CONFIDENTIAL
BACKGROUND NOTES NO.4
Local Government
The Urban Council has statutory responsibility for operating the basic sanitary services in the urban areas of Hong Kong/Kowloon and also a variety of other duties in the field of public health, such as the supervision of food premises, harkers, operation of slaughter houses and pest control; it also has responsibilities for the removal and resettlement of squatters within the urban areas. It is empowered to make by-laws for regulation and control of these matters, subject to the approval of the Legislative Council. It has, however, no rating powers and its responsibilities are carried out through the Urban Services Department (a Government department) the Director of which
is Chairman of the Council.
2. In addition to the Chairman, the Council consists of five ex officio and twenty unofficial mombers, of whom ten are elected and ten are appointed by the Governor. The term of office of the unofficial members is four years. Urban Council elections, at which half the elected seats are contestod, are hold biannually. In spite of considerable coverage in the Press and radio,
public interest is low.
༧༽ •
In 1965 the decision was taken to extend the franchise for its elections to an estimated 240,000; in the event, however, only some 26,000 have registered as electors which is some 3,000 loss than on the old register. The number of voters in the June 1967 elections was 10,189 or 38.8% of
registered eloctors.
4.
The new Territories arc administered by district officers under a District Commissioner, with the assistance of rural committees elected by and from village roprosentativos. There is also a consultative council for the whole of the low Torritories (Heung Yeo Kuk). Its functions are
entirely advisory.
Future Development
5. In view of the spread of urban development into the New Territorios and prossure from the clocted nombors of Urban Council to extend their authority into those areas, the Governor announced carly in 1966 that he had decided to institute ai re-cxamination of local government generally. As a first stop an official Working Party was set up to gather information on the possible forms of local government suitable to Hong Kong and to suggest lines of development for further study and debate.
6. The Working Party's Roport, published carly this year, recommends the crcation of a number of urban authoritics on the lines of English practice
/though
CONFIDENTIAL