TNAG-1456-FCO40-1980-Future-of-Hong-Kong-annual-report-to-Parliament-on-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 52

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The Urban and Regional

and Regional Councils

are

financially

autonomous

23. bodies with a range of statutory responsibilities for the provision of muncipal services such as public cleansing, Licensing restaurants

and markets and the

cultural and

sporting

New

extenus

Hong Kong over

Council, which

Territories.

and provision

facilities.

island

management

The Urban

and Kowloon;

formally constituted was

1

Both

include Councils

members.

To

maintain close

connections

of

Council's

that of the Regional

over April 1986,

elected and

between

recreational,

authority

the

appointed

district

and

regional levels of representative government, members of the Urban

as

members

of

District

Boards,

whilst the

New

members Boards elect

to sit on

the Regional

Council sit

Territories District

Council.

24.

debates

and

its

Council consisted

are to

funds. The

Until 1985

Following

the

the

The principal functions of the Legislative Council enact legislation and control the expenditure of public

on matters of public interest Council questions the Administration

in proposals

to policy regard

of appointed members only. principles laid down in the 1984 Hong Kong Government White Paper on the Further Development of Representative Government 24 members of the Council have, since 1985, been chosen by a system of indirect elections. Twelve are elected by an electoral college

comprising

in Hong Kong,

all

members

of the

District Boards

and

Councils;

twelve and

by

functional

Urban the

constituencies

and

Regional representing significant sectors of the community.

The Legislative Council

25.

Council marked

a

The 1985/86 session of the

the Legislative significant stage in its history. In addition to the introduction of elected members for the first time, the size of the Council was increased from 45 to 56, and the number of civil servant members was new Chamber, reduced from 16 to

The Council also moved to a 10.

and met the

Government offices, from

central physically separate

two weeks. In addition to dealing with every weekly, instead of some 72 Bills at various stages of enactment, Council members asked

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