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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

certainty, Hong Kong must remain conducive to the retention of this stratum in the infrastructure of our economy. For once they migrate, the loss will be irrecoverable.

With these words, I support the motion.

(The Hon. F. K. HU and Mr. Peter C. K. CHAN left at this point—4.47 p.m.)

MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I have not received any questionnaire, but if I had, I would do the same as Mr. Peter C. K. Chan and use it as part of my speech.

Departmental Establishment

The Urban Services Department of the Urban Council has a staff of 18,284 with a total annual emolument as high as $996 million (with a 5% increase for 84-85 included). This amount represents a large increase as compared with previous years. The increase is attributable to, apart from the employment of additional staff required for the new facilities, two major causes. Firstly, the government has adjusted the on-costs charged to the Council and secondly, the increase of staff salaries in the last few years has far exceeded the revenue from rates. In the long run, the Council should continue to step up its mechanization process in those labour-intensive operations.

The Urban Council is greatly concerned about the very large increase in the expenditure on staff salaries. Apart from the factors which are beyond the control of the Council, the Administration Select Committee has all the time exercised close monitoring and as a result, the actual growth rate of the number of staff last year was only 1.4%. The Department has also effected inter-transfer of posts among the sections as appropriate so as to achieve flexibility in the deployment of human resources. During the year, a Management Services Unit has been set up to specifically devise measures of strict economy and make recommendations to improve the standard of services provided by the Council in the next year or two. In this respect, the Council owes a great deal to the Head of the Department for his loyalty, co-operation, and tolerance. Here I have the following points to make:

(a) Every functional select committee should, upon deciding to provide a facility or service, take into consideration the subsequent cost to maintain it;
(b) The long delay in the completion of various building projects has incurred unforeseeable losses in terms of construction cost. Besides, specialist staff who have completed their training on schedule cannot fill the anticipated posts and have to be transferred elsewhere.
(c) On the other hand, there are facilities which yield less revenue than expected due to the lack of suitable and fully trained personnel to manage them.

Capital Works

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Owing to the constraint of funds during the year, some building programmes have been postponed, which has caused much concern among District Board members who worry that facilities to be provided in their respective districts might be delayed. They bring pressure to bear upon the Council to complete the projects in their districts as planned. It is incumbent upon the Council to explain the situation clearly to them. In 1982-83, the total expenditure on capital works was budgeted for $228 million. However, for various reasons, construction $200 million was spent on construction projects while the original budget was for works to a total cost of $32 million were not completed. Then in 1983-84, only $276 million was set. Again in 1984-85, $330 million has been earmarked to finance the construction programmes, which, I believe, are the maximum that would be carried out. In the light of past experience, I think the Council should strengthen its monitoring to ensure that construction works will not be delayed, thus giving rise to inflated building costs, and that the projects will be completed and opened for use on schedule. Now, as building costs have gone down by about 15% because of market competition, the Council should take advantage of this opportunity to speed up its construction programmes.

Public Entertainment

Marked improvement has been made in the provision of public entertainment. Since the beginning of the current financial year, provision in the districts is more balanced. There are favourable feedbacks from District Boards regarding the programmes and provision of outdoor venues. However, indoor venues are insufficient in some districts. In this connection, I urge the Council to take initiative to co-operate with the District Boards and local residents to devise remedial measures or to make temporary arrangements. Improvement should also be made to the quality of the programmes in such a way that publicity may be dispensed with. Furthermore, a fixed sum should be allocated for organizing cultural, recreational, entertainment, and sporting activities jointly with the various districts. As regards legal constraints, the Urban Council should negotiate with the central government for greater flexibility in the terms contained in the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangements to enable the Council to also provide public entertainment for residents of the New Territories at the beaches and countryside. For better service, box offices with computerized systems should be set up in the New Territories for the convenience of local residents.

Recently, I have read in the newspapers that the government intends to set up a similar council in the New Territories. While the intention itself is good, the government has overlooked one point—that two councils of the same nature with financial autonomy in such a small territory as Hong Kong will undoubtedly lead to vicious competition as well as complication. I can quote an analogy here. In the past, several T.V. stations were in existence, and we all know the result of such co-existence. If an additional council is set up in the

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