79. There are at present in Hong Kong well over a hundred sub- stantial voluntary organizations, and these are devoted to providing welfare services in great variety. In addition to these, there are many purely Chinese organizations, of which the Kaifong Associations are the best known examples, which are dedicated to meeting social needs in various fields; these are more often educational or medical but they also appear in the particular social welfare field with which this report is concerned. To prevent duplication, to co-ordinate services, to plan ahead, or to interpret to the public the need for and extent of such services, various co-ordinating bodies exist. Caritas performs this function for the Catholic agencies; the Hong Kong Christian Welfare and Relief Council is active for the majority of Protestant groups; the Hong Kong Conference of Youth Organizations co-ordinates work within its field. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service has an overall co-ordinating role, with over sixty affiliated organizations.
80. One of the major functions of the Council of Social Service is its information and publicity work, which brings dividends from far beyond the limits of Hong Kong. This is accomplished by such means as a regular news-letter, a booklet listing the affiliated voluntary or- ganizations, an interpretative leaflet, and a Chinese periodical publication; the Council also makes contacts with visitors and local residents who wish to know more about welfare services.
81. Council committees and projects during the past year included the Central Relief Records Office (which helps agencies to avoid duplica- tion or overlapping of their efforts in individual cases), an Employment Assistance Scheme and the Resettlement Loan and Savings Association. The Council has also acted as a medium through which financial con- tributions from various parts of the world may be transmitted to designated agencies or services. A sad loss during the year was the death in September of Miss C. Madge NEWCOMBE, who had given devoted service to the Council as its Executive Secretary. Efforts are now being made to recruit a permanent successor.
82. The Social Welfare Advisory Committee, which is appointed by the Governor, provides the Government with the considered opinions of prominent citizens, many of whom are active in voluntary agencies; all its members, except the Chairman, are private persons who serve in an individual capacity. Its terms of reference are set out in Appendix 3. During the year, it considered applications for subvention from forty-five
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