TNAG-1609-FCO40-22131-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1987 — Page 159

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between 65 and 69, who have not previously been eligible.

All those aged 70 and over will be eligible for the new

higher rate of Old Age Allowance without having to declare

their income.

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24.

Mr. Hui referred to the need for manpower

planning, for the implementation of agreed manning ratios

with the

in welfare services and better training opportunities.

Manpower planning is a very inexact science at the best of

times and fluctuations in the resources available from

year to year make it even more difficult to produce

accurate forecasts of the number of social workers who can

be recruited. After several years in which the number of

social work graduates exceeded the vacancies in the

pepartment and the agencies, this year the increased

provision of funds has meant that there are not enough

trained social workers to fill all the posts. Hence the

need to retain the scheme for recruiting graduates in

other subjects and giving them post-graduate in-service

training in social work.

35. So far as training programmes are concerned, I am

sure that Members will be pleased to hear that the Royal

Hong Kong Jockey Club has recently donated $6 million to

the Social Work Training Fund, which will enable the Pund

to sponsor more in-service training for social workers.

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