ENG-2010 — Page 509

History 431

Hong Kong's public housing programme started with an emergency measure to rehouse some 53 000 people made homeless overnight in a squatter fire on Christmas Day 1953. It has since developed into a programme that encompasses a wide range of rental and home ownership flats with facilities.

The main aim of the Government's subsidised housing policy is to meet the housing needs of low-income families who cannot afford private rental accommodation. The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) develops and implements a public housing programme which seeks to achieve the government's subsidised housing policy goal. The HA's primary role is to help low-income families with housing need gain access to affordable public rental housing and keep the average waiting time for general applicants (except for non-elderly one-person applicants) to about three years.

The Government has been investing heavily in education to enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness in a knowledge-based and globalised economy. Free primary and junior secondary education has been provided to every student attending public sector schools since 1978. Senior secondary education and full-time courses offered by the Vocational Training Council for secondary three school leavers also became free in September 2008. Tertiary education remains heavily subsidised. It is the Government's policy that no student is deprived of education for lack of financial

means.

The Government and non-governmental organisations have made great strides. in improving social welfare services to the public in the past decade. Government spending on social welfare has increased substantially from $27.7 billion in 2000-01 to an estimated $43.5 billion in 2010-11. Social services today are provided not only for emergency relief and for meeting basic needs, but also as social capital and investment for promoting inclusive growth and harmonious development of Hong Kong's society.

The post-war years also saw the development of a healthcare system to cope with Hong Kong's rapidly growing population, caused mostly by a huge influx of refugees from China. Big steps were taken to combat communicable diseases in the early post-war years and to build additional hospitals, as well as general out-patient clinics, some of which were run by voluntary agencies. The Government continued to expand the healthcare infrastructure during the 1950s and 1960s to cater to the needs of the ever growing population.

The Government's commitment to safeguarding public health and to providing medical care and facilities for everyone in Hong Kong, particularly those relying on subsidised medical services, was first articulated in policy papers published in 1964 and 1974. The goals, which included subsidising more healthcare agencies, were largely achieved. The Government's healthcare policy has since aimed to 'ensure that no one should be denied adequate medical treatment because of lack of means'.

The Government took another major step to reorganise the then Medical and Health Department and set up the Hospital Authority (HA) in 1990. The HA is responsible for managing public hospitals and providing a range of heavily subsidised