TNAG-1729-FCO40-2442-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 102

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of age, illness, disability or other reasons,

are unable

to share in the general prosperity. It is for this reason

that a responsible govenment must provide adequate social

services to ensure that the less fortunate members of our

society are properly cared for. It does not seem to me to

be unreasonable that a significant proportion of the

fruits of Hong Kong's prosperity should be used for this

purpose.

9/50

le

B.

Mr. Stephen Cheong proposed that means-testing

· should be used to ensure that help is concentrated on

those who really need it. We do of course means-test the

provision of some services, particularly those where cash

payments are involved, such as Public Assistance and the

fee assistance scheme for day nurseries, but we have to

remember that means-testing is often difficult and

expensive to administer, and therefore is not always

cost-effective.

?/cap

Medical and Health Services

بھر

Several members made particular reference to the

undoubted fact that the cost of providing medical

services, particularly hospital services, is rising more

rapidly than that of other social services and faster than

the general rate of inflation. This is a problem which is

facing health adminstrations throughout the world and

which was brought out in the Scott Report on the hospital

system. The consultants suggested that there might be a

a case-for--some adjustment to the proportions of the cost