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Chapter 10

Social Welfare

The Government is committed to assisting the needy through the provision of preventive, supportive and remedial welfare services. Alongside providing a social security safety net, it also helps the needy progress 'from welfare to self-reliance'.

The Labour and Welfare Bureau is responsible for formulating social welfare policies and overseeing their implementation by the Social Welfare Department (SWD). The Social Welfare Advisory Committee, the Elderly Commission, the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee, and the Women's Commission advise the Government on welfare policies.

In 2010, the total recurrent expenditure of the SWD was $37.3 billion, of which $25.7 billion (68.9 per cent) was for financial assistance payments, $8.5 billion (22.8 per cent) for recurrent subventions to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the remaining $3.1 billion (8.3 per cent) for departmental expenditure, including $0.8 billion for hire of services.

Major Achievements

Strengthened Support for Families in Need

In 2010, the Government implemented a series of measures to strengthen its services and support for families in need, including victims of domestic violence.

SWD launched a three-year pilot 'Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project' (NSCCP) in October 2008 with a view to providing more flexible forms of day care services for children aged under 6 to meet the needs of parents at the neighbourhood level. A total of 11 projects, one in each SWD administrative district, were launched. Subsidy is also available for families in need of financial assistance. In view of the positive feedback from service users, SWD will regularise the NSCCP and extend its service coverage from 11 districts to all 18 districts.

The SWD released a report entitled 'Building Effective Family Services: Review on the implementation of the Integrated Family Service Centre (IFSC) Service Mode'