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Welfare Department to help the USD to look after these unfortunate people who use our parks, and benches at sitting out areas, as their sleeping places, and is it being emphasised to our staff that such people should not be moved unless the Social Welfare Department or a charitable institution is willing to take them in and look after them?

MR. SAMUEL P. W. WONG, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-This question is in two parts: the first part asks whether it is possible for the Department to ask the Social Welfare Department to look after street-sleepers who use our parks, and benches at sitting out areas, as their sleeping places; the second part concerns whether Departmental staff may be told that such people should not be moved unless the Social Welfare Department or a charitable institution is willing to take them in and look after them.

The answer to the first part of the question is that the Department does enlist Social Welfare department's assistance to look after street-sleepers who are found in Council parks and sitting out areas. By-law 23(d) of the Public Pleasure Grounds (Urban Council) By-laws stipulates that 'No person shall, in any pleasure ground lie upon any seat or lie down in any building therein'. The existing Departmental practice is that any member of the public who is found in breach of this By-law is requested to move on by Departmental staff. For people who persistently ignore the warning, staff either contact the Social Welfare Department or the Police for assistance. During the past year, 4 such cases were referred to the Social Welfare Department. However, only 1 of the 4 accepted their assistance. Last year, legal action was taken against 4 persons who persistently breached By-law 23(d).

With regard to the second part of the question, legal advice has been given that departmental staff have a duty to manage public pleasure grounds in accordance with the current by-laws. In view of this, staff are obliged to ask offenders to move on; only if this is not successful does the officer-in-charge have a choice either to involve Social Welfare Department or to institute legal proceedings. Management of public facilities is a difficult job and can only be successful if carried out in a consistent manner.

The Department is of the opinion that the present arrangements are satisfactory and it will continue to maintain close liaison with the Social Welfare Department on this issue. Many street-sleepers do not wish to receive assistance from the Social Welfare Department or other organisations and given the need to ensure that public pleasure grounds can be used, as designed, by all members of the public, it is necessary to move street-sleepers on.

MR. WALTER M. SULKE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, I really don't think the answer is very satisfactory. Sympathy obviously must be with the street-sleepers but I personally received many complaints especially about the passage behind the GPO and the roof of the Blake Pier. Would it not be better especially in view of

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this year being the United Nations Year of Shelter if the Council and the Department and the Central Government and the Social Welfare Department now took concerted action to look after these poor people properly and thereby also mitigate the nuisances the public complaints off. Would my friend please ask the Department to liaise much more closely about this matter than they have been doing so far?

MR. SAMUEL P. W. WONG (in English): Mr. Chairman, yes, we certainly would.

MR. PETER C. K. CHAN (in English):—Mr. Chairman, can the Department or the Chairman inform us what happened to this four legal action taken against the four persons who persistently breached By-law? Would they be fined or would they be awarded some cash money from the poor men's box or what?

MR. SAMUEL P. W. WONG (in English):-Mr. Chairman, I haven't got any information at hand, may be MR. CHAN would like to have a written reply.

MR. PETER C. K. CHAN (in English):-Yes, I will.

6. MRS. CHOW CHEUNG WAI-PING asked the following question (in English):- The materialization of the Hong Kong Science Museum will soon be realized and past records reveal that the Council had resolved to recruit a Museum director to head the Science Space and History Museum. In July 1986, a delegation went to the States to interview applicants. However, up to now no report on this trip has been presented. May I ask for the outcome of this recruitment exercise?

DR. PHILIP C. K. KWOK, CHAIRMAN OF THE MUSEUMS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-This question deals with the recruitment of a Museum Director.

As Members of the Museums Select Committee will recall, the delegation reported briefly, at the end of July last year, the results of their visit to the United Kingdom and the United States. At that time, it was expected that further potential candidates might be forthcoming. In the event, this did not prove to be the case.

Consequently, the Director of Urban Services took stock of the situation and advised the History, Science and Space Museums Planning Sub-Committee last September that the Directorate and the staff of the Science Museum planning office of the department have so far made good progress and would have the capability to continue to coordinate the commitments in respect of this and the Council's other museums.

Like the Council, the department is equally conscious of the need for an adequate and suitably trained cadre of staff for the new museum projects. I have been assured that staffing proposals are now in train, and that the staff requirements for the Science Museum will shortly be presented to the Museums Select Committee for consideration.

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