XN000022-1975-09-03 — Page 3

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1975

HONG KONG APPROACH TO SOCIAL WELFARE PLANNING PROVES EFFECTIVE

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THERE IS EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE HONG KONG APPROACH TO SOCIAL WELFARE PLANNING HAS PROVED EFFECTIVE AND THE DEVELOPMENT TARGETS UP TO NOW HAD BEEN LARGELY ACHIEVED, THE DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE, MR. THOMAS LEE, SAID TODAY.

IN A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE GENERAL MEETING OF THE I.C.S.W. CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL WELFARE PLANNING IN HONG KONG' MR. LEE DESCRIBES THE HONG KONG EXPERIENCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOR THE EXPANSION OF SOCIAL WELFARE IN FULL PARTNERSHIP WITH THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR.

HE SAID HONG KONG'S EXPERIENCE IN FORMULATING SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY AND ITS MODEL ON JOINT PLANNING, REVIEW AND EVALUATION HAVE MET WITH APPROVAL DURING PREVIOUS INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL CONFERENCES OF 1.C.S.W. IN ADDITION IT HAS ALSO

RECEIVED FAVOURABLE COMMENTS IN THE 1973 'REGIONAL SURVEY ON SOCIAL WELFARE TRENDS BY THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC WHICH STATED

+ALTHOUGH ALL THE COUNTRIES IN THE REGION ARE TRYING HARD TO CRYSTALLIZE THEIR OBJECTIVES INTO A WELL-DEFINED SOCIAL POLICY, A LACK OF PRECISE AND COMPREHENSIVE DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY REMAINS ONE OF THE MAJOR HANDICAPS, LEADING TO UNCERTAIN PRIORITIES AND A LESS REWARDING USE OF RESOURCES. THERE HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTS TO FORMULATE A COHERENT, AND CONSOLIDATED SOCIAL POLICY STATEMENT IN TERMS OF LONG-RANGE GOALS AND IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIC MEASURES TO ACHIEVE THEM. HONG KONG IS PROBABLY THE FIRST COUNTRY TO HAVE DECLARED SUCH STATEMENT. +

MR. LEE RETRACED THE DEVELOPMENTS OF SOCIAL WELFARE IN HONG KONG IN THE EARLY DAYS AND HOW THIS LED TO THE CURRENT TREND IN SOCIAL WELFARE PLANNING INVOLVING BOTH THE GOVERNMENT AND THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR.

HE SAID THAT IN THE EARLY POST WAR YEARS, THE GOVERNMENT AND THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR WORKED ON TWO PARALLELS, BUT BY THE 1960'S IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT HONG KONG LACKED A STATEMENT OF POLICY AND AIMS. THIS LED TO THE PUBLICATION IN 1965 OF THE FIRST WHITE PAPER WHICH ATTEMPTED TO IDENTIFY THE AREAS OF GREATEST NEED AND TO RELATE THESE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SERVICES TO MEET THOSE NEEDS.

THE PAPER ALSO ATTEMPTED TO DEFINE MORE PRECISELY THE ROLE TO BE PLAYED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR.

AS A FIRST STEP, A SOCIAL WELFARE PLANNING COMMITTEE WAS SET UP AND GIVEN THE TASK OF PRODUCING A NEW WHITE PAPER ON SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES WITH THE FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOR SOCIAL WELFARE DEVELOPMENT COVERING THE PERIOD 1973-78. THE COMMITTEE COMPRISED REPRESENTATIVES OF BOTH GOVERNMENT AND VOLUNTARY AGENCIES.

/+THIS DIRECT