Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1964-1965 — Page 9

The most significant event of the year was undoubtedly the accept- by the Legislative Council in September as a general guide to future y of the White Paper entitled Review of Policies for Squatter Control, Resettlement and Government Low Cost Housing. This White Paper, which revises and brings up to date the policies to which the department had, with a few relatively minor modifications, worked since its inception, follows in many respects the recommendations of the Working Party on Squatters, Resettlement and related matters, which was set up in June 1963. The White Paper provides firstly for the setting up of licensed areas under the control of the Commissioner for Resettlement in which, on payment of licence fees, the genuinely homeless will be able to erect huts. These licensed areas will be provided with certain minimum services, as necessary. Initially at least, and unless a workable scheme can later be devised to enable them to become eligible for resettlement by making an advance payment of rent, people made homeless as a result of exclusion orders under the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance will be among those eligible for entry to licensed areas. As a corollary to the establishment of licensed areas, strict control of new squatting elsewhere will continue to be enforced. Existing tolerated structures will be con- tained and their removal effected by the normal process of clearance and resettlement. These provisions are a decided improvement on the previous policy because they recognize and provide for the pressures which force many poorer residents to turn to squatting.

6. The White Paper then sets out six priorities to be followed as far as possible when determining eligibility for resettlement. The first priority is given to those former domestic tenants of buildings demolished as dangerous who have made an advance payment of rent for resettle- ment accommodation. The other priorities are:

(i) special compassionate cases (the number to be determined an- nually by the Urban Council) and certain victims of natural disasters;

(ii) the present occupants of cottage resettlement or resite areas need-

ed for transit centres or permanent development;

(iii) people presently occupying tolerated structures on Crown land

required for development;

(iv) the tenants of overcrowded resettlement rooms;

(v) pavement dwellers occupying tolerated structures.

As it is not always possible to resettle eligible persons direct, the White Paper provides for the establishment of transit centres where

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