TNAG-0876-FCO40-1086-Development-of-social-welfare-policy-in-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 84

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1

The development of social welfare in Hong Kong in the past five years has been guided by the 1973 White Paper "The Way Ahead", supplemented by the Social Welfare Five Year Development Plan which deals with the practical implementation of the broad principles and priorities set out in the White Paper. In 1977, the Government carried out a thorough review of its social welfare programmes and subsequently published three Green Papers making recommen- dations for the further development of social security, services for the elderly and personal social work among young people. The voluntary sector was consulted both during the preparation of these Green Papers and following their publication. The community's views were obtained by various methods including briefing sessions with community leaders, distribution of explanatory leaflets on the Government's proposals, separate opinion surveys and direct comments from individuals and organizations. The proposals in the three Green Papers were also separately debated in the Legislative Council.

1.2

This White Paper is the culmination of wide public consultation. It sets out the broad basis on which the Government believes social welfare should now develop in Hong Kong. These developments are anchored very firmly to the particular needs of Hong Kong within its political, social and economic environment. They reaffirm the Government's belief that financial help should continue to be concentrated on those who are least able to help themselves, which means primarily those in vulnerable groups the poor, the elderly and the disabled. At the same time, direct services, particularly for the elderly and for vulnerable young people, need to be developed, and their quality improved, for people who cannot manage without these services.

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1.3

The Five Year Plan for Social Welfare Development is an essential corollary to this White Paper since it deals separately with each of the major areas of social welfare and sets out the actual programmes of development which will give effect to the principles and priorities laid down. in this White Paper. This Plan is reviewed each year to ensure that it remains up-to-date. The pre- paration of the Five Year Plan involves considerable planning effort and demonstrates in a practical manner the genuine partnership that exists between the Government and the voluntary agencies in providing social welfare services in Hong Kong.

1.4

The programme of development set out in this White Paper takes a major step forward in improving the quality of life for the people of Hong Kong. No programme, however, can with- stand the test of time without change. The Five Year Plan already provides an effective means of learning about and co-ordinating the initiatives of voluntary agencies, monitoring progress and adjusting priorities. Greater attention should be paid to reviewing the scope of social welfare services to ensure that they keep pace with the overall development of Hong Kong and the rising expectations of its people, and that the standards of service set are realistic so that they can reach the whole of each client group as soon as possible.

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