9
Social Welfare
福社
新會
ONCE again 1978 was a year of substantial progress for Hong Kong's social welfare services. Following a thorough and wide-ranging review in 1977 of social security and welfare services, plans were implemented to extend public assistance and old age allowances, to develop more rehabilitation facilities and to increase social work among young people.
Essentially in 1978 the foundation for a broader social welfare initiative was laid. A comprehensive White Paper forming the basis for considerable development and expansion of social welfare services was compiled. The White Paper incorporates the proposals contained in the 1977 Green Papers dealing with development of social security, services for the elderly, and personal social work among Hong Kong's youth. Some $535 million - $528 million in recurrent expenditure and $6.8 million in capital expenditure - is being spent on social welfare in the 1978-9 financial year. During the next five years, $223 million in capital expenditure and an increase of $513 million in the level of recurrent expenditure will be invested in social welfare programmes.
Responsibility for implementing government policies on social security and welfare rests with the Director of Social Welfare, who heads the Social Welfare Department. The government's key areas of interest have been the social security system, services for the aged, increased facilities for the rehabilitation and support of the mentally and physically handicapped, and improved services for certain categories of young people. Major achievements in 1978 included the extension of public assistance to cover the able-bodied unemployed; an 11 per cent increase in all social security payments; the lowering of the minimum age for the old age allowance from 75 to 70; and the in- troduction of an old age supplement for public assistance recipients between the ages of 60 and 70. A scheme has also been introduced in which the marginal earnings of those who are not normally expected to be in full-time employment can be disregarded in assessing entitlement for public assistance. As well, people who have been on public assistance for more than 12 months can now draw a long-term supplement. For those who are dissatisfied with the decisions of social security officials, an independent appeal board has been established. Finally, people who are under residential institu- tional care can now draw a disability or old age allowance, in spite of being in such
care.
Important projects during the year have mainly been in pursuit of the aims of the Social Welfare Five-Year Development Plan and include three new community halls, each serving about 30,000 people in public housing estates; a new, improved design for larger community centres; 1,000 more subvented nursery places, including the first