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sex education. However, I suggest that the Council should carefully consider its social responsibility when it uses public funds to promote arts and culture in future.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support your motion. Thank you.
Mr. Francis Tang Chi-Ho (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, today I will talk on two different topics. First, I will talk about the Council's recreation and sports affairs, and then I will talk about public health.
First I would like to point out that the Urban Council manages all the public recreation and sports facilities in Hong Kong and Kowloon and we have enormous resources. After several months of consultation, surveys and research, I find that many sports associations and citizens have an eager demand for the Council's recreation and sports development, and also cherish high hopes on it. However, apart from considering how to make the best use of our resources to train up some sports elites, we should indeed also consider how to help the Hong Kong citizens understand the correct sports culture as well as the importance of sports to everyone. Therefore, in addition to managing the venues and providing training courses, we should also maintain a good and close relation with other organisations, including every sports association, the Sports Development Board, and even the Olympic Committee of Hong Kong. Otherwise we will be formulating our programmes on our own, like making a cart behind closed doors, and will not get public support. It may even lead to a waste of resources. However, through the efforts of our colleagues, we have taken the first step forward and also have regular meetings with the Sports Development Board to enhance mutual understanding of our roles in sports development. In fact we have large numbers of complexes and venues, and can do more in promoting sport at grassroot level and training those at intermediate level. However, how should we make use of these venues to meet the needs? How should we properly promote the development of each aspect of sports? This depends not only on the advanced facilities of the venues, but also a group of suitable staff to manage these venues.
I do not intend to query the capability of USD staff, but let me illustrate the situation with a recent issue concerning the Stanley Aquatic Leisure Centre. At an earlier stage, we Democrats and some other Councillors advanced a request to appoint an independent consultant to review the needs for various grades of staff in the USD. However, this request was regrettably voted down at that time. Now, a major problem arises—officers of two different grades are competing with each other for work at this particular Aquatic Leisure Centre. It might sound great at first hearing as there are people eager for work; however, this phenomenon reflects the confusion and overlapping in the division of labour amongst different grades, and even the officers do not know what their duties are. So I hope the Administration Select Committee would review these two grades practically because they play a very important role in the Council's promotion of future sports development and are in charge of our
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