1
EDUCATION BUREAU CIRCULAR MEMORANDUM NO. 28/2022
From :
Ref.:
Permanent Secretary for Education
EDB(SDCT)1/P-620/3/Pt5
To: Supervisors and Heads of All Day Schools
Date: 18 January 2022 c.c. Heads of Sections – for information
One-off Relief Grants under the Fifth Round of Anti-epidemic Fund to Catering Outlet Operators and Lunch Box Suppliers for Schools Summary
The purpose of this circular memorandum is to inform all day schools offering full and formal curriculum of the details about further provision of a one-off relief grant under the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) to operators of catering outlets (namely tuck shops and canteens) and suppliers of lunch boxes. The Education Bureau (EDB) calls on schools to notify the operators/suppliers of the grant details and to remind them to submit applications to the EDB as soon as possible (on or before 11 February 2022 (Friday)).
Details
2. The business of operators of school catering outlets and suppliers of lunch box services have been severely affected by the restrictions on face-to-face classes and on- campus school activities since the commencement of the 2021/22 school year, particularly the suspension of face-to-face classes at kindergarten and primary school levels starting from mid-January 2022. To this end, the AEF will provide a one-off relief grant of $40,000 to the operators for each tuck shop or canteen and $5,000 to the lunch box suppliers for each serving school.
Eligible Catering Outlet Operators / Lunch Box Suppliers
3. All catering outlet operators running tuck shops or canteens within registered day schools offering full and formal curriculum (including public sector schools, schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme, schools under the English Schools Foundation, international schools, Private Independent Schools, private primary schools and private secondary day schools offering full and formal curriculum) are eligible for the relief
2
grant. The staff of the tuck shops and canteens should work for the tuck shops o r canteens only and carry out no other school duties. A tuck shop mainly sells packaged food and drinks. If an operator only operates a vending machine, or sells food and drinks with a trolley and does not run a store at a fixed location, it is not considered as operating a tuck shop under the relief grant. A canteen should have a kitchen within the school premises where food is cooked onsite, and provides dine -in service. If the operator only reheats or steams pre-cooked lunch boxes in schools prepared at food factory in advance, or provides on-site meal portioning service (i.e. with rice and vegetables cooked on-campus and other pre-cooked dishes delivered in thermal containers from the supplier’s plant and reheated and portioned on-site), it is not considered as operating a canteen under the relief grant. On the other hand, if a school canteen has more than one dining area, and the extra dining area(s) does (do) not have separate kitchen(s), the operator will be considered as operating only one canteen when the application is being processed. For a tuck shop operating inside a canteen, only one catering outlet will be counted when the application is being considered, thus the operator will receive only one single relief grant payment.
4. All eligible lunch box suppliers should hold a food factory licence and provide lunch boxes to the schools mentioned in paragraph 3. Those suppliers who provide lunch boxes to schools occasionally or for individual activities are not eligible for the relief grant.
5. The eligible catering outlet operators and lunch box suppliers should have entered into contracts with the relevant schools or School Sponsoring Bodies to provide services to the schools in the 2021/22 school year. When applications are submitted, the contracts should be valid and the relevant businesses should still be in operation.
Application Procedures
6. Catering outlet operators are required to complete Annex 1. Lunch box suppliers are required to complete Annex 2 and provide a copy of food factory licence.
7. Schools are requested to sign and stamp on the application form to certify that the contract signed between the tuck shop or canteen operator and / or lunch box supplier and the school or School Sponsoring Body is still valid. Applicants have to submit the duly completed application form (the softcopy of Annexes 1 and 2 can be downloaded from the website of the EDB : http://www.edb.gov.hk > School Administration and Management > Administration > About School > Prevention of Communicable Diseases in Schools > Application for Subsidy under Anti-epidemic Fund), with a copy of the relevant licence (if applicable), on or before 11 February 2022 (Friday) by post to Central Team 1/School Development Division, Education Bureau, 5/F., East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong (please specify "AEF" on the envelope). Relevant documents can also be deposited in the EDB's "Application for Anti-epidemic Fund" drop-in box located at
3
the 2/F Entrance of the Central Government Offices. Schools are requested to certify the eligibility of the applications as soon as possible so that they can be submitted without delay.
8. The EDB will process and effect payment of the one-off grant as soon as possible on receipt of the duly completed and certified application form. The one-off grant will be released by a crossed cheque by post to the address provided in the application form. .
Enquiries
9. For enquiries, please contact Central Team 1 / School Development Division on 4401 3870.
(KK LEE)
for Permanent Secretary for Education
