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Chapter 10
Social Welfare
The Government is committed to assisting the needy through the provision of preventive, supportive and remedial welfare services. Alongside providing a social security safety net, it also helps the needy progress 'from welfare to self-reliance'.
The Labour and Welfare Bureau is responsible for formulating social welfare policies and overseeing their implementation by the Social Welfare Department (SWD). The Social Welfare Advisory Committee, the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee, the Elderly Commission and the Women's Commission advise the Government on welfare policy.
In 2009, the total recurrent expenditure of the SWD was $39 billion, of which $27.7 billion (71.1 per cent) was for financial assistance payments, $8.3 billion (21.2 per cent) for recurrent subventions to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the remaining $3.0 billion (7.7 per cent) for departmental expenditure, including $0.7 billion for hire of services.
Major Achievements
Strengthened Support for Families in Need
In 2009, the Government implemented a series of measures to strengthen its services and support for victims of domestic violence. These included:
• introducing the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2009 to extend the scope of the 'Domestic Violence Ordinance' to cover same-sex cohabitants and to amend its short title to 'Domestic and Cohabitation Relationships Violence Ordinance' (the Ordinance);
• increasing the manpower of the Family and Child Protective Services Units and the Clinical Psychological Units in SWD;
• further developing the Batterer Intervention Programme (BIP);
enhancing the support provided by refuge and crisis centres; and