WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1981
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BIG BOOST FOR CHILD CARE
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THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT HAS SET ASIDE MORE THAN $37.8 MILLION FOR SUBSIDISING AND INCREASING THE NUMBER OF CHILD CARE PLACES IN 1981-82,
THIS IS NEARLY $6 MILLION MORE THAN IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR AND 3 700 TIMES MORE THAN THE $10 000 PROVIDED IN 1957.
MR LAU KAI-CHUEN, HEAD OF THE CHILD CARE CENTRES ADVISORY INSPECTORATE, SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY) THE GOVERNMENT RECOGNISED THE NEED TO INCREASE THE SERVICE AND HAD PROVIDED 1 875 MORE SUBVENTED NURSERY PLACES FOR WORKING PARENTS, PARTICULARLY THOSE WITH LOW-INCOMES.
+THESE NEW PLACES WILL INVOLVE A TOTAL ANNUAL RECURRENT SUBVENTION OF $4.1 MILLION, WITH CAPITAL COSTS TO BE MET BY LOTTERIES FUND GRANTS IN MOST CASES,+ HE SAID.
THEY WILL BOOST THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SUBVENTED CHILD CARE PLACES TO 13 556, HE ADDED,
PLANS ARE ALSO IN HAND TO EXTEND TWO RESIDENTIAL CENTRES RUN BY VOLUNTARY AGENCIES TO PROVIDE AN EXTRA 74 SUBVENTED PLACES FOR CHILDREN AGED UP TO SIX YEARS.
MR LAU SAID ABOUT $24.6 MILLION WOULD BE SPENT ON SUBSIDISING 10 093 EXISTING PLACES IN 91 DAY NURSERIES IN 1981-82, $3.2 MILLION ON 913 PLACES IN 19 DAY CRENCHES AND $5.1 MILLION ON 384 PLACES IN FOUR RESIDENTIAL CENTRES.
HE SAID THE MONTHLY GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY FOR EACH CHILD IN A DAY NURSERY HAD GONE UP TO $194, COMPARED WITH THE $10 IN 1967.
AT PRESENT, ABOUT 17 250 CHILDREN ARE RECEIVING PROPER CARE IN 208 REGISTERED CHILD CARE CENTRES, INCLUDING 82 PRIVATELY RUN AND SIX NON-PROF IT MAKING SELF-SUPPORTING CENTRES.
+ALL REGISTERED CHILD CARE CENTRES ARE REGULARLY VISITED BY OUR INSPECTORATE STAFF TO ENSURE THEIR STANDARDS OF SERVICE ARE ADEQUATE AND OF BENEFIT TO CHILDREN UNDER CARE, HE SAID.
HONG KONG INDUSTRIES IN 1978
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THE JANUARY 1981 ISSUE OF THE HONG KONG MONTHLY DIGEST OF STATISTICS - NOW ON SALE CONTAINS A SPECIAL REVIEW ENTITLED +HONG KONG'S INDUSTRIES IN 1978+.
THE ARTICLE PRESENTS SOME OF THE SALIENT FINDINGS OBTAINED FROM THE 1978 SURVEY OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, CONDUCTED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT BETWEEN 1979 AND 1980 ON THE STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE OF THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR.
THE 1978 SURVEY OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IS THE SECOND BENCHMARK ECONOMIC CENSUS OF ITS KIND IN HONG KONG SINCE 1973. IT COVERED THE ACTIVITIES OF MINING AND QUARRYING, MANUFACTURING, AND THE SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY, GAS AND WATER.
THE MAIN