HEALTH
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Contracts have also been awarded for village cleansing in Ap Chau in Sha Tau Kok and Tai Long Wan Tsuen on Lantau. Cleansing services for parts of Tai Po, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long were contracted-out in July 1991. Removal of animal carcases has similarly been assigned to private contractors in four New Territories districts. The performance of private contractors has been found to be highly satisfactory and contracting-out will be extended to other suitable localities in the future.
During the year, the Keep Hong Kong Clean campaign, co-ordinated by a joint Urban Council-Regional Council Steering Committee, launched a seven-phase clean-up pro- gramme. This covered the environment, water, roads, schools, homes, squatter areas and villages, as well as the countryside. The campaign focused on community involvement, education and publicity through television and posters. Special emphasis was placed on penalising litter offenders, since enforcement of the law remained a major weapon against litterbugs. During the year, 46 439 people were fined a total of $13.0 million for littering offences.
To encourage greater public involvement and achieve wider media publicity, the two councils engaged a public relations firm and an advertising agency to organise community activities and generate new ideas for a campaign strategy. The Dragon of Cleanliness, a positive role model introduced in 1990, has been developed into a family of five members with the addition of a Beach Dragon, a Country Dragon and boy and girl Kid Dragon characters. To give fresh impetus to the campaign, a new slogan has been coined - Take the "Lead to Keep Hong Kong Clean.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign since its introduction 20 years ago, the Steering Committee appointed a research company to survey and analyse public awareness. The survey indicates that the campaign has been successful and the findings will be used to formulate future strategies.
Controls
To maintain and improve standards of hygiene, staff of the two departments regularly inspect licensed and permitted premises, common parts of buildings, squatter areas, construction sites and undeveloped land throughout the territory, to enforce the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation. They also respond to complaints about poor sanitation and vermin infestation, and work closely with the Department of Health in the investigation and control of food-poisoning outbreaks and infectious diseases.
To better utilise manpower and resources, the Urban Services Department introduced a Selective Inspection System for the inspection of licensed food premises. Under this system, food business establishments are graded according to past performance. The frequency of inspection for each establishment is then determined in accordance with its grading.
To protect public health, the Urban Council has adopted a review system to identify food business establishments which pose fire, health or environmental risks, and to require them to comply with current standards before their licences or permits can be renewed. To deter offenders, the council has also introduced a Demerit Points System, under which the accumulation of 15 points for convictions within a 12-month period forms the basis for suspension or cancellation of a food business licence or permit.
In the Regional Council area, the Regional Services Department continues to exercise strict control over unlicensed food premises which fail to apply for a licence or which have