1978 — Page 36

36

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

have already indirectly explained the grounds on which the Council has

adopted these measures.

any constructive comments from members of the public and are only too I and all other members of the Food Hygiene Select Committee welcome glad to accept such comments because only in this way can we effect im- provements on our policies and measures to meet the actual needs of the public. There is no place for 'stubbornness', 'overconfidence' and 'isolationism'

in the Food Hygiene Select Committee.

us a

However, what we need are constructive comments which provide guideline and enable us to make improvement. When I said earlier that this committee was only too glad to accept comments, I was referring to those of a constructive nature. Any comments which are of a 'garbling' and 'misleading' nature or which are made with the intention of 'playing to the gallery' and 'pouring oil on fire' will not be accepted.

The criticism made by the magistrate was, I believe, a result of a mis- understanding arising from the lack of thorough study into the Council's policy and procedure concerning the licensing of light refreshment restaurants. And this is quite understandable. For the Council's prosecutor might have probably failed to explain fully the policy to the magistrate, thus giving rise to the misunderstanding. 'But is there bureaucracy in the Urban Council?' one may ask. The answer is 'maybe'. But if bureaucracy does exist, parti- cularly when there is red tape in matters within the jurisdiction of the 'Food Hygiene Select Committee', I must stress and can assure you that I will take immediate action to refer that matter to the Select Committee for discussion with a view to improving the situation, if the public so wish.

The policy on licensing light refreshment restaurants was formulated in the light of the Fifth Schedule to the Food Business By-laws under which all 'general restaurants' are required to provide both a kitchen and a food room commensurate with their gross floor area, while light refreshment restaurants are not required to provide a kitchen and the stipulated food room area thereof is much less than that required for general restaurants. For example, a general restaurant of 1,000 sq. ft. requires a kitchen of at least 60 sq. ft. and the entire food preparation area must not be less than 30% of the gross floor area, while a light refreshment restaurant does not have to provide a kitchen and the food room area needs only be 14% of the gross floor area. To maintain satisfactory food hygiene standards in light refreshment restaurants, it is inevitable that only limited items of cooked food are allowed to be sold since such restaurants do not have elaborate cooking facilities to enable them to sell all kinds of cooked food as in the case of general restaurants. If the operator of a light refreshment restaurant wishes to sell other items of cooked food, he can always apply for a 'General Restaurant Licence' and his application will be approved so long as adequate space is allocated for the provision of both a kitchen and a food preparation room and other requirements are complied with.

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Page 36 of 135

37

DR WONG (in English):-Mr Chairman, I thank Mr Chow for his very comprehensive account of the policy of the Urban Council. May I suggest there is room for the Urban Council to widen its PR work in connection with this specific problem? If so, is the Council prepared to do so immediately so that the man-in-the-street knows the Council's policy well?

MR CHOW (in Cantonese):-Mr Chairman, I will pass on Dr WONG'S com- ment to my select committee for discussion, and if it is considered feasible, then at an appropriate time we will implement it.

MR HOWARD H. W. YOUNG (in Cantonese):—From the reply it seems that, at that time, the magistrate's comment was not appropriate?

CHAIRMAN (in English):-Mr CHOw, this is asking you for an opinion. (Laughter)

--Yes.

MR CHOW (in English):—

CHAIRMAN (in English):-Would you like to frame your supplementary again, Mr YOUNG? Otherwise, the Chairman of that select committee would be put in an embarrassing position. (Laughter)

MR YOUNG (in English):-Perhaps I will express myself in another language. In one of the paragraphs of the answer just given, am I right in interpreting that Mr Chow is trying to say the magistrate did not know what he was talking about?

MR CHOW (in Cantonese): ---What I meant was that there could be a mis- understanding at that time, it could be that the prosecutor did not explain to the magistrate clearly about the various procedures.

MR YOUNG (in English):-Mr Chairman, will the Council consider inviting that particular magistrate to an inspection of the two different kinds of establishments in order, I will put it this way, to have a taste of the real world?

MR CHOW (in Cantonese): -Our select committee can consider Mr YOUNG'S suggestion, but various points have to be considered. First of all, whether the magistrate can spare the time or whether he is willing to spare the time to have an actual inspection. And also, if it is of any help, we, of course, would like to do all the work that we can.

MR FORSGATE (in English):-Mr Chairman, the magistrate was obviously baffled. May I rise to ask three simple supplementaries? It might help. In both cases dealt with by the magistrate, was the original tender for a light refreshment restaurant?