TNAG-0373-FCO40-419-Visits-of-members-of-the-Hong-Kong-Urban-Council-to-the-UK-1973 — Page 48

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invitations should rightly go to UMELCO members; and also that

it would be wrong to distinguish between elected and nominated

members of Urbco. In any case at that time the Urban Council

was fully occupied with its own re-organization and with the

'Keep Hong Kong Clean' campaign. It was therefore decided to

invite a group of four UMELCO representatives in the autumn of

1972 followed by an invitation to a similar number of Urbco

members (both elected and appointed) this year. The UMELCO

visit duly took place in November 1972.

5. The Urban Council was re-organized in 1972 on the lines

of a Hong Kong Government White Paper on its reform. The aim

of the re-organization was to reduce possible areas of friction

between the Government and the Urban Council and to delineate

the Council's proper sphere of activities. In order to make this

decision more palatable to the Councillors and to the public the

Council was also given more autonomy, both financial and

otherwise, within its proper sphere. At the same time all

Official Members were removed from the Council. Membership of

the Council now consists of 12 Elected and 12 Appointed

Members, the Council being free to select its own Chairman. The

Urban Council role broadly consists of environmental public

health, including sanitation and hygiene; recreation and

amenities, including the provision of entertainment; and the

provision of cultural services. The Council also had some

responsibilities in regard to public housing but these have now

/been

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