TNAG-0334-FCO40-370-Visits-of-Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-Af-1972 — Page 68

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convinced that it would be right to delay the

introduction of this important measure for that reason

alone.

(ii) Housing

He has, however, stressed

The Prime Minister was most impressed by the

remarkable achievements of the Hong Kong Government

over the last decade in providing accommodation for

the people of the Colony.

to me his hope that it will be possible by a "crash"

programme to increase the rate at which it is planned

to house the remaining 500,000 squatters and so finish

the job. I should therefore be most grateful if you

could have a special study made of this problem and

let me know the result.

(iii) Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

(Ombudsman)

I would like to see a post of Ombudsman or

similar office established as soon as possible. I

know that some of the unofficial members of both the

Executive and Legislative Councils doubt whether such

a post is necessary and that the constitutional position

of the Colony makes it impossible to follow the model

of responsibility to Parliament that is appropriate here.

But just as Hong Kong is so much "sui generis", so

there is no need exactly to reproduce the machinery

that has been evolved elsewhere. It strikes me,

nevertheless,

that the "Ombudsman" concept is

particularly suitable for the circumstances of

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Hong Kong