WELFARE PREMISES
78. Premises are made available in estates at a nominal rent of $1 a month to welfare organizations recommended by the Education and Social Welfare Departments. At the end of the year there were 315 primary schools in resettlement estates with an enrolment of 208,429; details are given at Appendix 8. Of these 208 were on rooftops in the Mark I and II estates. These schools are run by a variety of private welfare agencies, and although only 18 rooftop schools are subsidized by the Government school fees are limited to a maximum of $90 a year. 47 ground floor schools, 18 top floor schools in Mark III and 42 annex schools in the newer estates, are all subsidized by the Government with a maximum fee of $20 a year. In new estates, schools are built at a ratio of 1 classroom to each 450 of the population (that is 1 place to 5 persons) and this provision has been found generally sufficient.
79. In recent years there has been a growing demand for pre- primary places. Special 3-storey 18-classroom kindergartens are being built in the end bays of new blocks, to provide a ratio of 1 class- room to 3,600 persons (that is 1 place to 40), and the first of these was opened during the year; but with only 27 kindergartens in the older estates, the overall provision is still below this ideal.
80. A number of welfare bodies have set up low cost or free clinics which pay a nominal rent of $1 a month. In September 1967 a scheme was introduced to replace the mobile clinics which were no longer permitted to operate in estates. Private practitioners were given priority over voluntary agencies in the allocation of ground floor sites in estates reserved for clinics. These clinic premises of 400 sq. ft. are all charged Grade C shop rent while fees are limited to $3 a visit. The object of the scheme was to provide a ratio of 1 doctor to 6,000 people; however, although 46 low cost clinics have been set up, the enthusiasm of private doctors for the scheme seems to be declining, and larger premises are again being allocated to welfare agencies in the estate welfare buildings.
81. As can be seen from Appendix 9, some 172 premises have been made available in the estates for nurseries, clubs, libraries and a variety of other welfare services. Most of these are provided by welfare agencies specializing in the work. In the new estates, these welfare activities are centralized into six-storey estate welfare buildings with 2,300 sq. ft. of space on each floor. Services normally provided in the welfare buildings include a medical clinic, children's library, youth club and nursery as well as specialist offices from the Social Welfare Depart-
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