TNAG-0847-FCO40-1057-Visits-of-Sir-Murray-MacLehose--Governor-of-Hong-Kong--to-th-1979 — Page 76

RUCIAL Develorn, iris. In nonů Lulu

1. The publicly declared policy of the long Long Government is to

ensure that social services in the territory are equal to the beet

available in any of the countries in the region apart from Japan.

upending on the cocial services now accounts for 16% of long long

Government expenditure. Lue main elements in the social development

programme are:

Housing"

hig

./public

?. The Government housing programme has so far rovided homes for

Lore than . million people (16% of the population;

housing is now being built at a rate of -35,000 units a year -

sufficient to house some 200,000 peorlu.

rulele was drawn

up with the intention of providinį ublic moucing for 927 of the anticipated polution by the mid-eighties, and then montaining it

at tuat lovel. his would have met the full cement for subsidized

Government Lccommodation. honover, the progre...e in now being

threatened by the very high level of immigration from China, and it

seems probable that the full demand for Government housing will not

now be met w.til some years after the original target date.

5.

The influx of immigrants from Child des ColuClGcd wzill a bilgut

reduction in the targets for new rublic housing. Inid vus necessary beck use of the strain that were bein, placed on the hong kong

economy by the excessive demands of the construction industry (a

situation that was, however, partly caused by the unexpectedly ligh

level of private housing construction - also ruming at some 30,000

units per year).

/Lducation