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check that, and on the first part which was second, it seems to me that only civil servants have been consulted and when I first made the suggestion, the press liked this and quite a few other people liked this, so could we please ask the public?
MR. YOUNG (in English):-Mr. Chairman, regarding the Police's ability to waive the 8-day notice, I believe this is so and I believe it might have been done in the past. But my view is that if we want to have something permanent, then it is probably better to put it on a permanent footing by making the necessary legislation rather than having a law, with a man saying you shall waive it all the time.
The second part regarding the research that was done and I agree that in my answer it only concerned consulting civil servants. As Mr. SULKE points out that the press liked it and the public liked it, I assume, because Mr. SULKE raised the question, therefore, that Urban Councillors or at least one Urban Councillor liked it, so I would be very happy to consult Mr. SULKE on his research if he would like to try it out first. I would be very glad to donate a soap box, but I will not be responsible for any complaints about noise pollution. (laughter)
5. MR. WALTER M. SULKE asked the following question (in English):-Could we please have confirmation that this Council will follow Government policy and not accept sponsorship or advertising from any tobacco company for any of its cultural or sporting functions whether these are presented solely by the Council or in association with others?
MR. LAWRENCE H. F. Fung, Chairman of the CULTURE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-This question concerns the Council's policy on the acceptance of sponsorship or advertising from tobacco companies for cultural or sporting functions solely or jointly presented by the Council.
Since the promulgation of the Government's policy on cigarette smoking, the Council has acted in line with that policy. At present, not only is smoking banned from the Council's cultural venues, museums and public libraries, the Council has also decided not to accept sponsorship or advertising from tobacco companies for cultural or sporting functions solely or jointly presented by the Council.
This continues to be the Council's policy.
6. MR. L. H. KWAN asked the following question (in Cantonese):—According to complaints by residents of Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei, rats are often seen in the vicinity of food premises in these areas. I would therefore like to ask the following questions:-
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a) Do the food premises in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei dispose of their waste food or left-overs properly?
b) Would the presence of rats seriously affect environmental hygiene in the areas?
c) What measures are being taken in regard to the termination of rats in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei?
MR. WALTER M. SULKE, CHAIRMAN OF THE FOOD HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-This question concerns rodent infestation in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei Districts and is in three parts. The first part of the question asks whether the food premises in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei dispose of their waste food or left-overs properly. The second part asks whether the presence of rats seriously affects environmental hygiene in these areas. The third part concerns the measures being taken in regard to the extermination of rats in these areas.
The brief answer to the first part of the question is that waste food or left-overs from food premises in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei districts on the whole can be considered properly disposed of. It is a licensing condition that every food business licensee must provide sufficient dust-bins with close-fitting lids for the storage of refuse and other waste matters awaiting disposal. District Health Inspectors during their routine inspections to food premises ensure observance of this condition, in addition to paying attention to other aspects of food hygiene and good food-handling practices. When this condition is breached, the inspecting officer either takes direct action or issues verbal warnings requiring it to be rectified. For repeated or more serious cases, written warning is sent to the licensee which will be followed by a recommendation to suspend the licence when such warning is ignored. Perhaps I should add here that my committee is considering lengthening the suspension of such licences in future.
Food wastes are treated either as refuse or swill for sale to pig farmers. In the latter case, appropriate control is ensured by the provisions of the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances By-laws which state that swill should be kept in proper impervious containers with close-fitting lids and removed only between mid-night and 9.00 a.m. Left-over food is normally kept in refrigerators which are available in all licensed food premises. The condition of these refrigerators is also checked by health inspectors during routine inspections.
No warning letters have had to be issued or prosecutions taken out against improper disposal of food waste in the two districts during the past 10 months. In answer to the second part of the question, the environmental impact of rats depends on the degree of rat infestation. While it is never easy to quantify the degree of infestation in any area, a rough indicator of the size of the problem would be the number of rodent complaints received and the number of dead rats
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check that, and on the first part which was second, it seems to me that only civil servants have been consulted and when I first made the suggestion, the press liked this and quite a few other people liked this, so could we please ask the
public?
