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Size of the Urban Council
66. If option (iii) above were to be implemented, it would increase the size of the Urban Council by ten members and alter the balance in the numbers of appod and elected members. Separate suggestions have been made, how- ever, that the Urban Council should be expanded because it is at present smaller (30) than the Regional Council (36), even though it serves a much larger population.
67. An increase in the size of the Urban Council may therefore be con- sidered desirable in itself. If so, bringing District Board representatives onto the Council is one possible option (see paragraphs 62-65 above). Others would be:
(i) to increase equally the number of appointed and directly elected
members;
(ii) to increase the number of directly elected members only.
Both these options would enable the heavy workload of the Urban Council to be shared amongst more Councillors. They would also make it possible to reduce, to some extent, the size of Urban Council electoral constituencies which average 230,000 people, compared with those of the Regional Council which range from 45,000 people in the Sai Kung constituency to 240,000 people in the Tsuen Wan constituency.
Structure of the Urban Council
68. There have been suggestions that another means of improving the links between the Urban Council and District Boards would be to establish district committees under the Urban Council, similar in function to those which have been set up under the Regional Council. Such committees could, in theory, be established whether or not it is decided that District Board representatives should become members of the Urban Council.
69. Some who have commented on this suggestion, particularly members of the Urban Council, consider it impractical to attempt to manage services in this way in the urban areas because the relatively small size of urban districts, and the need to make the most efficient use of limited land resources, make it imperative to plan services and facilities having regard to the needs of the region as a whole. In particular, if over-provision is to be avoided, not all districts can have a full range of all types of facilities.
70. Others, while acknowledging the practical arguments against a district- based approach to the management of municipal services in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, nevertheless consider that the setting up of committees with responsibilities covering several districts or a sub-region would complement usefully the work of the functional Select Committees and enhance co- operation between districts and the Council.
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