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you will take the opportunity of engaging district recreation officers to be directly responsible for the amenities that are now available for public use independently of any other worthwhile scheme the Government has to discharge belatedly its responsibility for the physical recreation of our youth.
Thank you for allowing me to make that statement, Mr. Chairman. (Applause).
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (In Cantonese): --Mr. Chairman, I wish to report that following the introduction of the new Hawker By-laws in November 1972, most licensed hawkers have co-operated very well with the Council and the Urban Services Department in the "Keep Hong Kong Clean" Campaign; they have worked hard to keep their areas clean. Many of them have re-painted their stalls and they have tried to ensure that not only their own litter but also their customers' litter has been placed in the refuse bins provided. During the second stage of the Campaign it was noticeable that areas re-visited were much cleaner and there was less refuse to be carted away by lorry.
As a further example of licensed hawkers' co-operation about 90% of the licensed Fixed Pitch hawkers in Kowloon have signed an undertaking that they will conform with the licensing requirements as contained in the new Hawker By-laws and to do all they can to assist USD staff in the delineation of their pitches. It was hoped to delineate the areas shortly after Christmas but following negotiations with hawker representatives in Kowloon it was agreed to postpone this work until after the Lunar New Year to enable them to sell off their heavy stocks.
Besides the agreement mentioned above, meetings have also been held with representatives of the hawker groups on the design of Cooked Food Stalls. Under the new Hawker By-laws a licensee can be given greater freedom in designing his stall subject to approval by the Council. Problems of management in cooked food bazaars with emphasis on cleanliness and reduction of obstruction have been fully discussed with a view to formulating realistic proposals for consideration by the Council in due course. These meetings have been held and will continue to be held in a spirit of mutual understanding and co-operation.
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DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (In Cantonese):-
As Members are aware, routine house inspections were suspended on 1st September, 1972 to free all health staff for the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign. It is intended to resume inspections immediately after the Chinese New Year.
(2) In the absence of Mr. Lo Tak-shing, the Chairman answered the following question of which notice had been given by Mr. Lo:-
Of the applications for General Restaurant Licence which were refused in 1972, how many were refused:
(a) for Fire Services Department grounds;
(b) for B.O. grounds;
(c) for U.S.D. grounds.
CHAIRMAN (In English):-Question 2 would normally have been answered by the Chairman of the Food & Food Premises Select Committee or, in his absence, by the Vice-Chairman, but as the Vice-Chairman is Mr. T. S. Lo, I felt that it would perhaps be too much to call upon him to answer his own question. In any case, he is not here. The answer to this particular question is:—
In 1972, 14 applications for General Restaurant licences were refused-5 on the advice of the Fire Services, 6 on Building Authority advice and 3 for Urban Council reasons.
MR. HENRY H. L. HU (In English):--Sir, may I ask a supplementary question? Why are the questions answered today very short and simple? (Laughter).
CHAIRMAN (In English):-We would like them all to be that way, Mr. Hu. (Laughter).
QUESTIONS
(1) In the absence of Mr. Lo Tak-shing, the Chairman put the following question of which notice had been given by Mr. Lo:-
For how long will routine house inspections by our health staff be suspended?
(3) In the absence of Mr. Lo Tak-shing, the Chairman put the following question which notice had been given by Mr. Lo:-
What was the nature of the 2 warnings issued in November last to theatre or cinema owners?
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