# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. JOHN MACKENZIE, CHAIRMAN OF THE ADMINISTRATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):--
The recommendations arising from the Urban Council mission to London of April 1975 were in two parts: those which fell within the jurisdiction of the Council and those which fell outside our jurisdiction. Of the recommendations falling within our jurisdiction which were mainly procedural, e.g. presentation of Standing Orders; ticketing systems used in concert halls; procedures, agenda and minuting of public meetings, etc., prompt action was initiated and all possible progress has been made. Some of the recommendations have been accepted whilst others have been rejected after consideration by the appropriate select committee. Others still, such as those which may affect the new Urban Council Chamber and Offices are in hand.
Of the recommendations which fell outside the Council's jurisdiction, such as those relating to transport, military lands, film censorship, Police Advisory Council, Public Housing, etc., Members will appreciate that progress can only be slower as these are more complex and far-reaching. The recommendation to obtain military lands for recreational purposes, for example, is a long-term exercise, but I can assure Members that the Council is doing all it can to obtain as much of this land as quickly as possible so as to make it available for use by the public. In addition to making recommendations, the group also returned with voluminous documents covering many activities of the Greater London Council, particularly in the areas of the arts and recreation, Greater London Council organization and services, budget summaries, the London Planetarium, garbage disposal, etc. These were made available to Councillors and Select Committees wishing to study them at the time, and have since been passed to officers in the Department for their consideration. No doubt ideas from these documents will reflect in future policy recommendations to the Council.
There is no fixed policy on future visits abroad, but the Administration Select Committee has been giving consideration recently to a possible visit to neighbouring cities in the Far East this year and to another visit to London by a Council group next year. It has been decided that any Far East visit this year should be deferred, as this would follow too closely on the tour just made by a representative group from the Urban Services Department. Preliminary arrangements are now in hand for a Council group to visit U.K. next year, preferably in the spring, but in this event it has also been decided that a study tour to a borough council, which relates more closely to the work of the Urban Council, should be made in preference to another meeting with the G.L.C.
As Members are aware, I was one of the members who formed the group which visited the G.L.C. last year. I think I speak for all my colleagues when I say that we found the visit to be of value and much interest. Not only were we able to study how the G.L.C. carries out those functions similar to our own, but we were able to gain a wider insight into local government activities in general. The group was also most courteously received by the British Government through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the exchange of views on Hong Kong conditions and administration was by no means the least interesting aspect of the trip.
DR. P. C. WONG (in English):- Mr. Chairman, whilst I accept the general educational value to Councillors of such visits, can I ask why there appears to be no reaction at all from Government regarding the very sensible and reasonable proposals on censorships, public housing, transport for the aged etc.?
MR. MACKENZIE (in English):- Mr. Chairman, I am afraid I can offer Dr. WONG little comfort in his question. Communications between the Government and the Council is always a difficult business and is short of satisfactory. We have, I think, some examples today, of the lack of communications in relation to vital developments of the Council, and the Planetarium situation is another instance. I can only conclude that the lack of reaction to our reasonable proposals, and the lack of adequate communication, reflects the poor administrative practice of Government.
(6) MR. TSIN SAI-NIN asked the following question (in English):-
Has there been any permanent damage to Hong Kong Island Beaches as a result of the recent oil-pollution, and to what
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