Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1967-1968 — Page 45

mental matters, for compiling statistical returns, and for keeping a general eye on the work of the estates, in addition to many other duties.

98. In the older estates a Resettlement Assistant or Student Rescttle- ment Assistant is responsible for two Mark I or Mark II blocks, and is the Government's closest contact with a population of four or five thousand people living in about a thousand individual rooms. These officers are trained to regard themselves not merely as rent collectors and enforcers of tenancy conditions, but also as friends and counsellors of the occupants of their blocks.

99. The manning scales that have been laid down reflect the different designs of the buildings. In the Mark III blocks, where there are no windows opening onto the access corridor and an officer may therefore have to make several visits to inspect a room, the scale is one officer to 750 rooms, while in the taller and more complex Mark IV and V blocks, it is one to 700.

100. In addition to those in charge of blocks, there is an experienced Resettlement Assistant as second in command to help the officer-in- charge with his general administration; in the largest estates there are two such officers. Another Resettlement Assistant is responsible for stores and sanitation and for supervising the labour force which cleans the common areas of blocks, the courtyards and open spaces. Finally, another Resettlement Assistant is posted to each estate, but under the direct supervision of the Treasury Accountant at the departmental headquarters, to supervise rent collection and to administer the rent office.

101. The staff at the departmental headquarters concentrates on co- ordination and ensures uniformity of practice throughout the estates. It takes the more important decisions on tenancy matters, oversees and inspects the general management of the estates in all its aspects, and drafts proposals for any changes of policy that may be necessary for consideration by select committees of the Urban Council. It is also responsible for preparing answers to questions regarding the estates and cottage areas put to the Commissioner or to the chairmen of the select committees at formal meetings of the Urban Council, and for drafting replics to personal letters and enquiries from Urban Councillors and other members of the public about individual cases.

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