TNAG-0807-FCO40-1012-Policy-for-housing-and-resettlement-in-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 44

C.S. 166.

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5

(e)

I.

3

XCC(76)44

can only be offered modern Licensed Area accom- modation (consideration is being given to a cash allowance in such cases); and commercial/industrial structures in this category will be eligible for the same compensation terms as pre-1964 structures, which will greatly facilitate clearances;

the squatter control service is costly; it currently costs about $14.7 million a year in the urban areas and Tsuen Wan, of which $11.5 million is for staff and the rest mainly for transport. It would be possible, for example, to aim at complete domination of the ground by doubling the existing staff, but it seems preferable (given the unpopularity of this type of work) to concentrate more limited resources in the most sensitive areas and accept that some squatting will escape early detection in less important areas. Much can be achieved by a more rational deployment of staff and considerable experimentation has been carried out by the Housing Department in this field, with good results; in consequence, the Department favours a selective application of staff resources.

Against this background, it is proposed that the following new guidelines for the control of squatting should be adopted:

(a)

(b)

total prevention of new squatting is not practicable without disproportionate expenditure on reinforcing the squatter control staff and on the provision of new Licensed Areas and given the continuing of. housing in the next few years, it is not even de sirable in the medium term;

in the urban areas the staff available, with such reinforcement as may be shown to be necessary i for this purpose (the additional cost might be about $2 million a year) should be deployed selectively so as to gain the maximum benefit. This will be done by designating selected sensi- tive areas as Intensive Patrol Areas for daily patrol; 46 such have been identified but the list will of course change from time to time. Other areas, generally the more remote and hence less popular areas or areas already saturated with squatters, will be dealt with in response to reports from other departments or from the

CONFIDENTIAL #B

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