ENG-1975 — Page 148

SOCIAL WELFARE

Probation and Correction

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The probation and corrections division of the department has social workers deployed throughout Hong Kong and is responsible for the supervision of offenders placed on probation, the operation of correctional institutions, and for undertaking such social enquiries as may be directed by the courts for the purpose of determining and reviewing sentences or for the consideration of petitions for clemency.

There are five correctional institutions catering for boys and girls of different age groups. These are the O Pui Shan and Castle Peak Homes, which are reformatory schools for boys; the Begonia Road Boys' Home, which is a combination of a remand home, probation home and place of refuge; the Ma Tau Wei Home, which provides similar facilities for girls; and the Kwun Tong Hostel, which is for youths between the ages of 16 and 21 who are on probation and who, as a special condition imposed by the courts, are required to reside under supervision for a period not exceeding one year. The total capacity of these institutions is 584. For offenders released on licence, the division provides an aftercare service to bridge the gap between life in a reforma- tory school and in the community.

Voluntary agencies which assist in the prevention of delinquency and with the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders are the Hong Kong Juvenile Care Centre, the Society of Boys' Centres, the Rennies Mill Student Aid Project Hostels, and the Norway Home for Boys operated by the Salvation Army.

Social Security

Social security is provided on the basis of three schemes-the public assistance scheme, the disability and infirmity allowance scheme, and the criminal and law enforcement injuries scheme. All three are administered by the Social Welfare Department.

The public assistance scheme, which is means tested but non-contributory, is designed to provide a guaranteed level of income to needy families and individuals whose resources fall below a prescribed level. The allowances are regularly re- viewed and adjusted as necessary in relation to the cost of living. They currently stand at $180 a month for a lone person or first eligible member of a family, $130 each for the next three members, $105 for the succeeding three, and $80 for each eligible member thereafter. A rent allowance is paid separately. Special additions to the basic allowance are made in appropriate cases to cover the cost of school fees, special diets and other essential expenses.

At the end of 1975, the number of people drawing public assistance totalled 55,620 as compared with 40,267 at the end of the previous year. This increase is due partly to a larger population and a growing awareness of the scheme, but it also reflected the adverse economic conditions which Hong Kong, in common with other parts of the world, experienced in 1975. Public assistance payments in the financial year 1974-5 amounted to $102.9 million as compared with $45 million in the previous

year.