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MR. BERNACCHI:—On a point of order, surely Mr. SALES should have mentioned his own absence from this Select Committee when he was away at a very crucial time, justifiably in Mexico for the Olympic Games.
MR. SALES:—Mr. Chairman, I am glad Mr. BERNACCHI has brought that into the open. Sir, before I left I had set out a programme for the work of the Select Committee to be done and done very intelligently by the Secretary of the Urban Council. The Report would have been drafted in my absence, but the Elected Members decided to issue a manifesto which put a spoke in the wheels of the work of the Select Committee, and that was the direct cause why this Report has been delayed until to-day.
CHAIRMAN:—Ladies and gentlemen, the Report on the Reform of Local Government which has just been tabled will now be submitted to Government for consideration, and while it will go forward as a report of this Council, you will all appreciate that the Official Members of the Council reserve their position.
QUESTIONS.
(1) MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:
Could the Commissioner for Resettlement advise how many resettlement factory units are at present vacant? Has the Resettlement Department thought of recommending to Government and to the Resettlement Policy Committee that consideration be given to renting some empty factory units to workshops and small factories at present in over-crowded multi-storey buildings in the urban areas at reasonable rentals?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:
Government has considered the proposal to rent empty resettlement flatted factory units to factories or workshops in multi-storey buildings; but it holds the view that this accommodation must continue to be reserved for its original purpose, that is, the resettlement of squatter industries.
There are at present 219 empty units in the urban areas, which are reserved for planned clearances.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:—Mr. Chairman, could some of the empty flatted units in the New Territories be offered to private workshops in multi-storey buildings in the urban areas?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:—Sir, I am afraid this is getting outside the Urban Council's province. I think that question must be out of order.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:—Can Mr. ASERAPPA answer me after the meeting is over, in writing?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:—I shall be glad to.
(2) MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:
(a) Can the Commissioner for Resettlement advise how many people are still awaiting resettlement accommodation? (b) At the present rate of resettlement how many years will it take for this number of persons to be resettled?
(c) What steps are being taken to encourage resettlement residents who are able to afford it to move to Housing Authority type of accommodation?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:
I presume that the first part of the question refers to squatters. At the last count they amounted to approximately 350,000 in the urban areas including rooftop squatters. It would however be entirely misleading to describe them as 'awaiting resettlement': only those squatters who are occupying land required for development, or who fall within one of the other priority categories, are eligible for resettlement.
In its latest report the Housing Board has recommended that for the six years from 1st April, 1968 425,000 resettlement places should be provided for persons in these priority categories, not all of whom, of course are squatters. It has also recommended that there should be 280,000 places in Government Low Cost Housing available for general application by those in housing need, including squatters.
Regarding the third part of the question, the Resettlement staff has distributed application forms for Housing Authority accommodation and explanatory pamphlets in both the estates and squatter areas. From next month, when applications for Government Low Cost Housing can again be accepted, similar and more intensive publicity will be given for this form of accommodation.
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