ENG-1988 — Page 46

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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Elizabeth Stadium and Hong Kong Coliseum. It is currently engaged in planning for the construction of a major Museum of Science and Technology. A new Museum of Art is also under construction within the Hong Kong Cultural Centre area in Kowloon which will also contain a new concert hall, an opera house and a theatre to complement facilities already being run by the Urban Council elsewhere in the urban areas. The Urban Council promotes cultural performances and runs a comprehensive programme of public enter- tainment throughout the urban areas.

The Urban Council consists of 30 members, 15 elected from district constituencies and 15 appointed by the Governor. The size of the Urban Council will be increased from 30 to 40 members in 1989 with the addition of ten representative members from the urban district boards. It meets in public once a month when it passes by-laws, deals with finances, formal motions and questions on its activities. The routine business of the Urban Council is conducted by the Standing Committee of the Whole Council, supported by 13 select committees and 16 sub-committees.

The Standing Committee now conducts most of its business in public. The Liquor Licensing Board, the Libraries and Food Hygiene Select Committees as well as the Keep Hong Kong Clean Committee have also opened their meetings to the public.

The Urban Council's chief executive is the Director of Urban Services, who controls the operations of the Urban Services Department with a staff of 18 600. The director is charged with carrying out the council's policies and implementing its decisions.

The Urban Council has been financially autonomous since 1973, and during 1988–9 will be spending about $2,530 million on council-controlled activities and projects. The council is financed by a share of the rates which provides about 80 per cent of its income, with the balance coming from various licence fees and other charges.

The council has individual or collective ward offices spread throughout the urban areas where councillors deal with and answer complaints from the public on a great variety of matters. Although the majority of matters raised lie outside the council's jurisdiction, councillors are often able to assist and obtain redress where appropriate from the various government departments and public bodies.

Regional Council'

The Regional Council is the statutory municipal authority for the new towns of Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung/Tsing Yi, Sha Tin, Tuen Mun, Tai Po, Fanling/Sheung Shui and Yuen Long and their hinterlands, as well as the rural areas of Sai Kung and the Islands. Like the Urban Council, the Regional Council is responsible for all matters concerning environmen- tal hygiene, public health, sanitation, liquor licensing and the provision of recreational and cultural facilities and services within its jurisdiction, the Regional Council area, where over two million people live.

The Regional Council consists of 36 members. Twelve of the members are elected directly, nine are elected as representatives of the nine district boards within the Regional Council area and twelve are appointed by the Governor. The remaining three are ex-officio members, being the Chairman and two Vice-Chairmen of the Heung Yee Kuk. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Regional Council are elected by members among themselves.

The Regional Council's policies are implemented by its executive arm, the Regional Services Department, which has a staff of over 9 000.

The Regional Council is financially autonomous. Its main source of revenue comes from rates collected in the Regional Council area which provide about 86 per cent of the total