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Mr. Chairman, the short answer to this question is "yes". At the same time I would remind Members that they have requested consideration of a proposal to have a Civic Centre built in Kowloon and their schedule of facilities of what in their opinion is desirable in such a centre includes lecture rooms. Members would perhaps agree that if indeed there is an increasing demand for these facilities it would probably be more effective to have the additional lecture rooms provided in Kowloon rather than at the City Hall where there are physical limitations.
MR. P. F. CHAN:-Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I have no questions.
(9) MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:
What progress has been made by the Urban Services Department in obtaining resources to carry out the Hawker Policy as approved by the Urban Council? Have any sites been allocated so far for the formation of new hawker bazaars?
THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL, replied as follows:-
To date, the resources provided to the Department to carry out the Council's hawker policy are as follows:
Hawker Liaison Section 2 Senior Hawker Liaison Officers, 10 Hawker Liaison Units (coinciding with the 10 City Districts) each of 1 Hawker Liaison Officer, 2 Overseers, 1 Foreman, 1 Ganger and 8 Labourers. Hawker Control Force Post of Commandant upgraded from Chief Inspector to Senior Superintendent level. New post of Deputy Commandant created at Superintendent level. Hawker Bazaars 6 new bazaars are now in operation in the urban areas and another fifteen or so are in planning. (Almost 50 are now operating).As Members are aware, suitable permanent off-street sites for these bazaars are increasingly difficult to find and expensive to develop. The highest concentrations of hawkers are in the built-up, thickly-populated areas where land is at a premium, and sites to accommodate them have to be sought in competition with other equally legitimate interests. However, the Urban Services Department, with the cooperation of the Director of Lands and Survey, is doing everything it can to obtain the necessary facilities.
It may be, however, that in asking the question Mr. CHEONG-LEEN is referring to proposals put to the Secretariat for a review of the structure and conditions of service for the Hawker Control Force. These proposals are still under consideration in the Secretariat.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, for clarification, the question has been put not only in relation to the Hawker Control Force, but with regard to the situation generally. Mr. Chairman, as a supplementary, would you be good enough to let me have a list of the 15 or so hawker bazaars which are in planning, with an indication in each case of the present state of planning arrangements?
CHAIRMAN:-Yes.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Thank you. And as a second supplementary, Mr. Chairman, do I infer from the statement in the last paragraph that a review of the structure and conditions of service have to do not only with an improvement of the conditions of service but also with a tightening of the discipline of the Hawker Control Force as well?
CHAIRMAN:-Yes indeed, Mr. CHEONG-LEEN. We have also proposed amendments to the Hawker Control Force Ordinance and to bring in Hawker Control Force regulations to tighten up on the discipline of the Force.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-And would you be good enough to impress upon Government the necessity for an early decision on those outstanding matters?
CHAIRMAN:-As I do regularly.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Thank you.
MR. BLAKER:-Mr. Chairman, I recall that when the hawker 1969 policy was being considered, this Council was informed that if and when it adopted the 1969 policy, the Hawker Control Force in particular would be strengthened to enable the Council to carry out that policy. Does the Secretariat now accept the opinion of this Council that the Control Force in particular is inadequate for this purpose?
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Mr. Chairman, the short answer to this question is "yes". At the same time I would remind Members that they have requested consideration of a proposal to have a Civic Centre built in Kowloon and their schedule of facilities of what in their opinion is desirable in such a centre includes lecture rooms. Members would perhaps agree that if indeed there is an increasing demand for these facilities it would probably be more effective to have the additional lecture rooms provided in Kowloon rather than at the City Hall where there are physical limitations.
MR. P. F. CHAN:-Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I have no questions.
(9) MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:
What progress has been made by the Urban Services Depart- ment in obtaining resources to carry out the Hawker Policy as approved by the Urban Council? Have any sites been allocated so far for the formation of new hawker bazaars?
THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL, replied as follows:-
To date, the resources provided to the Department to carry
out the Council's hawker policy are as follows:
Hawker Liaison Section
2 Senior Hawker Liaison Officers, 10 Hawker Liaison Units (coinciding with the 10 City Districts) each of 1 Hawker Liaison Officer, 2 Overseers, 1 Foreman, 1 Ganger and 8 Labourers.
Hawker Control Force
Post of Commandant upgraded from Chief Inspector to Senior Superintendent level.
New post of Deputy Commandant created at Superin- tendent level.
Hawker Bazaars
6 new bazaars are now in operation in the urban areas and another fifteen or so are in planning. (Almost 50 are now operating).
As Members are aware, suitable permanent off-street sites for these bazaars are increasingly difficult to find and expensive to develop. The highest concentrations of
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
207
hawkers are in the built-up, thickly-populated areas where land is at a premium, and sites to accommodate them have to be sought in competition with other equally legitimate interests. However, the Urban Services Depart- ment, with the cooperation of the Director of Lands and Survey, is doing everything it can to obtain the necessary facilities.
It may be, however, that in asking the question Mr. CHEONG- LEEN is referring to proposals put to the Secretariat for a review of the structure and conditions of service for the Hawker Control Force. These proposals are still under consideration in the Secretariat.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, for clarification, the question has been put not only in relation to the Hawker Control Force, but with regard to the situation generally. Mr. Chairman, as a supplementary, would you be good enough to let me have a list of the 15 or so hawker bazaars which are in planning, with an indication in each case of the present state of planning arrangements?
CHAIRMAN: --Yes.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Thank you. And as a second supplementary, Mr. Chairman, do I infer from the statement in the last paragraph that a review of the structure and conditions of service have to do not only with an improvement of the conditions of service but also with a tighten- ing of the discipline of the Hawker Control Force as well?
CHAIRMAN:-Yes indeed, Mr. CHEONG-LEEN. We have also proposed amendments to the Hawker Control Force Ordinance and to bring in Hawker Control Force regulations to tighten up on the dis- cipline of the Force.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-And would you be good enough to impress upon Government the necessity for an early decision on those out- standing matters?
CHAIRMAN:-As I do regularly.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Thank you.
MR. BLAKER: -Mr. Chairman, I recall that when the hawker 1969 policy was being considered, this Council was informed that if and when it adopted the 1969 policy, the Hawker Control Force in particular would be strengthened to enable the Council to carry out that policy. Does the Secretariat now accept the opinion of this Council that the Control Force in particular is inadequate for this purpose?
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.