As production has lifted, new measures under the rational allocation of housing policy and new incentives for ownership have kicked in, we have had the satisfaction of witnessing increasing mobility, record numbers of new owners and a significant decrease in the number of families on the waiting list for public housing. From this point of view, it has been an excellent year for the Housing Authority. 
  
It has also been a year of unusual stresses and strains, two of which merit special mention. One relates to the increasing tempo of the production programme, the other to the prospective change in the way management services are delivered.
  
The Authority is currently going through a production "peak", a useful but misleading metaphor. It suggests a slow climb, a rest at the summit and a leisurely descent. In fact the "peak" is the crest of an enormous wave which is rolling through our lives, impacting on every part of the Authority at different times over a five-year period. The first to feel the pressure were the planners and architects. Next hit were those who prepare and assess contracts for tender. Currently it is the turn of the engineers supervising foundation work. Next it will affect the building of the superstructure, moving through finishing, the taking over of flats, sales, allocation, decoration, occupation, and of course the letting of commercial facilities and other ancillary services.
  
The policy is to produce an average of 50,000 housing units a year. The Department is staffed to produce 35,000 with any excess out-sourced. In reality, the unevenness of land supply has resulted in completions climbing from around 20,000 units two years ago, to 28,500 last year. Some 58,000 are forecast for the current year and over 90,000 next year. Thereafter we hope to settle to a more even rhythm, but for the next three years the tempo will be intense, with work going on some 200,000 units at any one time. This is neither healthy for staff nor the industry, but I take comfort from the fact that a committee chaired by the Financial Secretary has managed to secure a much more even supply of land for the Authority over the next decade.
  
The second source of strain for staff this year has been the transformation of tenants into owners. The fact that the latter will have the right to choose their own management services provider caused the Authority to opt for a pre-emptive out-sourcing policy, the phased transfer of management services. By phasing the process and requiring successful bidders to hire a proportion of Department staff, we will facilitate the transfer of those who are willing to leave the service for the private sector. My aim is to secure a staff package that is attractive and flexible enough to meet all needs, including those interested in setting up their own company. Staff are understandably anxious while details of new contracts and release packages are hammered out, but to their great credit they have continued in a restrained manner without any disruption to normal services.
  
The sale of flats to tenants has also raised the longer-term question of what the Authority should do with older unsaleable properties. Almost all HA properties built after 1980 are of saleable quality. However, not all pre-1980 estates are included in the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme. We have begun to give some thought to this "sandwich" group of estates and are cooperating with the Planning Department on four urban restructuring studies.
  
We are taking four older urban areas, where we are the major stakeholder, and asking how, in partnership with the private sector, we would develop them if it were possible to clear the sites completely. Using the existing estates as potential spaces for a wider urban area will ultimately result in more value for the community.
  
In closing, I would like to pay tribute to all my colleagues for the professionalism displayed throughout this period of intense activity, policy and institutional changes. The new millennium will bring new challenges, we are ready for them.
 

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