Page 103 of 654
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
such facilities, or whether they do not get satisfactory explanations when they are not satisfied upon arriving at the venues.
Those are my four questions.
MR. RONNIE Wong Man-chiu (in Cantonese):—I would try to answer the questions one by one. Regarding the first question of the series raised by Mr. Wong Kwok-hing, we do not have any waste of resources, Mr. Wong quoted several opening periods and some of them might be inconvenient to parents. From our stand, we hope to do our best and to fully utilise resources without any wastage. I think the data quoted by Mr. Wong Kwok-hing just now should be referred to the Department for investigation. If such incidents happen I am sure the Department will review the opening hours.
Regarding the question on the standard of design, the existing standard makes reference to similar children facilities in the United Kingdom. Based on information from census in respect of children, the design standard is 3 square metres for each child. A census exercise is done every ten years. Over the ten year period, there may be changes in birth rate and the planning standard may not be able to catch up with the latest development. Mr. Wong can find out through the District Board on the change in the number of children in different districts and then relay the information to the Department. I am sure the Department will be happy to adjust facilities in accordance with the expected usage.
Mr. Wong has also asked if we could open children activity rooms in the coming summer vacation. As I have said just now, the Department will surely adjust the opening times for the benefit of our citizens if under utilization or wastage of resources is noted.
Mr. Wong's third question concerns the lack of such facilities in the Eastern District. He says that although there are 4 to 5 UC Complexes in the Eastern District, some of them do not include activity rooms suitable for young children. This is comparatively less than other districts. I would take this up with the Department for a review of the situation. I believe such facilities would be increased, if necessary.
The last question concerns publicity. I think whether there is sufficient publicity is subject to argument. We discuss the matter of publicity at different committees and competition for fundings for publicity is keen. In fact, our resources are limited. If we increase publicity in this area, publicity in another areas will have to be reduced. I would clear with the Publicity and Information Unit on whether there is insufficient publicity or parents do not know the presence of such facilities. If there is no such publicity, we may need to cut resources in other areas in order to boost publicity in this area.
Mr. Wong Kwok-hing (in Cantonese):—I would like to follow up on one more point concerning improvements of such facilities to serve the public in the short term. The summer vacation will begin soon and meetings of the Urban Council,
Page 103 of 654
age 103 of 654
5- 103 of 654
Page 103 of 654
100
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
such facilities, or whether they do not get satisfactory explanations when they are not satisfied upon arriving at the venues.
Those are my four questions.
MR. RONNIE Wong Man-chIU (in Cantonese):—I would try to answer the questions one by one. Regarding the first question of the series raised by Mr. Wong Kwok-hing, we do not have any waste of resources, Mr. Wong quoted several opening periods and some of them might be inconvenient to parents. From our stand, we hope to do our best and to fully utilise resources without any wastage. I think the data quoted by Mr. Wong Kwok-hing just now should be referred to the Department for investigation. If such incidents happen I am sure the Department will review the opening hours.
Regarding the question on the standard of design, the existing standard makes reference to similar children facilities in the United Kingdom. Based on information from census in respect of children, the design standard is 3 square metres for each child. A census exercise is done every ten years. Over the ten year period, there may be changes in birth rate and the planning standard may not be able to catch up with the latest development. Mr. WONG can find out through the District Board on the change in the number of children in different districts and then relay the information to the Department. I am sure the Department will be happy to adjust facilities in accordance with the expected usage.
Mr. WONG has also asked if we could open children activity rooms in the coming summer vacation. As I have said just now, the Department will surely adjust the opening times for the benefit of our citizens if under utilization or wastage of resources is noted.
Mr. WONG's third question concerns the lack of such facilities in the Eastern District. He says that although there are 4 to 5 UC Complexes in the Eastern District, some of them do not include activity rooms suitable for young children. This is comparatively less than other districts. I would take this up with the Department for a review of the situation. I believe such facilities would be increased, if necessary.
The last question concerns publicity. I think whether there is sufficient publicity is subject to argument. We discuss the matter of publicity at different committees and competition for fundings for publicity is keen. In fact, our resources are limited. If we increase publicity in this area, publicity in another areas will have to be reduced. I would clear with the Publicity and Information Unit on whether there is insufficient publicity or parents do not know the presence of such facilities. If there is no such publicity, we may need to cut resources in other areas in order to boost publicity in this area.
Mr. Wong Kwok-HING (in Cantonese):—I would like to follow up on one more point concerning improvements of such facilities to serve the public in the short term. The summer vacation will begin soon and meetings of the Urban Council,
£654
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.