MR. YOUNG (in English):-Mr. Chairman, regarding the Police's ability a waive the 8-day notice, I believe this is so and I believe it might have been done in the past. But my view is that if we want to have something permanent. then is probably better to put it on a permanent footing by making the necessar legislation rather than having a law, with a man saying you shall waive it all the
time.
The second part regarding the research that was done and I agree that in m
answer it only concerned consulting civil servants. As Mr. SULKE points out the the press liked it and the public liked it, I assume, because Mr. SULKE raised the question, therefore, that Urban Councillors or at least one Urban Councilio: liked it, so I would be very happy to consult Mr. SULKE on his research if h would like to try it out first. I would be very glad to donate a soap box, but I wi not be responsible for any complaints about noise pollution. (laughter)
5. MR. WALTER M. SULKE asked the following question (in English):~Could please have confirmation that this Council will follow Government policy and n accept sponsorship or advertising from any tobacco company for any of its cultu or sporting functions whether these are presented solely by the Council or r association with others?
MR. LAWRENCE H. F. Fung, Chairman of the CULTURE SELECT COMMITTE replied as follows (in English):-This question concerns the Council's policy on the acceptance of sponsorship or advertising from tobacco companies for cultural or sporting functions solely or jointly presented by the Council.
Since the promulgation of the Government's policy on cigarette smoking, the Council has acted in line with that policy. At present, not only is smoking banned from the Council's cultural venues, museums and public libraries, the Council has also decided not to accept sponsorship or advertising from tobacc companies for cultural or sporting functions solely or jointly presented by the Council.
This continues to be the Council's policy.
6. MR. L. H. KWAN asked the following question (in Cantonese):—According to complaints by residents of Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei, rats are often seen i the vicinity of food premises in these areas. I would therefore like to ask th following questions:-
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113
a) Do the food premises in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei dispose of their waste
food or left-overs properly?
Would the presence of rats seriously affect environmental hygiene in the
areas?
What measures are being taken in regard to the termination of rats in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei?
MR. WALTER M. SULKE, CHAIRMAN OF THE FOOD HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-This question concerns rodent infestation in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei Districts and is in three parts. The first part of the question asks whether the food premises in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei dispose of their waste food or left-overs properly. The second part asks whether he presence of rats seriously affects environmental hygiene in these areas. The third part concerns the measures being taken in regard to the extermination of
rats in these areas.
The brief answer to the first part of the question is that waste food or left- wers from food premises in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei districts on the whole can be considered properly disposed of. It is a licensing condition that very food business licensee must provide sufficient dust-bins with close fitting ids for the storage of refuse and other waste matters awaiting disposal. District Health Inspectors during their routine inspections to food premises ensure bservance of this condition, in addition to paying attention to other aspects of od hygiene and good food-handling practices. When this condition is breached, the inspecting officer either takes direct action or issues verbal warnings requiring it to be rectified. For repeated or more serious cases, written arning is sent to the licensee which will be followed by a recommendation to suspend the licence when such warning is ignored. Perhaps I should add there that my committee is considering of lengthening the suspension of such licences in future.
Food wastes are treated either as refuse or swill for sale to pig farmers. In the Janter case, appropriate control is ensured by the provisions of the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances By-laws which state that swill should be kept in proper impervious containers with close fitting lids and removed only between mid-night and 9.00 a.m. Left-over food is normally kept in refrigerators which are available in all licensed food premises. The condition of these refrigerators are also checked by health inspectors during routine .nspections.
No warning letters have had to be issued or prosecutions taken out against improper disposal of food waste in the two districts during the past 10 months. In answer to the second part of the question the environmental impact of rats depends on the degree of rat infestation. While it is never easy to quantify the degree of infestation in any area a rough indicator of the size of the problem would be the number of rodent complaints received and the number of dead rats
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