Ombudsman
3.
Lord Shepherd initially argued again in favour of an Ombudsman but finally concluded that there were other means of fulfilling this need.
The Secretary of UMELCO
4.
Lord Shepherd considered that the principal
substitute for an Ombudsman would be the provision of a high-powered secretary for UMELCO who could act as a receiving point for complaints from the public and obtain explanations from the relevant department. UMELCO could then consider if these were
This idea found general favour
with the Goversfactory.
.!
and UMELCO. The Secretary for Home Affairs said it would not conflict with the CDO scheme. Sir Albert Rodrigues said in fact they had been trying for a more high- calibre secretary for UMELCO for some time. The Governor undertook to assist them in the search and spoke of the possibility of a retired administrative officer.
Boards and Committees
5.
The Secretary for Home Affairs advanced the theory that local participation should be improved and increased on a functional basis rather than by reforming local government bodies as such. By this I think he meant giving some executive functions to some of the more important advisory committees and reviewing their membership. The Governor was not keen on this idea as a substitute for local government reform; but he accepted that there was a need to review the number, composition and functions of the many advisory committees and boards and undertook to put this in hand. There was talk of trying to devise a means of electing a proportion of the members of the more important committees but I doubt if this will prove practical.
Joint Sub-Committees of Legislative Council
6.
Lord Shepherd raised the possibility of forming functional sub-committees of Legislative Council dealing with, e.g., education, which would consist not only of legislative
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