ENG-2001 — Page 243

CHAPTER 11

Social Welfare

HONG KONG devotes much effort to caring for and supporting those least able to take care of themselves. Through social welfare, the Government discharges its special social responsibilities of putting in place a well-resourced safety net to look after the physical and psychological well-being of the elderly, the infirm and the disabled and encouraging those in society with sufficient means to show concern for others in the community. The guiding principle in developing welfare services is to build a caring community in which there is self-sufficiency, dignity, harmony and happiness.

The responsibility for formulating and carrying out government policies on social welfare rests with the Secretary for Health and Welfare and the Director of Social Welfare, respectively. It is based on the objectives set out in White Papers published in previous years and Policy Objective booklets issued annually at the time of the Chief Executive's Policy Address. For 2001, Policy Objective booklets included Welfare Services, Care for Elders and Promoting the Well-being and Interests of Women.

The Government is advised by the Social Welfare Advisory Committee on social welfare policy, the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee on matters of rehabilitation, the Elderly Commission on services for the elders and the Women's Commission on a strategic overview of women's issues. Members of the above committees/ commissions are appointed by the Chief Executive and their meetings are chaired by non-officials. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) maintains a close working partnership with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which, with subventions provided by the Government, are the main providers of social welfare services.

In 2001, expenditure on social welfare amounted to $29.7 billion: this included. $20.5 billion (69 per cent) on financial assistance payments, $7.2 billion (24 per cent) on subventions, and $2 billion (6.7 per cent) on services provided by the SWD. Social welfare accounted for 13.8 per cent of the total recurrent public expenditure.

Major Achievements

The most significant achievements in social welfare during the year were the consolidation of the social security safety net, with encouraging progress in assisting unemployed and low income recipients under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme to rejoin the workforce, the reform of the subvention system and the reorganisation of the SWD.

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