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(3) Economy of scale can be achieved by the centralization of resources, such as pooling of reserve vehicles. At present, both regions have to maintain separate reserve vehicle pools. Furthermore, flexible deployment according to need will help to economize. For example, the demand for cleansing varies between the 2 regions in the week. Such needs are high in the Urban areas on weekdays and low on weekends. In the New Territories, such needs are high on weekends and low on weekdays. Presently, Urban Council vehicles are restricted to operate in the urban areas only and flexible deployment is not allowed by legislation. It is not economical to maintain a fleet in the New Territories with surplus capacity just to meet demand in the weekends, for there will be idle vehicles during the week.
The interflow of resources can also apply to the exchange of library books, museum exhibits, demountable stages, etc. All these could be made possible by transportation and flexible deployment.
(4) Administrative overhead costs will be reduced with a centralized secretariat, which costs $12 million recurrent expenditure to the Urban Council at present. Capital costs of constructing a council chamber in the New Territories will involve more fiscal outlay. Other administrative costs can also be reduced with centralized administrative units, such as the U.S.D. Training School and the Data Processing Unit.
(5) There is also a need for uniform policies. For example, when the Urban Council ban girls under 18 from working in bars, the girls may end up serving in bars in the New Territories. This will create confusion for both the public and the enforcement staff, not to mention the undesirable effects on our younger generation.
This may also apply to the management of cemeteries and crematoria. Because of the overall shortage of land, Hong Kong must encourage cremation rather than burial. With the availability of land in the New Territories, the regional council may encourage burials while the Urban Council tries desperately to promote cremation.
(6) The increased size of the one territory-wide council is not unmanageable. Existing select committees of the Urban Council are organized functionally, and an increased number of members will help to share the work better. The suspicion that regional needs will be out-voted is completely unfounded. With the recent discussion on recreation facilities in Kwun Tong, the Urban Council voted to speed up the Kowloon Bay Recreation Ground project, even though the district has only 4 representatives in the Council.
Furthermore, administration in the Urban Council has always been effective. For the past 3 years the average increase of staff is only 2.5%. Our ability to restrict growth without compromising services has been proven. This is a distinguishable demonstration of the Urban Council's ability in managing an executive local body. There is little evidence to indicate the deterioration of this quality if the Council is expanded.
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V. Reason for Present Inadequacy
Despite the $220 million subsidy, the feeling of inadequacy of urban services in the New Territories has led to the accusation that the Urban Council has neglected the New Territories in the past. This merely arises out of ignorance, or the Urban Council was kept out of the New Territories by statute in the past, not by intent. In fact, we see little evidence that the New Territories have been ill-treated. Per capita expenditure on the N.T.S.D. is $430.50. This is higher than that of the Urban Council, which amounted to only $424.60 per capita. Despite the higher expenditure, one sees less variety of cultural and recreational activities or cleansing vehicles and equipment in the New Territories. There appears to be a paradox, which must be resolved to persuade the taxpayer of Hong Kong to shoulder more subsidies to the New Territories. A reasonable explanation may be the insufficient application of 'economy of scale' to the New Territories in the past, which may be the reason for the feeling of inadequacy.
VI. Proposal for Working Party
Admittedly, quantification of cost data will depend on various assumptions on the details of operations. Because of the lack of data, it is not advisable to jump to a conclusion at this juncture. Before the issue is concluded, the taxpayer of Hong Kong should be presented with the costs and benefits of the proposal, particularly when the same task can be performed more economically through a change in the present mode of operations. In order to arrive at a well-reasoned view, I propose that the Chief Secretary should set up an independent working party, consisting of Urban Councillors and the relevant parties to quantify costs and evaluate benefits of the proposal before committing the general revenue of Hong Kong to subsidize regional interests unnecessarily and at the risk of operating uneconomically.
VII. I support the motion, Mr. Chairman.
MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, at the annual debate of the past two years, I did suggest extension of the U.C. jurisdiction to cover the N.T., so as to provide the people there with some basic services. When I made the suggestion, I had in mind the interests of the people in the N.T. which were becoming more and more urbanized and deserved more attention apart from the services provided by the New Territories Services Department. I think the government's intention of setting up a regional council in the N.T. would be more acceptable in the field of democracy and district administration. N.T. residents will have a greater chance of participating in administrative work. This is very constructive indeed. However, whether to reorganize the Urban Council to incorporate N.T. representation, or to set up another regional council is difficult to decide as each has its advantages and disadvantages.
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