TNAG-1723-FCO40-2436-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 41

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 13 January 1988

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oviding a 'respite service' by which temporary accommodation for the elderly uld be provided in order to give those who look after them a break from these duties from time to time.

Sir, I understand that there are proposals for several academic studies of services for the elderly which will include research into the problems faced by people who provide home care. I look forward with interest to seeing the findings of these studies in due course, and I hope that they will shed more light on this subject.

MR. LIU (in Cantonese): Sir, the third paragraph of the reply says that there is the proposal for several academic studies of services for the elderly. What groups are involved in conducting these studies and has the Government volunteered to carry out such studies in order to improve the services for the elderly?

SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Sir, I understand that the two studies. are proposed by the Hong Kong University Social Work Department and a further study by the City Polytechnic. It seems most appropriate for these studies to be carried out by academic institutions but I am sure that the Social Welfare Department and the agencies will always be willing to co-operate in providing information to make these studies more successful.

MR. POON CHI-FAI (in Cantonese): Sir, in the first paragraph of the main reply, it says that a variety of services are provided for the elderly. Will Government inform this Council whether any assessment of these services has been undertaken and whether these services are adequate for the elderly in Hong Kong? And in connection with these services, how long does it take for an application to come through, especially for homes for the aged?

SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Sir, there are a wide range of services, both day services such as day care centres, multi-service centres, social centres, and services like home help, and also of course the longer-term residential centres such as homes and care and attention homes. There are programmes for providing all of these services. None of them we would claim are absolutely sufficient at the moment. But in all cases there are programmes for providing more centres and we hope that within the next five to 10 years there will be sufficient services to meet the demand.

Government loan facilities and indebtedness of police officers

5. DR. TSE asked (in Cantonese): Will Government inform this Council what loan funds are available to police officers through government sources; whether there is still any problem of police officers being indebted to unlawful money- lenders since the introduction of these funds and, if so, what measures are being taken to deal with this problem?