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(a) For Government to purchase living accommodation, repair it and let it
to Government servants, and to the public.
(b) For Government to take on lease, by negotiation with owners, sufficient property to meet the housing needs of the Colony as long as building costs remain high, do the repairs, and then sub-let to tenants for the period of the lease.
(c) To subsidise owners sufficiently to encourage them to repair their own
property.
Suggestion (a) would increase the work falling on the P.W.D. technical staff, which is already inadequate to cope with Government buildings alone; it would not therefore in- crease the speed of reconstruction.
The same applies to (b).
It therefore seems that a subsidy is the only effective way of overcoming the reluctance to undertake reconstruction work caused by high prices. The situation is not without precedent. The Government in the United Kingdom are faced with a similar problem in organising the construction of the new houses necessary to overcome the grave shortage of accommodation from which they are suffering. The cost of building there is more than 200% of pre-war costs, so a Bill was introduced into Parliament on February 5th, 1946 to enable local authorities to meet from rates and taxes the difference between the economic rent of the dwellings built and the rent which tenants are likely to be able to afford. A summary of the Bill, as reported in "The Times", is attached. (Table "A").
The fixing of a subsidy is a difficult and complicated matter, which has many rami- fications. But as long as building costs remain high, drastic action will be required, and it is suggested that a sub-committee be formed without delay to recommend a course of action.
Transport.
15. Transport is still a serious bottleneck. The resources in cars to convey techni- cal supervisory staff, both P.W.D., and civilian, are very inadequate, and the number of load carrying lorries is far below the minimum needs of the programme suggested above. The transport at present expected in the next few weeks will not be sufficient to remove this bottleneck.
Renewal of Crown Leases.
16. No official pronouncement has yet been made as to the Government's proposals for renewal of Crown Leases due to expire within the next 10-15 years. This is acting as a deterrent to the owners of several of the 53 properties whose leases expire within 15 years from this date.
Control of Building.
17. The Military Administration issued an early Proclamation requiring any person wishing to execute work which would use materials of more than H.K.$250 in value to obtain a licence from the Administration. This has in practice been honoured more in the breach than in the observance, and shortage of staff has made it impossible to enforce compliance.
Nevertheless, as construction work increases it will be necessary to impose some sort of control, otherwise materials in short supply will be absorbed by repairs and maintenance work of a less urgent or luxurious kind, and a great deal of essential repairs will be left undone. This happened with unfortunate results for the housebuilding campaign in the United Kingdom after the 1914-18 war. The U.K. authorities are alive to this and have recently announced an extension of the period of requiring licences for building repairs costing more than £10 plus £2 a month.
If
It will be necessary to work out a scheme for building control in Hong Kong. the re-building campaign is to achieve the progress desired, there must be great self-denial in expenditure on repairs and maintenance, and a whole-hearted co-operation with the authorities in the administration of a licensing scheme. The Press might be invited to co-operate, through the Public Relations Officer.
Recommendations.
18.-(i) A definite programme of building repairs should be specifically adopted by the C-in-C and action taken by all executive branches to implement it and ensure that no bottleneck is allowed to hold it up.
It is recommended that the programme should consist of:-
(a) All works on public buildings (hospitals, dispensaries, markets, police stations, jails, etc., etc.) and utilities, which are placed by the Priority Committee (when appointed) in Priorities I and II; and, concurrently,