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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1980
GOVERNMENT POLICY IN MONITORING AND IMPROVING SOCIAL SERVICES
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THE SECRETARY FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, THE HON E.P. HO, TODAY (WEDNESDAY) OUTLINED THE GOVERNMENT POLICY IN MONITORING AND IMPROVING SOCIAL SERVICES.
SPEAKING AT THE RESUMED BUDGET DEBATE IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, MR HO SAID THE GOVERNMENT HAD COMPREHENSIVE STATEMENTS OF ITS POLICY IN MAJOR AREAS OF SOCIAL SERVICES: ALL PUBLISHED AFTER PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND DEBATE.
IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION THE 1974 WHITE PAPER SET OUT A BLUEPRINT FOR THE PROVISION OF THREE YEARS OF JUNIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION FOR ALL, WHICH HAS NOW BEEN ACHIEVED, WHILE THE 1978 WHITE PAPER COVERED THE DEVELOPMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION.
+THE GREEN PAPER ON PRIMARY EDUCATION AND PRE-PRIMARY SERVICES WHICH HAS BEEN FINALISED AND IS IN THE COURSE OF BEING PRINTED WILL COMPLETE THE PICTURE WHEN, AFTER ANY NECESSARY AMENDMENT IN THE LIGHT OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION, IT BECOMES A WHITE PAPER.+
TO MAKE DOUBLY SURE THAT THE PLANS ARE ON THE RIGHT LINES AND BEFORE THEY HAVE PROGRESSED TOO FAR, MR HO SAID THE GOVERNMENT ENVISAGED AN OVERALL REVIEW AS ADVISED BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, TO LOOK AT THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AS A WHOLE. +DISCUSSIONS ARE IN PROGRESS ON THE MODALITIES FOR THE ASSEMBLY OF A SUITABLE TEAM FOR THIS TASK, + MR HO SAID.
ON MEDICAL SERVICES AND REHABILITATION, MR HO SAID, THE GOVERNMENT HAD PUBLISHED THE 1974 AND 1977 WHITE PAPERS RESPECTIVELY, WHILE SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY WAS SET OUT IN THE WHITE PAPER PUBLISHED IN APRIL LAST YEAR.
MR HO ADDED THAT FOR DETAILED PLANNING PURPOSES, THE GOVERNMENT HAD A SERIES OF PROGRAMME PLANS AND OTHER PLANNING DOCUMENTS. WHICH TURNED THE BASIC POLICIES INTO PRACTICAL PROGRAMMES SETTING OUT ESTIMATES OF DEMAND FOR SERVICES, PLANNING RATIOS, BUILDING PROGRAMMES, STAFF TRAINING ARRANGEMENTS AND ALL THE MULTIPLICITY OF ELEMENTS WHICH WERE NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT THE GOVERNMENT'S STATED POLICIES WERE IMPLEMENTED.
MR HO POINTED OUT THAT THESE PLANS AND PROGRAMMES WERE SUBJECT TO A VIRTUALLY CONTINUOUS PROCESS OF MONITORING AND REVIEW. +IN ALL THESE PROCESSES THE LATEST RELEVANT DATA ARE REVIEWED, PROGRESS CHECKED, AND RELATIVE PRIORITIES ADJUSTED, HE SAID.
ON THE PROGRESS OF THE 1978 WHITE PAPER ON SENIOR SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION ON DEVELOPMENT OF ADULT EDUCATION, MR HO SAID THE PAPER LINKED THE DEVELOPMENT OF RETRIEVAL ADULT EDUCATION COURSES WITH ASSISTING VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS TO COMPLEMENT AND SUPPLEMENT THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT'S OWN COURSES THROUGH A SCHEME OF SUBVENTION AND IN THIS CONNECTION THE POSSIBLE USE OF BORROWED SCHOOL PREMISES BY THESE VOLUNTARY AGENCIES AFTER NORMAL SCHOOL HOURS SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED.
/BEFORE FINAL JO