Future district councils in Hong Kong should focus on collecting opinions from residents and leave the implementation of services to Home Affairs Department care teams, Chief Secretary Eric Chan said on Thursday.

In an interview with Ming Pao, Chan said he hopes district councillors will focus on their responsibility to act as advisers to the government, in line with the Basic Law.

"What service does the community need? What opinions do residents have? We need district councils to research and convey people's viewpoints to the government," he said.

Chan explained that the care teams, who provide community support services, will collaborate with the councils to enhance district-level governance.

He also said that while the government has a responsibility to promote the district council elections on December 10, including explaining the meaning of voting, it will not compel anybody to cast a ballot.