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done by us. As regards the second part of the question concerning lighting, I think it will be quite wrong to provide lights on the beach itself. As regards general lighting in the area, certainly we will urge that suitable lighting should be provided.
MISS YEUNG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, on the second part of the question, I have looked into the matter with people around the area, and they feel that instead of having sand there to be washed away as soon as it was laid, why can't we consider having the breakwater there. With the breakwater, this will mean that the sand will not be carried away by water and the breakwater will make it easier for people to swim there. So instead of having to relocate a lot of drains and doing a lot of resanding all the time, why can't we consider having a breakwater which can solve the problem at one go.
MR. LO (in English): Mr. Chairman, according to the advice given to us, if you resand a small section, then that may be washed away. But if you resand the whole beach thoroughly, then it should not be washed away. After all, the Repulse Bay Beach was not formed by men but by nature. If we do nothing about it, it will remain more or less as in the present state. As to the question of constructing a breakwater, I think it is an absolute disaster. It will turn the whole thing into a completely stagnant state and will be a terrible health hazard. We do need an open sea for the water to go in and out, but to build a breakwater will be a disaster.
MR. YOUNG (in English): Mr. Chairman, are you aware of any resanding exercises carried out in the past which were successful or which failed.
CHAIRMAN (in English): Are you referring to Repulse Bay Beach?
MR. YOUNG (in English): Yes.
MR. LO (in English): As far as I know, there was no resanding in Repulse Bay Beach. But I can remember that about 10 years ago in Council, we were shown a documentary film about a resanding exercise that took place in Scotland and it was completely successful. They took the sand up from the bottom of the sea, transported by barge to the beach which had been depleted of sand for building and so on, and dumped in big quantities on the beach, and that was a very successful exercise.
MISS YEUNG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Mr. Lo for raising the point about the documentary film. If we have to wait for the relocation exercise and the completion of storm drains, then it will take several years before we go ahead with resanding. In this way, I believe people who go to swim in Repulse Bay will have to suffer many cuts and bruises before the situation could be remedied. I think our records will show that we need to go ahead with resanding as soon as possible.
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MR. LO (in English): Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the need to do this thing soon, but as in my reply, we can't do the resanding until the nullahs had been relocated and that depends on the Building Development Department.
STATEMENT BY DR. KIM Y. S. CHAM, CHAIRMAN OF THE ADMINISTRATION SELECT COMMITTEE (in Cantonese):
1. Control of Growth of Staff funded by the Urban Council
In the past six years, the Council has been cautiously restraining the growth of the Urban Council funded staff establishment of the Urban Services Department on an annual basis. The average rate of growth is 2.25% in terms of actual increase in numbers while the average increase in actual expenditure is 19.52%. (Please see Annex A)
1.2 There are three ways of controlling the expansion of the staff establishment in the Urban Services Department. The first is the imposition of a ceiling on expansion; the second is the control on the actual creation of posts; and the third is a system of regular reviews designed to ensure that there are no surplus staff and that the staff provided for specific purposes are still required and are performing the correct functions.
Expansion Ceiling
1.3 Like all Government departments, the Urban Services Department operates within a financial ceiling for staff increases in each fiscal year, and, in the case of the Urban Services Department, it is fixed by the Urban Council. Additionally, there is a ceiling on the number of posts that can be created. Without the prior approval of the Urban Council, the expansion of the Urban Council-funded staff establishment for a year cannot exceed either limit. For 1982-83, the approved staff establishment and financial ceilings are 5.25% and 14.17% respectively. The approved rate of establishment expansion for 1982-83 in the Civil Service as a whole (excluding the Urban Council and the Housing Authority) is about 10%.
Creation of Posts
1.4 There is a series of checks and double checks in the procedure leading up to the creation of new posts. In the first place, the section concerned is required to submit a detailed staffing proposal in a format known as the McKinsey format, which is used by all Government departments. After preliminary examination at the Regional or Divisional level, the submission is forwarded, normally by an officer at the Assistant Director level, to the headquarters of the respective sub-department or to the Central Administration as appropriate. At this stage, the case is critically examined by the respective Complementing and Grading Unit and staff inspections may be conducted if necessary. If the case is supported by the Complementing and Grading Unit, it will be presented to the Departmental Establishment Committee for consideration. This Committee is chaired by the Deputy Director of Urban Services and includes amongst its
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