TNAG-0569-FCO40-702-Planning-paper-on-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 122

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(c) an education plan to provide by 1979 education up to the age of 14 for all children in Hong Kong and five years secondary schooling up to 16 for 40% of the children;

(a) a plan to expand medical and health services by building four new hospitals and to provide greater training

facilities for staff.

These plans have suffered some delay due to the economic recession and the consequent weakening of the fiscal base; but there is reason to hope that, with the upturn in the economy, the momentum will again pick up.

9.

The Governor's commitment to social reform is well recognised,

even by Hong Kong's critics in this country; and he has achieved striking success in harnessing general public opinion in support of long-term and coherent plans for social progress which is influencing important sections of opinion most resistant to change. However,

consideration of what more can be done needs to take account of the

pattern over the past eight years or so. Government expenditure on social programmes has, of course, increased enormously: from HK$728m at current prices in 1967/68 to an estimated HK$2,720m in 1974/75. The proportion of social spending of total revenue has risen much more slowly during these years from 39.4% to 40% (but there are plans for increasing this to 48% by 1979-80). To a large extent this reflects the demands for expenditure on essential community services such as roads, water etc without which Hong Kong would have ceased to be viable. The indications would seem to be

that any significant acceleration in social spending requires either a substantial growth in the economy or greatly increased Government resources from the existing economy, and probably both. Indeed without such resources the total quantity of housing to be built over the next ten years will be similar to that over the past ten years even though the quality will be higher. And the growing sophistication of Hong Kong industry would seem to point to the imperative need, over the next decade, for a further extension of compulsory education; and for an increase, and improvement, in secondary and technical education.

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/10.