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Wednesday, March 14, 1973
The most important of these was the police force where "a massive
new effort" was required to bring the force up to strength, he said, adding
"this will almost certainly entail a further upward revision of basic salaries."
He said he would ask the Government for a statement on the present
position and future plans regarding hawker control by the Urban Services
Department which, he said, had almost come to a halt due to the gradual
disintegration of the Hawker Control Force.
The Buildings Ordinance Office, he went on, also needed additional
manpower to cope with the vast task ahead of curbing the increasing numbers
of illegal alterations made to buildings after occupation permits had been issued.
Allowance
He said he looked forward to a statement as to when work on this
could start.
On taxation, Mr. Woo objected to the proposed abolition of the
dependent parents allowance and asked for a fuller explanation of the
Financial Secretary's statement that this allowance was "difficult to
administer and open to abuse."
"Unless these reasons are particularly strong, I would urge that
the allowance should continue, particularly as it is in accordance with Chinese
tradition that children should look after their parents in old age, " he said.
Mr. Woo also questioned whether the cost of administering estate
duty warranted the retention of this tax.
/He again