ENG-2012 — Page 32

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Constitution and Administration

The 18 District Councils (DCs) have a total of 507 members, comprising 412 elected members, 68 appointed members and 27 ex officio members (the chairmen of rural committees in the New Territories). Their current term of office runs for four years from 1 January 2012. The DCs' main function is to advise the Government on matters affecting the well-being of the people in the districts, and on the provision and use of public facilities and services there. The Government also consults the DCs on a wide range of issues. The DCS carry out minor works projects and community involvement projects, for each of which programmes the Government allocated $320 million in the 2012-13 financial year. The Government has undertaken to increase the annual provision for district minor works projects progressively to $400 million within the current and next District Council term (ie by the end of 2019).

The District Management Committees (DMC) are government committees chaired by the District Officers. Each DMC comprises the chairman, vice-chairman and committee chairmen of the DC and representatives of Government departments providing essential services in the district. The DMC serves as a forum for consultation, co-ordination and collaboration between different departments and the DC to help resolve inter-departmental district issues and to ensure that district needs are met promptly. There are also 63 Area Committees (ACs). ACs are district-based advisory committees which help organise community involvement activities, advise on local issues and promote public participation in district affairs. Their members are drawn from a wide spectrum of the community, including DC members of the areas concerned.

Twenty Public Enquiry Service Centres (PESCs), attached to the District Offices, provide a wide range of free services to the public, including answering general enquiries about government services, distributing government forms and disseminating information and administering declarations. Members of the public seeking legal advice can make appointments at the centres to see volunteer lawyers under the Free Legal Advice Scheme administered by the Duty Lawyer Service. Staff from the Rating and Valuation Department are also available at five designated centres on specified days to advise on tenancy matters. The PESCs and the Home Affairs Department's Central Telephone Enquiry Centre served a total of 2.1 million clients in 2012.

The Electoral System

Electoral System for the Legislative Council

The composition of the first to fifth terms of the Legislative Council is as follows:

Membership

First term

(1998-2000)

Second term

(2000-2004)

Third &

Fourth term

(2004-2008

and

2008-2012)

(a) elected by geographical

constituencies through direct elections

Fifth Term

(2012-2016)

20

24

30

35

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