HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. SALES-Perhaps, Mr. Chairman, those prosecutions that the Deputy Director of Medical and Health Services was talking about might be more effective in deterring mosquitoes from attacking human beings. (Laughter).
(10) MR. K. S. Lo asked the following question :-
According to the report carried by one of the papers, the deliveries of bread to hotels and restaurants were done in open lorries and were subjected to all kinds of contamination. Do we have sufficient powers within our present ordinance to enforce more hygienic methods of delivery of bread, and if so why have we not enforced them? If not, what does the Department propose to do about it in order to improve the situation.
THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES replied as follows:---
The Council has power under By-law 12 of the Food Business By-laws to control the transport of open food. This by-law states that:-
"No person shall, in the course of any food business, transport or cause, suffer or permit to be transported, any open food in the open air, except so far as may be necessary for the purpose of loading or unloading any vehicle or container, unless such open food is adequately protected by suitable material from risk of contamination or deterioration."
In addition, By-law 10 imposes a duty on all persons engaged in a food business to take steps to protect any food from the risk of contamination, while By-law 12 requires open food to be properly stored. These powers are considered sufficient to deal with this matter. Between 1st January, 1964 and 28th February, 1965 district health staff took out 73 summonses for improper handling and transport of open food, 11 of which were for breaches of By-law 12. Following a complaint which appeared in a newspaper last month, 27 summonses were taken out for unhygienic delivery of food and 9 for bad handling. Health staff have been instructed to intensify action, particularly with regard to the transport and delivery of bread, and prosecutions will follow whenever breaches of the by-laws are discovered. It is also intended to make surprise inspections from time to time in the early hours of the morning when bread is being delivered.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
(11) MR. K. S. Lo asked the following question:-
According to the Public Service Report tabled in the Legislative Council, the reason for the continued employment of overseas civil servants was that Government had found local men of equal skills and qualifications to be in short supply.
Could you, Sir, make known to this Council the specific posts within the Urban Services Department which are now vacant or held by overseas staff but to which Government has experienced difficulty in finding local candidates of the required skills and qualifications?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
There are at present five vacant posts in the Urban Services Department (excluding the Housing Division) for which recruitment from overseas is in hand. These posts are one Library Advisor and three Assistant Librarians Class I for the City Hall, and one post of Principal Amenities Officer for the Amenities and General Division.
The following posts (excluding general grades) are held by overseas officers owing to difficulty having been experienced in finding suitable local candidates at the time of recruitment; three Health Inspectors who were appointed in 1952, 1954 and 1956 respectively; the Pest Control Officer; the Chief Health Inspector (Training); the Commandant and the Senior Inspector, Hawker Control Force; the Manager, and the Curator, City Hall. The total number of posts in the department held by overseas officers, including the ones I have mentioned and also those in general grades, is 24. Excluding minor staff and clerical and equivalent grades, this figure is 6.2% of the remaining establishment of 390 officers. If, however, the figure of 24 is related to the total departmental establishment of 11,225 for 1965/66, the percentage drops to 0.21%.
MR. LO:-I take it, Sir, that the difficulty of recruiting suitable Health Inspectors now no longer exists. As to Librarians and other posts which require specialized qualifications, would you not agree, Sir, that if Government were to make known to the public the specific jobs for which there is at present a scarcity of local talent, it would encourage our youths to aim for such qualifications?
CHAIRMAN: I agree, Sir. I would point out, however, that at present recruitment for posts is referred to the Public Services Commission, which is charged with the duty of advising Government on...
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