpose-built hotels on specific hotel licensing issues / requirements so that the trade can plan their works well before submission of hotel licence application. 

Pre-submission regulatory interviews are conducted for the applications of clinical trial certificate involving First in Human studies and where the trial medicines are Advanced Therapy Products to enable the applicants to get familiarized with the requirements thus enhancing the completeness and tidiness of the application dossiers and reducing the “back and forth” time for submission. 

To facilitate speedy completion of acceptance inspections of fire service installations in new buildings, apart from enhancing the standard document checklist,  pre-inspection meetings will also be conducted with Authorised Persons and registered fire service installation contractors on a need basis.  Regular technical seminars as well as liaison meetings are also organised from time to time with the construction industry to enhance their understanding of the fire safety requirements and standards.   

Bureaux/departments have developed guidelines on various licence applications and have them regularly updated to provide clear and up-to-date information to facilitate trades’ understanding on the licensing requirements and compliance. 

Bureaux / departments also make wide use of the online platform to disseminate relevant regulatory information to trades to increase transparency. 

End-to-end e-licensing systems covering the whole licensing processes from application submission, processing, status tracking, licence fee payment and issue of licences have been developed to provide dedicated electronic support to licensing work. The e-tracking facility in these systems enhances the transparency of the licensing process by facilitating applicants’ tracking and monitoring of the processing status for milestone activities for their application. 

Licensing systems in some departments have also been enhanced to enable sending of e-notifications to applicants to remind them of the major milestones in the licensing processes. For example, e-reminders are issued before the expiry of provisional licences/permits or when the full licences/permits are ready for collection, so as to remind the applicants to expedite their actions to comply with the licensing requirements or to collect their full licences/permits.

A business consultation e-platform is set up under the GovHK portal to facilitate the business sectors to access consultation information relating to proposed regulations, administrative measures and procedures with potential business impact and to offer their feedback.  Please click here for more details of the e-platform.

Business Liaison Groups (BLGs) are formal discussion forums set up to improve communication between the trade and the Administration. Government representatives would attend the forums to exchange views with the trade on licensing and regulatory matters and provide timely feedback to their issues.

There are presently ten BLGs for a number of trades, namely (1) cinemas, (2) theme parks and attractions, (3) family amusement centres, (4) hotels, (5) food business (restaurants), (6) food business (non-restaurants), (7) recreational clubs, (8) karaoke establishments, nightclubs, bars and other entertainment clubs, (9) billiard establishments, public bowling alleys and public skating rinks and (10) guesthouses, holiday camps and holiday flats. Please click here to see important highlights, download the notes of meeting, give suggestions and enrol as participants of the BLG meetings.