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to children in their play and has rejected suggestions that the responsibilities of an imaginative parks administration should be limited to the mere provision of facilities. Although my Select Committee wishes to introduce a pilot scheme of play leadership at the earliest possible opportunity, we are in the hands of the Government when it comes to the employment of staff. I am told that before going into this new venture, the Government must examine its implications in terms of feasibility and cost. It also wishes to define the responsibilities of play leaders, the aims which they would be expected to achieve, and the kind of training, which they should be required to undergo.
This service for youngsters is said to be a very new idea which has only reached an experimental stage although we in Hong Kong asked for it quite a while ago. In British cities where leaders have been appointed, there appear to be no uniformity of aim, no common standards for recruitment, and no effective centralized training centre. I am asked to mention these points by the Department to invite attention to the problems encountered in their search for guidance and for help in training.
The Urban Services Department has been in correspondence with the National Playing Fields Association of Great Britain which has shown a keen interest in our affairs. Useful literature has been received on the subject, and that association has offered to place a trainee leader in a progressive Local Authority there as soon as the Government here agrees to employ such staff.
Also, the Principal Amenities Officer, who is now on his vacation leave, will visit various sports and recreation centres in Britain. He will compare different parks administrations and study existing schemes of play leadership. He will report on his findings and make his recommendations.
We are, however, hoping to experiment locally without further delay. In his recent Budget Speech the retired Chairman of this Council referred to the appointment in the Urban Services Department of a Youth Recreation Officer, who should properly have been described as Executive Officer (Recreation) in my view so as not to create the impression with the public that this is all that the Government is willing to do to provide the qualified staff that the Council insists on having in order to serve the public properly. The Chairman agrees with this description of the appointment and the change of title has been made. I serve notice on the Government that my Select Committee is not likely to be satisfied with this makeshift arrangement. One of the first tasks of this official will be to follow up on an arrangement already made by the Council with the Boy Scouts Association for scouts to help in organizing activities in our playgrounds and to act as embryonic play leaders. This would have the advantage of enabling Boy Scouts to demonstrate their civic consciousness in a practical way and of testing the demand among local children for guidance in their play. I would like to say how gratified I was with the enthusiastic response of their Colony Commissioner when the suggestion was first put to him informally some time ago.
MR. BERNACCHI-I have several supplementaries. I would like to ask you Sir, because you are also Director of Urban Services, when the Recreational Officer will be employed?
CHAIRMAN:-That's really a new matter Mr. BERNACCHI but in fact there is no such post of Recreation Officer at the moment. What we have done is to deploy our existing facilities to best advantage.
MR. BERNACCHI:-And the recommendation for the engagement of a Recreation Officer having been made, when do you as Director of Urban Services anticipate a confirmatory answer being received from the Government?
CHAIRMAN:-Once we make out a full case and know exactly what we are asking for.
MR. BERNACCHI:-That leads me into the second supplementary. Mr. SALES, as Chairman of the Parks, Recreation and Amenities Select Committee, has said in his answer, the second and third paragraphs "Although my Select Committee wishes to introduce a pilot scheme, we are in the hands of Government when it comes to the employment of staff. I am told that before going into this new venture, the Government must examine its implications in terms of feasibility and cost and this service for youngsters is said to be a very new idea which has only reached an experimental stage." etc. etc. When, I would like to ask you, when will all this re-tape be through and when will the request be answered?
MR. SALES: ----Mr. Chairman, I deplore the situation perhaps more than Mr. BERNACCHI because even before February 1964 I had spoken to Government about this in private and members of my Committee had already discussed this matter. I am sorry to see that something which was so clearly contemplated by the Select Committee should have met with such difficulties, or even resistance to the idea, because
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to children in their play and has rejected suggestions that the responsibilities of an imaginative parks administration should be limited to the mere provision of facilities. Although my Select Committee wishes to introduce a pilot scheme of play leadership at the earliest possible oppor- tunity, we are in the hands of the Government when it comes to the employment of staff. I am told that before going into this new venture, the Government must examine its implications in terms of feasibility and cost. It also wishes to define the responsibilities of play leaders, the aims which they would be expected to achieve, and the kind of training, which they should be required to undergo.
This service for youngsters is said to be a very new idea which has only reached an experimental stage although we in Hong Kong asked for it quite a while ago. In British cities where leaders have been appointed, there appear to be no uniformity of aim, no common standards for recruit- ment, and no effective centralized training centre. I am asked to mention these points by the Department to invite attention to the problems encountered in their search for guidance and for help in training.
The Urban Services Department has been in correspondence with the National Playing Fields Association of Great Britain which has shown a keen interest in our affairs. Useful literature has been received on the subject, and that association has offered to place a trainee leader in a progressive Local Authority there as soon as the Govern- ment here agrees to employ such staff.
Also, the Principal Amenities Officer, who is now on his vacation leave, will visit various sports and recreation centres in Britain. He will compare different parks administrations and study existing schemes of play leader- ship. He will report on his findings and make his recommendations.
We are, however, hoping to experiment locally without further delay. In his recent Budget Speech the retired Chair- man of this Council referred to the appointment in the Urban Services Department of a Youth Recreation Officer, who should properly have been described as Executive Officer (Recreation) in my view so as not to create the impression with the public that this is all that the Government is willing to do to provide the qualified staff that the Council insists on having in order to serve the public properly. The Chairman agrees with this description of the appointment and the change of title
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31
has been made. I serve notice on the Government that my Select Committee is not likely to be satisfied with this makeshift arrangement. One of the first tasks of this official will be to follow up on an arrangement already made by the Council with the Boy Scouts Association for scouts to help in organizing activities in our playgrounds and to act as embryonic play leaders. This would have the advantage of enabling Boy Scouts to demonstrate their civic consciousness in a practical way and of testing the demand among local children for guidance in their play. I would like to say how gratified I was with the enthusiastic response of their Colony Commissioner when the suggestion was first put to him informally some time ago.
MR. BERNACCHI-I have several supplementaries. I would like to ask you Sir, because you are also Director of Urban Services, when the Recreational Officer will be employed?
CHAIRMAN:-That's really a new matter Mr. BERNACCHI but in fact there is no such post of Recreation Officer at the moment. What we have done is to deploy our existing facilities to best advantage.
MR. BERNACCHI:-And the recommendation for the engagement of a Recreation Officer having been made, when do you as Director of Urban Services anticipate a confirmatory answer being received from the Government?
CHAIRMAN:-Once we make out a full case and know exactly what we are asking for.
MR. BERNACCHI:-That leads me into the second supplementary. Mr. SALES, as Chairman of the Parks, Recreation and Amenities Select Committee, has said in his answer, the second and third paragraphs "Although my Select Committee wishes to introduce a pilot scheme, we are in the hands of Government when it comes to the employment of staff. I am told that before going into this new venture, the Government must examine its implications in terms of feasibility and cost and this service for youngsters is said to be a very new idea which has only reached an experimental stage." etc. etc. When, I would like to ask you, when will all this re-tape be through and when will the request be answered?
MR. SALES: ----Mr. Chairman, I deplore the situation perhaps more than Mr. BERNACCHI because even before February 1964 I had spoken to Government about this in private and members of my Committee had already discussed this matter. I am sorry to see that something which was so clearly contemplated by the Select Committee should have met with such difficulties, or even resistance to the idea, because
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