XN000022-1973-02-22 — Page 2

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Thursday, February 22, 1973

FINAL VERSION OF SOCIAL WELFARE WHITE PAPER

Consultative Process Produces Better Document

Joint consultations between the Social Welfare Department and

voluntary agencies, and comments from the community at large, have led to

some changes in the final versions of the white paper on social welfare

in Hong Kong, and its accompanying five-year plan.

The Secretary of the Social Welfare Planning Committee, Mr. Ian

Strachan, says both documents have been revised as a result of comments

received, and both are expected to be sent to the Colonial Secretariat

by the end of this month, for an examination of financial implications, and

the Executive Council soon after.

"More than 200 comments have been received on the draft white

paper, and the Committee has considered them all," Mr. Strachan explains.

"The draft was tabled at the opening session of the Legislative

Council last autumn, and the Committee lost no time after that in seeking

the opinions of the public to help prepare the final text."

In his view, this consultative process has produced "a better white

paper," and the document in its ultimate form "can fairly be said to reflect

the views of the Hong Kong community as a whole."

/In the