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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

MRS. ELLIOTT: Mr. Chairman, to go back to this backlog, may I ask if any reason can be given why this backlog is only a very recent development. To go back in history to the time when Mr. TODD was in Social Welfare and Mr. BARTY was in Resettlement, they had a plan that every person for compassionate resettlement got it within a month and this is what happened. Why has this lapsed, why has it got into this state?

COMMISSIONER for ResettleMENT:-Members may find on record that the quota reserved for compassionate cases was determined yearly by the Urban Council and the original quota was at the rate of 200 per year. At that time the staff was assigned to do the job on a part-time basis. As it went along the quota increased but the staff did not and it doesn't justify full-time yet so there was sort of a time of part-time basis dealing with those cases. When I took over last year I immediate- ly saw the back-log accumulating so I made arrangements as quickly as I could and then I got a full-time man working on it since.

MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, I still don't feel satisfied about this because the situation is very bad. Since it is not the Resettlement Department (and I am going to ask a question) as it is not the Resettle- ment Department that makes the enquiry but the Social Welfare Depart- ment, once the Social Welfare Department make the recommendation why cannot the Resettlement Department treat them as ordinary cases and get them in the same as they would a clearance?

COMMISSIONER for ResettleEMENT:---Well as I said earlier on just now, we had only two blocks completed last year, there was a shortage of supply of rooms and then we have other commitments also. We do not build resettlement estates just to house compassionate cases.

MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, I don't know what the Commis- sioner means by shortage of rooms. I was in a block in Tsz Wan Shan yesterday and I counted 30 empty rooms. Can you explain why they lie empty for a year?

COMMISSIONER for RESETTLEMENT: —As I said resettlement estates were built for six different categories of people.

MR. HU:-Mr. Chairman, may I answer the question? I think Resettlement do very well about resettlement of the families of com- passionate families but we must confess that the Resettlement Depart- ment did not do very well about 180 single persons. As Mr. Tsui said there are other factors involved, for example the singleton, whether we should allocate them in a hostel so that they would be together or not. It is a little bit delayed. Besides that I should think that from the 1st April, 1970 to 10th June, 1971, in a period of 12 months we

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have resettled 850 families for compassionate cases and we also resettled 4,012 persons for compassionate reasons. I personally do not agree with what Mr. Tsui said about compassionate spaces because every year we haven't used all the quota for domestic commassionate cases. But I equally would support Mr. Tsur's view that we did very well to resettle the compassionate families but about singletons we have really been left behind. We should do that as soon as we can. I think that is the actual position about resettlement of compassionate persons.

MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, is it possible to have access to files to try and consider some suggestions?

CHAIRMAN: -I am sure the Commissioner for Resettlement would be prepared to look into that, Mrs. ELLIOTT. I consider this question has been satisfactorily discussed. May we move to the next one, please?

MRS. ELLIOTT:-Does that mean I can have their files?

CHAIRMAN: -You approach the Commissioner for Resettlement,

please.

MR. SALES: files? (Laughter).

Mr. Chairman, may I ask a supplementary about

MR. HU-I think as Chairman of the Management Select Com- mittee I will help Mrs. ELLIOTT to see the file which she wishes.

MR. SALES: I think Urban Councillors should be given the use of the files if they want to see them, Mr. Chairman, if . . .

CHAIRMAN :—Are you asking a question, Mr. Sales?

MR. SALES: No, I am following up what Mrs. ELLIOTT said. I support what she said in the light of the experience I had this morning which I brought to your attention when a person not belonging to the Council had access to Council information. I think Councillors should be given priority in some way, don't you think so, Mr. Chairman?

CHAIRMAN:-Next question, please.

(7) MRS. E. ELLIOTT asked the following question:-

What is being done to improve living conditions in licensed areas? Is there any improvement in water supplies? Can the Department negotiate to persuade China Light & Power to lay on supplies to the licensed areas, in view of the danger of fire from kerosene lamps?