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Accommodation problem of single elderly persons
Following is a speech by the Secretary for Housing, Mr Dominic Wong, in the motion debate on accommodation problem of single elderly persons in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Mr President,
I have listened with interest to comments made by Honourable Members on the need to provide adequate accommodation and care for single elderly people, and am grateful for their views and suggestions. I shall respond briefly to the main points raised.
Policy commitments
In the past two decades at least, the Government has placed great emphasis on providing accommodation for the elderly in public housing estates. In his Policy Addresses in 1993 and 1994, the Governor again stressed our intention to meet the housing needs of elderly people. Specifically, we have pledged to clear, by 1997, the backlog of about 4,000 single elderly people on the public housing Waiting List in 1993. We have undertaken to give priority to elderly people who apply for public housing, and to families living together with elderly members. We will tackle the problem of some 27,000 elderly people living in sub-standard accommodation, who have not yet come forward to register on the Waiting List for public housing. This is an ambitious but still realistic programme.
Giving priority to the elderly
The Housing Authority fulfils these commitments by according priority housing allocation to eligible elderly people through three complementary schemes. First, under the Elderly Persons Priority Scheme, elderly people who are willing to share accommodation will normally be allocated a flat within two years after registration. Second, to encourage families to look after their elderly members, the Families with Elderly Persons Priority Scheme shortens by three years the waiting time for housing allocation to families with one or more elderly members. Third, priority is given to single elderly people applying for public housing. To date, half of the 4,000 single elderly registered on the Waiting List in 1993 have already been rehoused, and we will rehouse the remainder by 1997.