1970 — Page 37

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Page 37 of 241

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

MR. SALES: --Is what-a Housing Division? I understood it to be a Housing Department and I was very intrigued by that question. Mr. Chairman, I am grateful to you for allowing me to ask a supple- mentary question just now. Mr. Henry Hu wanted me to ask some questions and you didn't want me to. (Laughter). I wanted to know whether, Sir, the sharks would be sticking around in Hong Kong waters waiting for reporters to announce their presence. (Laughter).

MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, can the Commissioner advise this Council approximately how many officers in his department are eligible to attend this course.

COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-It's not really a question of being eligible, Mr. Chairman. This is all rather experimental. As you can see from the figures we are only just starting this exercise and what we are doing, in effect, is starting at the top end; anyone who would like to take this course, who volunteers to take it, then the more senior officer is given the opportunity. We then come down the scale and we have now got as far as the Assistant Resettlement Officers. It's not a question of being eligible at the moment. It's question of going through the list and picking out volunteers who offer to take it.

MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Thank you.

(12) MR. PETER C. K. CHAN asked the following question:-

Although this Council controls all the public parks and play- grounds in Urban Areas, it seems that there is a lacking of personnel actually responsible for organizing sports or other recreational activities for the youths or organizations comprised of youths to make maximum use of our play- ground:

Can this Council be informed:

(a) How many of our officers are actually responsible

for organizing such kind of activities making use of our available amentities?

(b) Are we going to increase our staff for this purpose

in the near future? If so, to what extent?

MR. A. de O. SALES, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION AND AMENI- TIES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows :-

This question concerns organized sport and other recreational activities in parks and playgrounds under the control of the Urban Council.

:

Apart from the staff employed to organize the Council's vast programme of popular entertainment and recreational activities in public pleasure grounds, there are no officers who are actually responsible for organizing the type of activity to which Mr. CHAN refers even though there has been a re-organization of staff in the Recreation and Amenities Division in recent times.

However, there is mounting need for the engagement of qualified staff to ensure the proper use of our many play facilities. There are ugly reports of malpractices which are not easy to eliminate without adequate supervisory staff of good calibre who will organize and direct re- creational activities on the spot. In this way young people would also be attracted to spend their free time in healthful active recreation.

The establishment of play-leadership schemes was advocated by me, as a starting point, several years ago and in early 1969 it was considered that the implementation of such schemes should be made the responsibility of the Social Welfare Department. Since then the Social Welfare Department, the Education Department and the Urban Services Department have discussed the possible establish- ment of a pilot play-leadership scheme, and the Chinese Y.M.C.A. has been invited to start an experimental scheme this summer. Other organizations have also started schemes designed to lead young people in play- grounds.

The question of play-leadership has been raised in Committee on a number of occasions, and only at the last meeting of the Recreation and Amenities Select Committee, some strong views on the question were expressed. The Com- mittee decided that the question of which department should be made responsible for play-leadership should be referred back to the Colonial Secretariat, with a request that the necessary staff be made available as soon as possible to whichever department it was decided should undertake the work. The Select Committee considers the need for these schemes to be very urgent. I can assure Members that we will watch progress closely and I am obliged to Mr. CHAN for the opportunity to give this Council an account of the latest position on this important subject.

MR. C. K. CHAN:--Mr. Chairman, I have one supplementary. Perhaps you know this is a question more for yourself than for Mr. SALES. In the second paragraph of Mr. SALES' answer, he said "no