XN000022-1979-04-25 — Page 7

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 1979

PUBLIC COMMENTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES WHITE PAPER

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THE DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE, THE HON. THOMAS LEE, SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY) THE WHITE PAPER +SOCIAL WELFARE INTO THE 1980'S+ HAD TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION THE POINTS RAISED IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL DEBATE ON THE SUBJECT LAST YEAR,

SPEAKING IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, MR. LEE SAID ACCOUNT HAD ALSO BEEN TAKEN OF THE COMMENTS BY THE PUBLIC AND INTERESTED ORGANISATIONS ON THE THREE GREEN PAPERS FROM WHICH THE WHITE PAPER, TABLED AT THE COUNCIL THIS AFTERNOON, HAD DEVELOPED.

HE SAID FURTHER CONSULTATIONS HAD BEEN HELD WITH THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR THROUGH THE HONG KONG COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, AND THE ADVICE OF THE SOCIAL WELFARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAD BEEN OBTAINED.

THE THREE GREEN PAPERS, ON SOCIAL SECURITY DEVELOPMENT, SERVICES FOR THE ELDERLY AND PERSONAL SOCIAL WORK AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE, WERE PUBLISHED IN 1977 FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION AND COMMENT.

MR. LEE SAID THE WHITE PAPER ALSO INCLUDED STATEMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT'S POLICY FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT IN THE OTHER SOCIAL WELFARE AREAS COVERED BY THE 1973 WHITE PAPER +THE WAY AHEAD+, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF REHABILITATION SERVICES WHICH WERE THE SUBJECT OF A SEPARATE WHITE PAPER PUBLISHED IN 1977.

HE SAID WHILE THE EXPANSION OF SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THE 1973 WHITE PAPER HAD BEEN DRAMATIC, ONE OF THE MAJOR CONSTRAINTS ON DEVELOPMENT OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS WAS LIKELY TO BE THE SHORTAGE OF TRAINED SOCIAL WORKERS.

HOWEVER, HE SAID, THE GOVERNMENT IS ACTIVELY TAKING STEPS TO INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF TRAINED MANPOWER, FOR EXAMPLE, BY AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOLS OF SOCIAL WORK AT THE UNIVERSITIES AND THE POLYTECHNIC, AND TO ENSURE THAT THE MANPOWER AVAILABLE IS USED IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY.

+ I BELIEVE, THEREFORE,

THEREFORE, THAT THE PROPOSALS MADE IN THIS WHITE PAPER ARE REALISTIC GOALS THAT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THIS AND OTHER POSSIBLE LIMITING FACTORS, HE SAID.

THERE IS, MOREOVER, WELL-ESTABLISHED MACHINERY FOR REVIEWING AND ADJUSTING ALL SOCIAL WELFARE PLANNING TARGETS ANNUALLY IN THE LIGHT OF CHANGING NEEDS AND IMPROVED PLANNING INFORMATION, HE ADDED.

+TAK ING INTO CONSIDERATION ALL THESE FACTORS, I BELIEVE THAT THE WHITE PAPER LAID ON THE TABLE TODAY PROVIDES A SOUND AND POSITIVE BASIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES IN THE 1980'S, HE SAID.

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