CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
10
chaired by the President of the Legislative Council and comprises 10 other members of the council. It is a statutory body that enjoys managerial and financial autonomy in directing the activities of the secretariat. The secretariat provides a wide range of support services to members, including secretariat services to sittings of the council and its committees, legal services, centralised research and library services, translation and interpretation services, and public information support. Through a representative office in London, members are kept informed of political developments in Britain. The office also helps British opinion-formers to better understand major Hong Kong issues.
Urban Council
The Urban Council is a statutory body with responsibility for the provision of municipal services to some 3.3 million people in the urban areas, representing 53 per cent of the population of Hong Kong. The council plays a key role in safeguarding environmental hygiene and public health as well as providing cultural programmes and recreational facilities.
The council has 41 members: 32 elected from geographical constituencies and one each from the nine urban district boards. It meets formally in public once a month to pass by-laws and deal with financial matters, formal motions and questions on its activities.
The Standing Committee of the Whole Council meets twice monthly to conduct the council's routine business, while its 14 select committees, set up to deal individually with various disciplines among the wide field of civic responsibilities, generally meet at least once a month. There are also 29 sub-committees and working groups which meet regularly to handle specific matters under their parent select committees. All council meetings are open to the public, except for sensitive items which must be discussed in private.
The council's chief executive is the Director of Urban Services, who oversees the operations of the Urban Services Department, which is the largest civilian department in the government structure with a staff of about 16 000. The director is responsible for carrying out the council's policies and implementing its decisions.
The council is financially autonomous and spent about $6.01 billion on council-run activities and projects in 1995-96. A share of the rates forms the main part of its income, with the balance coming from licence fees and other charges.
The council has ward offices throughout the urban areas, where councillors meet the public and advise on a wide variety of matters. Urban residents may also make their views known through the Members' Duty Roster System, whereby councillors are placed on a duty roster to meet the public, by appointment, twice a week.
Regional Council
The Regional Council is the statutory municipal authority responsible for environmental hygiene, public health, sanitation, liquor licensing and the provision of recreational, sports and cultural facilities and services for about three million people in the New Territories.
The council consists of 39 members: 27 elected from geographical constituencies, nine elected by the district boards in each of the nine New Territories districts as their representatives, and three ex officio members who are the chairman and the two vice-