Secretary for Home Affairs Dr Patrick Ho says the Government has accepted the Performing Arts Committee's recommendations on enhancing community involvement and partnership in the provision of performing arts services.

Receiving a report from the committee today, Dr Ho said it proposes changes to the funding mechanism for arts groups, and the provision of venue support and programme presentation by the Leisure & Cultural Services Department.

Recommendations

The key recommendations are:

* identifying resources by the department to provide more performance opportunities to local budding and small-scale performing arts groups and extending such support to performances staged at non-LCSD venues;

* setting up a new grant scheme to provide funding and venue support for budding artists and arts groups;

* developing a single assessment mechanism for major performing arts groups;

* putting the four performing arts groups funded by LCSD and the six 3-year grantees funded by Arts Development Council under one roof; and

* forming a new funding body to advise the Government on funding major performing arts groups from April 2007;

* establishing a partnership between LCSD venues and performing arts groups;

* setting up a Programme and Development Committee and six Art Form Panels to consider and endorse LCSD programme strategies, resource allocation and annual programme plans.

Gov't response

"Taken together, these recommendations seek to enhance community involvement and partnership in the provision of performing arts services, which should be highly conducive to increasing the vibrancy, diversity and plurality of the arts and cultural scene in Hong Kong. The Government accepts in principle all the recommendations in the committee's report," Dr Ho said.

Dr Ho said his bureau will study the recommendations in detail, and he will brief the Legislative Council on June 27 on the Government's response.

For details of the recommendations click here.