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corruption unit separate from the Police. The possibility of separating the Anti-corruption Bureau from the Police is being considered, but no final decision has been reached. There are many arguments both for and against such a proposal, and it is not expected that the matter will be resolved for some time.

However, I would like to add that although it is acknowledged that corruption does exist in the Public Service, it is by no means to the extent popularly imagined, which reflects unfairly on the great majority of civil servants who are loyal, devoted and honest in the performance of their duties and as anxious as anyone that such corruption as does exist should be eradicated.

Mr. Woo Po-shing suggested that the effective discharge of his duties was, in part, hampered by the lack of facilities made available to him by Government and that this, in turn, affected his understanding of Government policies. He also spoke of the lack of assistance given to Councillors in collecting basic information and data, and dealing with routine correspondence. We do, of course, have the Council Section, but I admit the assistance which this Section can afford to give to individual Councillors is limited. Councillors are also provided with stenographic assistance at their ward offices-if they so wish. However, it is doubtful if there is any other council in the world that has a section which works so closely and harmoniously with its councillors. I, and the Secretary of this Council, have long appreciated the need to assist Councillors to understand the ways of Government, and we have in fact gone so far as to consider running short courses for new Councillors (laughter) to explain the functions of the Council and its relationship with the Central Government. I hope that the first of these courses might be started with any new Councillor who might be elected at the next election. I know there may be at least one new Elected Councillor as my friend, Mr. Li Yiu-bor, has already, to my very great regret, declared his intention to stand down at the end of his present term.

Of course, Councillors in some parts of the world receive financial assistance and this can be used to cover the cost of stenographic and clerical assistance. This matter has been raised in both the Council's and Government's consideration of the future scope of the Council, and perhaps such assistance might be the answer to Mr. Woo Po-shing's criticism.

No less than eight Members spoke on matters concerning the future scope of the Urban Council and other matters of constitutional reform. I regret that I can make no startling announcement on this today. I am sure it would startle you all if I could.

Some Members have implied that there has been too much talk about the future scope of the Council and that the time has come for Government to make a decision. There certainly has been a lot of talk—a great deal of it in this Chamber. The matter has been referred to the Standing Committee on more than one occasion, only to be referred back to a Select Committee for further consideration, and we still await a final report to come from that Select Committee back to the Standing Committee.

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I am not suggesting in any way that there has been any delay on the part of the Council in this matter. What I am doing is to stress the amount of thought and effort that the Council is giving to this very complex issue. To those who have said or implied that Government is dragging its feet, I can only say that you all well know that at present the ball is very much in the Urban Council court, and for the benefit of the general public, I would like to emphasize this point. I very much doubt if Government will reach a decision in this connection before it receives this Council's final views and is able to give them full and careful consideration. I am quite sure that Members generally would not wish it to be otherwise.

In former years, the lack of developed public open space received a good deal of attention in Members' speeches and it seems to me significant that the emphasis has now changed towards a concern for ensuring the fullest possible use of Hong Kong's parks and play areas. This shift in interest springs, I think, from a wide acknowledgment that the provision of facilities for recreation has progressed in recent years at an accelerating rate, to a stage reached in the current financial year which should quieten the most vociferous of critics with schemes costing some $15 million in the programme. This fast expanding programme results in large measure, of course, from a determination on the part of Mr. SALES and other Members of the Recreation and Amenities Select Committee to assess needs far ahead and to voice impatience with delay.

In line with this Council's long term interests, some comment, however, was reserved for the need to extend continually the programme of building new play areas, and Members chose to outline those developments which they felt would meet the greatest need. But it would not, I suggest, be at all difficult to add to Mr. SALES' list of desirable projects in sport and leisure and to refer, perhaps, to a zoo, to an oceanarium, to golf courses, and to holiday resorts. If a need is demonstrated and if funds permit, I do not necessarily subscribe to a philosophy of gradualism, but proposals unrelated to the public purse tend, I think, to leave an impression that their implementation is immediately feasible and that subsequent delay is the fault of an unimaginative government.

This would be an unjust reputation and especially so, when so much has been achieved in this particular field. It might be useful now if I gave brief details of the progress made on some of the schemes which received a mention.

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