- 6 ·
→
Increase in public expenditure well within limits
The Government's social welfare policy is to provide welfare services for those who are in genuine need, including the elderly, people with a disability and families in need of financial and other assistance, the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Mrs Katherine Fok, said today (Tuesday) in response to media enquiries about Government's expenditure on social welfare.
This policy is in line with public consensus that the Government should spend more on welfare so as to provide new and improved services for the community, she added.
"To meet these aspirations, we shall be spending a total of $14.9 billion on social welfare this year, representing a 24 per cent increase in real terms over that of last year.
"But we are doing no more than we can afford to do in line with the prudent budgetary guidelines. We shall continue to hold fast to the rule that over time public expenditure grows no faster than the economy as a whole," Mrs Fok said.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, also said the growth rate of the public sector expenditure should be looked at in global terms. Each and every year, he said, the Government set out very clearly its spending proposals, and in this year, the Governor had also done so in his policy address.
"The Government would adhere to a fundamental principle, that is the Government would not spend at a rate higher than that of the growth rate of the economy as a whole.
"This is a very important discipline but within that discipline, the Government has to allow for individual programmes - some to spend more and some to spend less," he said.
In response to the aspirations expressed by the people of Hong Kong and the priorities suggested by Legislative Councillors, Mr Tsang said the Government tended to, in the last few years, spend more on social, welfare and educational programmes.
"It is quite a natural and responsible thing to do. Overall, the Government is still quite well within its expenditure limits," he added.
End/Tuesday, November 28, 1995