TNAG-0280-FCO40-316-Visit-of-Parliamentary-under-Secretary-of-Foreign-and-Common-1970 — Page 80

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was directed, working independently, to work out a

possible alternative to large scale changes, based

on improving the existing institutions. This officer

completed his report in March, 1968. His recommendations,

which were designed to produce interim measures for

early implementation, left untouched the area of

jurisdiction of the present Urban Council;

proposed

a separate Local Authority for the new town of Tsuen

Wan in the New Territories; left the existing Urban

Council franchise untouched for at least four years;

envisaged a majority of elected members on the Urban

Council (to be renamed the Municipal Council) and

recommended that officials should cease to be members

of the Council. He also proposed a wider range of

functions for the Council coupled with a measure of

financial responsibility.

9.

Meanwhile the ad hoc Committee of the Urban

Council (i.e. the authors of the report referred to

in paragraph 6 above) had been reconstituted by the

Urban Council as a Select Committee "to review and

consider all proposals in the reform of local

administration, and generally to present the Urban

Council's views on the subject......

This

Select Committee produced a report which was published

and submitted to the Hong Kong Government in March,1969,

and which took account of the recommendations in the

Dickinson Report. In effect, it proposed a phased

programme for the introduction over a period of years

of the proposals (with certain modification) outlined

/in......

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