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# PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
## XI
(8) Study on law amendments to supervise use of sea water in marine culture and the licensing system.
All in all, in the past year and a half, the two municipal councils including the Provisional Urban Council kept urging government departments to improve their food safety and environmental hygiene work. What I said is an undeniable truth. It is absolutely wrong to suggest that no uniformity of policies of the two municipal councils gave rise to the spate of food incidents. As to the question of division of responsibilities, it happens among various government departments concerned. And of course, there is room for improvement in the Urban Council structure, but it should not constitute powerful ground for the recall of food safety and environmental hygiene functions from the two municipal councils. As such, I believe the reform of district organisations should be practical and realistic.
## Part 3: The correct direction for reform in respect of food safety and environmental hygiene
The correct direction for the review of district organisations to take in respect of food safety and environmental hygiene should be one that benefits the SAR Government in further improving management of food safety and environmental hygiene, one that ensures healthy living for our citizens and one that helps the long term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. It should not be a review for review's sake and reform for reform's sake. The outcome of this review should be beneficial to our citizens and be able to stand the test of history.
From the detailed analysis in part 2 above, we can definitely deduce an overall concept as follows:
If we say that division of work exists in food safety and hygiene matters, then the division as seen in each doing things in his own way, administration "vested with several departments, mutual shifting of responsibilities and the bureaucracy of shielding fellows exists in the duplication of management decisions in respect of food safety by various departments, confusion and unclear division of work.
If we insist that there is no uniform policy on food safety and public hygiene between the two municipal councils, the only example to quote is that by-laws of the Provisional Urban Council for the supervision of sashimi and sushi cover meat consumed in the raw, but that those of the Provisional Regional Council do not. That is the only difference in our food supervision rules. They have not become the reason for the recent spate of food incidents and they have not affected the efficiency of Government in handling urgent food hygiene incidents. In fact, members of the food and environmental hygiene committees of the two councils already held joint meetings to try and solve this discrepancy in their by-laws.
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PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
XI
(8) Study on law amendments to supervise use of sea water in marine
culture and the licensing system.
All in all, in the past year and a half, the two municipal councils including the Provisional Urban Council kept urging government departments to improve their food safety and environmental hygiene work. What I said is an undeniable truth. It is absolutely wrong to suggest that no uniformity of policies of the two municipal councils gave rise to the spate of food incidents. As to the question of division of responsibilities, it happens among various government departments concerned. And of course, there is room for improvement in the Urban Council structure, but it should not constitute powerful ground for the recall of food safety and environmental hygiene functions from the two municipal councils. As such, I believe the reform of district organisations should be practical and realistic.
Part 3: The correct direction for reform in respect of food safety and
environmental hygiene
The correct direction for the review of district organisations to take in respect of food safety and environmental hygiene should be one that benefits the SAR Government in further improving management of food safety and environmental hygiene, one that ensures healthy living for our citizens and one that helps the long term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. It should not be a review for review's sake and reform for reform's sake. The outcome of this review should be beneficial to our citizens and be able to stand the test of history.
From the detailed analysis in part 2 above, we can definitely deduce an overall concept as follows:
If we say that division of work exists in food safety and hygiene matters. then the division as seen in each doing things in his own way, administration "vested with several departments, mutual shifting of responsibilities and the Ibureaucracy of shielding fellows exists in the duplication of management decisions in respect of food safety by various departments, confusion and unclear division of work.
If we insist that there is no uniform policy on food safety and public hygiene Ibetween the two municipal councils, the only example to quote is that by-laws cof the Provisional Urban Council for the supervision of sashimi and sushi cover meat consumed in the raw, but that those of the Provisional Regional Council do not. That is the only difference in our food supervision rules. They thave not become the reason for the recent spate of food incidents and they have not affected the efficiency of Government in handling urgent food hygiene incidents. In fact, members of the food and environmental hygiene committees of the two councils already held joint meetings to try and solve this
discrepancy in their by-laws.
Page 154 of 606*
Page 154 of 6
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