CONFIDENTIAL
Arnez to Note No. 5
Urban Council
BACKER UND HOTE
REORGANISATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ON HONG KONG
Existing Local Government Bodies
The Urban Council has statutory responsibility for operating the basic sanitary services in the urban areas of Hong Kong/Kowloon and also a variety of other duties in the field of public health, such as the supervision of foed premises, hawkers, operation of slaughter houses and pest control; it also has responsibilities for the removal and resettlement of squatters within the urban areas. It is empowered to make byelaws for the regulation and control of these matters, subject to the approval of the Legislative Council. It has, however, no rating powers and its responsibilities are carried out through the Urban Zervices Department (a Government Department) the Director of which is Chairman of the Council,
2. In addition to the Chairman, the Council consists of five ex officio and twenty unofficial members, of whom ten are elected and ten are appointed by the Governor. The term of errice of the mofficial members is four years, Urban Council elections, at which half of the elected seats are contested are held bi-annually. In spite of considerable coverage in the press and radio, public interest is low.
3. In 1965 the decision was taken to extend the franchise for Urban Council elections to an estimated 240,000. Some twenty-three categories of persons have been included, the mest numerous of which are persons on the jury list, tax- payers, teachers, members of the Defence Force and Auxiliary Services, ratepayers, staff and students of the universities, registered nurses and midwives and helders of the equivalent of school certifiente or a technical college diploma, A qualification of three years' ordinary residence in Hong Kong is also required. In the event, only some 26,000
persons have registered as electors which is some 3,000
CONFIDENTIAL
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