CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
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majority of matters lie outside the council's jurisdiction but members nevertheless attempt to obtain answers from various government departments and public bodies to assist the public.
A few members of the council have no office accommodation of their own and the council has provided them with financial assistance to rent their own offices to enable them to carry out their duties efficiently.
All councillors have seats on district boards, the elected councillors having seats on boards in which their constituencies lie and appointed members being assigned to boards by the council.
Regional Council
The new Regional Council was proposed in order to achieve a more efficient provision of services to cope with the future increase in population in the new towns. The Regional Council was introduced also to correct the anomalous situation whereby a wide range of services was provided to the public in the urban areas by the Urban Services Department under the direction of the Urban Council, while similar services were provided to the public in the New Territories by the New Territories Services Department under the direction of the central government. The Urban Council system has been working well in the urban areas for several years and it was decided that a similar system should be introduced for the rest of Hong Kong.
The Regional Council will perform functions similar to those of the Urban Council in respect of environmental public health, sanitation and hygienic services in areas outside the aegis of the Urban Council. As far as recreational, cultural and amenities services are concerned, the functions of the Regional Council will include the provision of those services previously provided by the Recreation and Culture Department at the district and regional levels.
The Regional Council will consist of a total of 36 members, 12 of whom will be directly elected and constituency-based and 12 will be appointed. Each of the nine district boards in the New Territories will elect among themselves one representative to the council. Three representatives of the Heung Yee Kuk will be ex-officio members of the Regional Council. To allow some working experience to be gained before the full council comes into being in April 1986, a provisional Regional Council of appointed members will be established in early 1985. It is envisaged that elections for the 12 directly elected members will be conducted at the same time as those for the Urban Council in March 1986 and they will hold office from April 1, 1986, when the new council is formally established.
To provide the necessary executive support for the Urban Council and the new Regional Council, the present Urban Services Department and Recreation and Culture Department will be merged. Two new departments, each headed by a Chief Executive, will be formed, one servicing the Urban Council and one the Regional Council. There will also be a new Secretary for Municipal Services who will have policy responsibility for environmental hygiene matters, and cultural and recreational services. He will exercise a co-ordinating function to encourage co-operation, consistency and the best use of resources between the two departments and the two councils. He will also act as a bridge between the central government and the councils.
District Administration
District boards and district management committees were set up in each of the 18 adminis- trative districts throughout the territory in 1982. The objective behind establishing district