TNAG-1596-FCO40-2181-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 130

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members of the Legislative Council are regularly called upon to represent the government position in debate and to answer questions.

Other officials may be called to attend meetings of the Council's

Standing Committees (the finance and public accounts committees) and

of the two sub-committees of the finance committee.

14.

The government officials who are members of the Legislative

Council also play an important role in introducing government

business and legislation into the Council. The participation of

officials in the workings of the Council is thus a distinctive

feature of the present relationship between the Executive and the

Legislature. While it would be possible for officials to attend

before the Legislature without being members, consideration would

need to be given to appropriate arrangements for the introduction of

government business and legislation, functions which have hitherto

been carried out only by full members of the Legislative Council.

This question is discussed in paragraphs 9-11 of Note 3 in this

series.

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