CONFIDENTIAL
3
XCC(71)20
Hong Kong's advisory bodies exist in many forms, ranging from informal groupings consulted by a City District Officer, through the Rural Committees consulted by District Officers in the New Territories (all regional or local bodies) to such Colony-wide functional bodies as the Board of Education, Social Welfare Advisory Committee and the Transport Advisory Committee. Other considerations apart, one of the reasons for not granting further powers such as education, social welfare or town planning to the Urban Council is that satisfactory arrangements already exist for providing these services on a departmental basis with the advice of a body with unofficial members. In the search for ways of involving Hong Kong residents to a greater extent in Government processes, it would be logical to do so by allowing, and perhaps encouraging, these advisory bodies to develop on a Colony-wide functional basis, rather than invest additional powers in the Urban Council.
The elective nature of the Urban Council
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In passing, it is worth noting that the one characteristic of the Urban Council, more than anything else, which makes the Councillors, per- haps understandably, seek additional powers is that it is the only elective body in Hong Kong with executive functions. The same consideration has in the past led Councillors to claim the right to sit on other bodies as Urban Councillors, and to involve themselves in every conceivable topic, particularly by way of comment on public affairs generally during the annual debate. While it is not considered politically possible to abandon the Urban Council elections, it seems desirable to do nothing which would underline or extend this aspect of the Council. In the meantime consideration should be given to improving the public standing of these advisory bodies; the anonymity and lack of presence of some of them tends to create a vacuum in certain areas which offers an irresistable temptation to Urban Councillors to debate topics in their field.
The Urban Council as a functional body
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It needs to be recognised (and the majority of Urban Councillors themselves accept this) that the Urban Council is not a true local government body. It is in fact a functional body, statutorily charged by Government with certain responsibilities in the fields of public health, cleansing, recreation and culture. It's status is not basically dissimilar from that of other existing bodies statutorily charged with defined responsibilities. Seen in this light, the most striking feature of the present arrangement is that its area of responsibility does not include the New Territories, even though the franchise extends to New Territories residents. This restriction stems from the special arrangements made for the administration of the New Territories. In the recent past the leaders of the Heung Yee Kuk have refused to contemplate any extension of the Urban Council's activities into the New Territories, because they have regarded it as a local authority rather than as a body given a particular job to do.
Background considerations
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The principal considerations which need to be kept in mind in considering what should be done about the Urban Council seem to be as follows:
CONFIDENTIAL