ment itself did not set up a Social Welfare Office until 1948 and it was not until 1958 that a separate Social Welfare Department came into being. Hong Kong has always had many Chinese organizations anxious to contribute to the social services. It has been equally fortunate in the religious and welfare organizations which have contributed to its needs through money, goods, time, thought, prayer and service. The Social Welfare Department once again acknowledges these services to the community, without which most of the official welfare available would fail to meet the present needs of the people, to say nothing of the future. Social welfare services in many countries are developed through the combined efforts of government and voluntary organizations, and this is the case in Hong Kong, where as elsewhere, it is necessary that official and voluntary effort should share the same goals and work in mutual understanding. This concept lies behind much of the state- ment of aims and policy for social welfare which was approved after two days of debate in the Legislative Council in May 1965 and which attracted much public comment in press and private circles. The official policy for this department may be summarized as to ensure that basic social welfare services, whether official or voluntary, are available to those persons who are found, on inquiry by trained and skilled social workers, to be in need. Throughout the year officers of the department have worked in the closest collaboration with the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, to which reference is made below, and its member agencies, in drafting a comprehensive plan which will translate this policy into a realistic programme for the next five years.
135. Work has begun on the final chapter of this plan. Continued voluntary effort is inevitable were citizens have a sense of responsibility for the well-being of their fellows and those who suggest that voluntary work is no longer valid ignore not only the experience of the more advanced countries but also the positive values of voluntary work. However the respective roles of voluntary and official welfare work in the community call for review from time to time in the light of changing circumstances, and while there is no reason to doubt the possibility of further expansion in the voluntary field it is possible that if services are to cover a wider spectrum of activity and of the population, as many people urge, greater emphasis may presently have to be placed on official participation.
136. There are a hundred or so substantial voluntary welfare organizations in Hong Kong devoted wholly or in part to providing
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