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sometime before the Chinese New Year to fit in with the year-end clean-up.
(f) 1990 Inter-School Health Education Project and Painting Competition: the purpose is to promote public health awareness in school children. The targeted people are primary and secondary school children. The competitions and exhibition will be held in February and March of next year.
The second part of the question asks 'How much is being spent by the Urban Council annually on Environmental Education?'
The total cost estimated for the above-mentioned Programmes came to a total of HK$440,000. And this sum is to be split among the Urban Council and the Regional Council. The part paid by the Urban Council comes to a total of HK$300,000.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English): Mr. Chairman, in future, will it be possible for an environmental education programme to be carried on jointly by the two Municipal Councils rather than by the Municipal Services Branch on behalf of the two Councils as at present?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English): Mr. Chairman, as most of you know that in September or later in the year, the Municipal Services Branch may not be in existence. So, I think that the Public Health Select Committee will have to consider the future of the health education; whether this will continue to be done by the two Municipal Councils jointly or the two Municipal Councils will look after the health education on their own. I think this is still not yet decided and has to be discussed in the Select Committee.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English): Mr. Chairman, but to proceed further on the point by Dr. LEUNG, since the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign is working very successfully on a joint basis, could this point be borne in mind when the matter is considered? My second point is: as regards the 'Keep The Toilets Clean Drive', could emphasis be given to toilets of all restaurants and eating establishments which are licensed by the Council?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English): Mr. Chairman, the answer is definite 'yes'. Because in our seminar with the restaurant operators, we stress to them the importance of keeping the toilets clean because this has a close relevance to the food served. If their hands are dirty, then the food served will also be dirty. So this is the aspect which our health inspectors always emphasize. During the routine inspection of restaurants, the toilets in the restaurants are always carefully looked into.
MR. MAN SAI-CHEONG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, we know that the EPCOM at the meeting yesterday agreed that there would be a territory-wide committee to look after and co-ordinate education and environmental issues. I just heard that the two Councils are looking after environmental hygiene matters.
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I would like to know that when this new committee is set up, which is a territory-wide committee, what impact would it have on the Urban Council with regard to environmental education programme? Can our expenditure in this respect not be reduced or should we work closely together with the new committee so as not to waste resources?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English): Mr. Chairman, in the present set up, I think health education is being carried out by different Departments. For example, the Department of Health is looking after the health education in general. They have a Central Health Education Unit which looks after the health education on all aspects of health education apart from the one we look after. The Urban Council and the Regional Council look after the health education in respect of the environmental hygiene and food hygiene under our jurisdictions and of course the Environmental Protection Department have their health education programme. And I think they will concentrate on pollutions in general, air, noise and water pollutions on the macro scale of pollutions. I think our jurisdictions are different and our fields of work are different. Of course, I cannot rule out that there will be a closer co-operation in the future to save resources.
10. MR. DAVID FONG PUI-SHEUNG asked the following question (in Cantonese): In view of the stuffiness and poor ventilation in To Kwa Wan Indoor Games Hall, has the Council considered any effective means to improve this poor condition?
MR. SAMUEL P. W. WONG, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, this question states that the ventilation in To Kwa Wan Indoor Games Hall is poor and asks whether the Council has considered any effective means of improving the situation.
The To Kwa Wan Indoor Games Hall was built in 1987. It comprises a main arena which can be used for badminton, basketball, volleyball and other activities. There are 2 multi-purpose games rooms and 3 squash courts accommodated in the same venue. These facilities are provided with air-conditioning. The arena is ventilated by natural ventilation. As is the case with all of the Urban Council's indoor games halls, the main arena was not provided with air-conditioning when it was first built because of the high recurrent costs. Though bounded by industrial buildings on one side the ventilation in To Kwa Wan Indoor Games Hall is not considered to be poor by comparison to other indoor games halls.
In January 1988, Members of the Recreation Select Committee asked the Department to consider selecting a few indoor games halls as a trial scheme for the provision of air-conditioning to the main arenas. Following detailed consideration, the Department selected three existing indoor games halls for the trial. These are the Harbour Road Indoor Games Hall on Hong Kong Island and Ngau Chi Wan Indoor Games Hall and Boundary Street Indoor Games Hall.
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