Page 72 of 154
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
the Department has set up in Hong Kong training courses of the most demanding standards, thus enabling our student inspectors to take and pass recognized professional examinations before being confirmed in their posts.
The Council is acutely conscious of its fundamental obligation to protect public health. Consequently, it gives strong encouragement to the training of staff engaged in discharging this responsibility. As a result, Hong Kong has been able to ensure that good standards are maintained in very difficult physical conditions and in the face of habits long entrenched and not easy to overcome.
The Council will continue to improve the standard of service given to the public in this important function. At the same time, it is hoped that the public will support all the work done for their own good, even though the measures taken may sometimes appear to be contrary to their personal convenience. Where public health is at stake, there can be no valid grounds for compromise of standards nor can wilful relaxation of requirements be tolerated for death may strike the innocent. In our circumstances, it may then be said, constant vigilance is the price we must pay for a healthy community.
(Messrs. B. A. BERNACCHI and PETER C. K. CHAN arrived at this point.)
PAPER
The following paper was laid on the table:
Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of October, 1975.
QUESTIONS
(1) MR. PETER P. F. CHAN asked the following question (in English):-
May Members be informed how much, in terms of dollars and cents, the Urban Council subsidizes the hawkers in the urban areas annually-the amount of money spent in staff control on the ground, general administration, cleansing and other facilities?
DR. HENRY H. L. HU, CHAIRMAN OF THE HAWKERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-
Mr. Chairman, Members will recall that, on 12th August, 1975 in reply to a similar question, I gave the estimated expenditure on hawker management in 1975-76 as $20,996,818. This estimate remains unchanged. A break-down of it is given in the cost statement which I table.
Capital works for hawker bazaars in 1975-76 are expected to cost $2,790,200.
Hawker licence fees and pitch fees, which are laid down in the Hawker By-laws, bring in revenue totalling about $4,000,000 per year. The Hawkers Select Committee has agreed that fees should be increased to the extent that they will bring in revenue totalling almost $7,350,000 per year. The necessary amendments to the Hawker By-laws will be placed before Council in the near future. But, even so, expenditure on hawker control will still far exceed income from hawker licences.
Incidentally I don't necessarily agree that the excess of expenditure over income should be regarded as a subsidy to hawkers. It could be considered as money spent on hawker control for the benefit of the general public.
MR. CHAN (in English):- Mr. Chairman, Mr. Hu mentioned that the estimated expenditure remains unchanged today as from 12th August, 1975. May I know to what extent does the H.P.A. Scheme affect the actual expenditure? Did we spend more or did we spend less?
DR. HU (in English):- So far as I know, Mr. Chairman, there is no direct bearing on the expenditure on hawkers to the H.P.A. Scheme.
MR. JOHN MACKENZIE (in English):- Mr. Chairman, Mr. Hu has referred to increased revenue in the next year of $7.3M. Is it not correct, however, that increased costs in wages and additional General Duties Teams will more than off-set any advantage to the Council and, therefore, the deficit or subsidy will affect greater rather than less next year?
DR. HU (in English):- Mr. Chairman, that is not the case. We have not decided whether we should increase General Duties Team or not. We have already decided to set up a sub-committee to study further the question of General Duties Teams and Hawker Control Force. So it has not been decided and therefore it is not the case that the expenditure will off-set the income from revenue.
Appendix I
113
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 72 of 154
R
Page 72 of 154
112
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
the Department has set up in Hong Kong training courses of the most demanding standards, thus enabling our student inspectors to take and pass recognized professional examinations before being confirmed in their posts.
The Council is acutely conscious of its fundamental obligation to protect public health. Consequently, it gives strong encouragement to the training of staff engaged in discharging this responsibility. As a result, Hong Kong has been able to ensure that good standards are maintained in very difficult physical conditions and in the face of habits long entrenched and not easy to overcome.
The Council will continue to improve the standard of service given to the public in this important function. At the same time, it is hoped that the public will support all the work done for their own good, even though the measures taken may sometimes appear to be contrary to their personal con- venience. Where public health is at stake, there can be no valid grounds for compromise of standards nor can wilful relaxation of requirements be tolerated for death may strike the innocent. In our circumstances, it may then be said, constant vigilance is the price we must pay for a healthy community.
(Messrs. B. A. BERNACCHI and PETER C. K. CHAN arrived at this point.)
PAPER
The following paper was laid on the table:
Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of October, 1975.
QUESTIONS
(1) MR. PETER P. F. CHAN asked the following question (in English):-
May Members be informed how much, in terms of dollars and cents, the Urban Council subsidizes the hawkers in the urban areas annually-the amount of money spent in staff control on the ground, general administration, cleans- ing and other facilities?
DR. HENRY H. L. HU, CHAIRMAN OF THE HAWKERS SELECT COM- MITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-
Mr. Chairman, Members will recall that, on 12th August, 1975 in reply to a similar question, I gave the estimated
Appendix I
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
113
expenditure on hawker management in 1975-76 as $20,996,818. This estimate remains unchanged. A break- down of it is given in the cost statement which I table.
Capital works for hawker bazaars in 1975-76 are expected to
cost $2,790,200.
Hawker licence fees and pitch fees, which are laid down in the Hawker By-laws, bring in revenue totalling about $4,000,000 per year. The Hawkers Select Committee has agreed that fees should be increased to the extent that they will bring in revenue totalling almost $7,350,000 per year. The necessary amendments to the Hawker By-laws will be placed before Council in the near future. But, even so, expenditure on hawker control will still far exceed income from hawker licences.
Incidentally I don't necessarily agree that the excess of ex- penditure over income should be regarded as a subsidy to hawkers. It could be considered as money spent on hawker control for the benefit of the general public.
MR. CHAN (in English):-Mr. Chairman, Mr. Hu mentioned that the estimated expenditure remains unchanged today as from 12th August, 1975. May I know to what extent does the H.P.A. Scheme affect the actual expenditure? Did we spend more or did we spend less?
DR. HU (in English): -So far as I know, Mr. Chairman, there is no direct bearing on the expenditure on hawkers to the H.P.A. Scheme.
MR. JOHN MACKENZIE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, Mr. Hu has referred to increased revenue in the next year of $7.3M. Is it not correct, however, that increased costs in wages and additional General Duties Teams will more than off-set any advantage to the Council and, therefore, the deficit or subsidy will affect greater rather than less next year?
We
DR. HU (in English):-Mr. Chairman, that is not the case. have not decided whether we should increase General Duties Team or not. We have already decided to set up a sub-committee to study further the question of General Duties Teams and Hawker Control Force. So it has not been decided and therefore it is not the case that the expenditure will off-set the income from revenue.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.