XN000022-1987-03-19 — Page 15

THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 1987

13

IMPROVEMENTS IN QUALITY OF WELFARE SERVICES NEEDED

*****

THE 1987-88 BUDGET HAS HARDLY MADE ANY PROVISION FOR IMPROVING THE BASIC STANDARD OF SERVICES ESSENTIAL TO THE LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE IN HONG KONG, THE HON HUI YIN-FAT SAID TODAY (THURSDAY).

SPEAKING AT THE RESUMED BUDGET DEBATE, MR HUI NOTED THAT THE $625 MILLION SOCIAL WELFARE SUBVENTION FOR THE YEAR 1987-88 REPRESENTED ONLY MORE THAN ONE PER CENT OF THE TOTAL BUDGET.

+ON THE OTHER HAND SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS, AMOUNTING TO $1 767 MILLION, ABSORBS SOME FOUR PER CENT OF THE TOTAL BUDGET, OR 63 PER CENT OF TOTAL ALLOCATION FOR SOCIAL WELFARE,+ HE SAID.

HE SAID THAT WHILE THE PERCENTAGE INCREASES FOR INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES APPEARED TO BE LARGE, RANGING FROM 37 PER CENT FOR REHABILITATION SERVICES TO 18 PER CENT FOR FAMILY SERVICES, THE BULK OF SOCIAL WELFARE SUBVENTION WAS DESIGNATED FOR MAINTAINING EXISTING SERVICES AND FUNDING NEW PROJECTS. ONLY A SMALL SUM WAS LEFT OVER FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF SERVICES.

MR HUI ALSO NOTED THAT REHABILITATION, ONE OF THE MOST DEPRIVED SERVICE AREAS, WAS GIVEN ONLY $500 000 TO RAISE THE QUALITY OF SERVICE.

+THESE FIGURES ONLY ATTEST TO THE EXTREMELY LOW PRIORITY AWARDED TO THE QUALITY OF SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES WHEN THE GOVERNMENT DREW UP ITS BUDGET ESTIMATES,+ HE SAID.

MR HUI SAID THAT CHILD ABUSE CASES SUCH AS THE KWOK AH-NUI CASE, TRAGIC DEATHS IN CHILD CARE INSTITUTIONS, INCREASING NUMBER OF DIVORCE CASES, FREQUENT INCIDENTS OF GANG FIGHTS AMONG SCHOOL DROP- OUTS AND THE GROWING WAITING LIST TO HOMES FOR THE AGED WERE GLARING EXAMPLES OF FAILURES IN PROVIDING TIMELY REMEDIES TO PEOPLE IN NEED.

HE ADDED THAT THESE FAILURES WERE LARGELY ATTRIBUTED TO THE UNREALISTICALLY LOW MANNING RATIO OF HONG KONG'S SOCIAL WORK FORCE AS WELL AS THE STRENGTH AND LACK OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF WELFARE WORKERS. THIS WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY SERVICE STANDARDS HAD TO BE IMPROVED, HE SAID.

THESE WERE REASONABLE, ACCEPTABLE STANDARDS PRODUCED THROUGH PAINSTAKING EFFORTS MADE BY BOTH GOVERNMENT AND VOLUNTARY AGENCIES IN THE ON-GOING FIVE-YEAR PLAN REVIEW EXERCISE, HE SAID.

+ IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY HAS NEGLECTED THE COMMITMENTS THE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE TO ITS WELFARE PLANS, SO MUCH SO THAT ALL THE HARD WORK OF THE FIVE-YEAR PLAN REVIEW HAS GONE DOWN THE DRAIN,+ HE SAID.

/MR HUI