XN000022-1973-02-28 — Page 30

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Wednesday, February 28, 1973

SOCIAL WELFARE SUBVENTIONS

Methods Of Administration Under Review

The growing importance

subventions, coupled with comments of

the Director of Audit, has caused the Government to review the methode of

administering them.

The Financial Secretary, the Hon. C.P. Haddon-Cave said this in his

Budget speech at the Legislative Council this afternoon.

An inter-departmental working party, he said, has examined medical

subventions and the Director of Medical and Health has introduced administrative

improvements in consequence.

"So as to improve the level of assistance, we have also changed the

way in which hospitals subvented on a cost-per-bed basis are assisted as

explained in the Memorandum Note on Head 76 Subventions:

Medical."

In the coming year, he said the working party will be looking at

social welfare subventions and, if time permits, education subventions in the

context of the unified code of aid as introduced for the coming academic year.

Mr. Haddon-Cave said he had also been concerned at the amount of work

involved in processing social welfare subventions by the Social Welfare Department,

by the Social Welfare Advisory Committee and by the Finance Branch of the

Secretariat.

"I have put forward proposals for changing present procedures to my

Honourable friend, the Director of Social Welfare.

"These

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