charged by the Authority. The result is that rates form a dispropor- tionately high percentage of 'inclusive' rental, but it is Government's view that rates should fall equally on all, and that it would be morally wrong for the Authority's tenants, who are getting accommodation at commercially uneconomic rents, to receive any additional benefit in the shape of reduced rates; rates are a payment for municipal and other services, to be met by all persons in the community in proportion to the annual value of the property they occupy.
41. At present rate assessments are on a unit basis, but the Com- missioner for Rating and Valuation has now agreed to institute bulk rating assessments in 1960 in respect of the North Point Estate and Sai Wan Chuen, and it is hoped that the same system will be followed elsewhere. This is a much more convenient arrangement both to the tenants and to the Authority, as separate payments of rates will then be unnecessary.
TENANT SELECTION
42. Concurrently with planning and building, work proceeds on the selection of tenants for the Authority's flats. This is done on the basis of a points scheme, in which the most important factor is the applicant's housing need. To assess this need, points are awarded for such condi- tions as overcrowding, lack of a separate home, and the inconvenience a family suffers through members having to live apart, because of the lack of accommodation. In the final selection regard is had to war service, length of residence in Hong Kong, and current service in the local auxiliary defence forces. Additional points are also given for tuberculosis conditions in the family. No special priority is given to any particular section of the community, although there has been agitation to this end from time to time.
43. The ordinary waiting list was opened on 1st November, 1956, and by 31st March, 1959, 44,774 application forms had been issued and 23,351 completed forms returned. The rate at which forms were returned has fallen gradually during the period under review, but they are still received at the rate of about 40-50 a week. A permanent register of applicants is maintained, and names can be added at any time if the basic qualifying conditions are fulfilled. The sorting of applications is a continuous process, and much work is involved in visiting applicants in their homes (undertaken by Housing Assistants, who are specially trained in their duties) to check the particulars given,
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