XN000022-1995-01-11 — Page 59

(b)

(c)

-

48

of the channels through which the public will be consulted during the review period regarding the public's evaluation of the Elderly Services Division; and

whether the content of the report will be made public upon the completion of the review; if not, what are the reasons?

Reply:

(a)

(b)

(c)

The Elderly Services Division in the Health and Welfare Branch was set up shortly after Finance Committee approved the creation of the post for the head of the Division in October 1994. It has, therefore, only recently started its task of overseeing the implementation of the recommendations of the Working Group on Care for the Elderly. The Division is likely to need at least the coming three years to take forward its work. Its effectiveness in so doing will be under constant monitoring and review by both myself and my deputies to whom the head of the Division reports. Whether or not a central committee on services for the elderly should be set up will depend largely on the effectiveness of the new Division in carrying out its tasks.

In addition to being monitored from within the Administration, the work of the Elderly Services Division will, I am sure, also be closely monitored by many outside the Administration, including Members of the Legislative Council. All those affected by the implementation of the Working Group's recommendations will also be well placed to assess the effectiveness of the Division's work and well-established channels exist for non-governmental organizations and service providers to express their views on the way in which the Working Group's recommendations should be implemented. Service users will also be watching closely the implementation process and they, too, have many channels open to them to express their views on it.

In the ways I have described, the work of the Elderly Services Division will be subject to constant review and monitoring from both within and outside the Administration. The impact of its work will affect all those concerned in providing or receiving welfare services for the elderly. The Administration will listen carefully to any views expressed regarding the effectiveness or otherwise of the Division's work. It will take into account these views in reviewing in due course whether the establishment of a central committee on services for the elderly is needed.

End/Wednesday, January 11, 1995