HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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should have a more complete and comprehensive environmental protection plan for the years to come.
MR. RONNIE WONG MAN-CHIU (in Cantonese):-About Mr. Chan's first question on information of organic plant material, I will arrange with the Department after the meeting.
As regards Mr. Chan's question about a five year environmental protection plan, I concur with his view. What the Urban Council is doing is a part of environmental protection work, and most of the work, as mentioned in the last section of the reply document, such as air, noise, water quality, waste and nature ecology, is within the terms of reference of the Environmental Protection Department. So, maybe we can stage some activities or devise a more long-term policy to promote this five year plan.
(5) MR. STANLEY NG WING-FAI asked the following question:-Regarding the resiting of licensed hawkers and reprovisioning of market stall tenants, and handling of application for succession to hawker license by the Council, I have the following questions:
(a) What principle is adopted by the Council in resiting the existing licensed hawkers and reprovisioning market stall tenants: is it "one license in exchange for one license” or “one family to be allocated one license only"?
(b) In handling the above-mentioned resiting and succession matters, has the Council adopted the "one-family-one-license" rule? If yes:
(i) Under what circumstances does the rule apply?
(ii) In case that a family has more than one eligible member who wishes to apply for succession to a hawker license or a market stall tenancy but they refuse to compromise among themselves, how will the Urban Services Department handle such a case?
(c) Will the Council consider amending the existing relevant policy, so as to avoid any possible violation of the draft “Equal Opportunities (Family Responsibility, Sexuality and Age) Bill?"
MR. IP KWOK-CHUNG, Chairman of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee, replied as follows (in Cantonese):—The first part of the question enquires about the principle used for resiting licensed hawkers and market stall tenants, whether it is on a ‘one license in exchange for one license' basis or on a 'one-family-one-license' basis.
In a hawker re-ordering exercise, licensed hawkers are re-ordered on-street on a one-to-one basis. However, there is no “one hawker license or one family for one market stall" arrangement in the leasing out of stalls in markets. In the case of resiting licensed hawkers and reprovisioning market stall tenants, all eligible hawkers and affected stall tenants would be accorded a bidding right for stalls in the new market and group bidding is normally introduced since the
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