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Following is a question by the Hon Emily Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, at the Legislative Council meeting today (January 20):
Question:
According to the information for 2006 published by the Census and Statistics Department, the sex ratio of persons from the Mainland having resided in Hong Kong for less than seven years (new arrivals) was 443 males per 1,000 females and when comparing to 609 males in 1996, the proportion of females among new arrivals had increased significantly. Other researches reveal that the services provided by the Government cannot meet the needs of new arrival women. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(a) How the "labour force participation rates" and "monthly incomes from main employment" for new arrival women and men compare with the corresponding data for the whole population of women and men in Hong Kong in the past three years; whether they have compiled statistics on the respective numbers and proportion of new arrivals taking up part-time and full-time jobs; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(b) Whether they have reviewed the effectiveness of various types of services currently provided to new arrival women by the authorities and non-governmental organizations respectively; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) Whether they will consider drawing up new support measures targeting at the needs of new arrival women; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) According to the last Population By-census conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in 2006, the labour force participation rate for male and female persons from the Mainland having resided in Hong Kong for less than seven years (PMR) were 60.2% and 41.5% respectively. The relevant statistics for the whole male and female populations were 69.2% and 52.4% respectively.
The median monthly income from main employment among those employed male and female PMR were $7,500 and $5,800 respectively. The relevant statistics for the whole male and female working populations were $11,000 and $8,500 respectively.
There was no further breakdown of statistics for employed PMR by full-time or part-time employment in the 2006 Population By-census.
(b) The Government has been providing a series of public services for the new arrivals from the Mainland, including women, to facilitate their integration into the local community. Such public services are set out below:
(i) Employment services and vocational training: The Labour Department (LD) offers a whole range of free employment services to all job seekers, including the new arrivals from the Mainland, through its 12 Job Centres, the Recruitment Centre for the Catering Industry, the Telephone Employment Service Centre, the Interactive Employment Service website and vacancy search terminals installed at various locations in Hong Kong. Resource corners have also been established at all Job Centres for the new arrivals and employment briefings are organised for them from time to time. In addition, the new arrivals in need may join LD's various employment programmes, including the Job Matching Programme, the Employment Programme for the Middle-Aged and the Work Trial Scheme, to enhance their employability and to help them find suitable jobs. On vocational training, the new arrivals from the Mainland may apply for enrolment in courses provided by the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) if they meet the eligibility criteria.
(ii) Welfare services: The Social Welfare Department (SWD) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operated 61 Integrated Family Service Centres to provide a series of preventive, support and remedial welfare services for those in need (including the new arrivals from the Mainland). Besides, the 136 Integrated Children and Youth Services Centres (ICYSCs) over the territory organise various groups and activities to enhance the knowledge of children and youths of the new arrivals about their respective districts and to facilitate their integration into the community and adapting to life in Hong Kong. The ICYSCs also organise parent-child activities for the new arrival women in need to promote family harmony. Moreover, SWD provides funding to the International Social Service Hong Kong Branch (HKISS) to provide cross-boundary casework services to assist those, including new arrival women, who have encountered individual and family problems because of geographical separations. These services include consultation, counselling, emergency assistance, volunteer training, various groups and activities, referrals, etc. Furthermore, the New Arrival Hotline of HKISS has already been connected with SWD's hotline. Individuals in need, including new arrival women, may contact social workers of HKISS through SWD's hotline for timely assistance and appropriate services.
(iii) Public housing: If the new arrivals including women arrive in Hong Kong on family union and meet other eligibility criteria for application for public rental housing (PRH), they may apply for PRH together with their family members through the Waiting List. New arrivals who fail to meet the residence requirement but have grave difficulties in meeting their imminent housing needs may apply to SWD for PRH under the Compassionate Rehousing category through which the residence requirement can be waived. For the new arrivals including women who have family members living in PRH, they can apply for addition into the PRH tenancy through the Addition Policy for Harmonious Families of the Housing Authority (HA) and be exempted from the residence requirement. HA also provides funding to the Estate Management Advisory Committees in public housing estates to partner with NGOs to carry out community activities, including provision of supporting services to new tenants/new arrivals in adapting to their new living environment, etc, and referral of the needy to the appropriate Government departments and voluntary agencies for assistance.
(iv) Public healthcare services: The public healthcare services provided by the Department of Health (DH) and the Hospital Authority are available to eligible persons, including the new arrivals. In particular, the Maternal and Child Health Centres and the Woman Health Centres provide a comprehensive range of health promotion and disease prevention services (including antenatal and postnatal care, family planning, cervical cancer screening and woman health service) for women including the new arrivals under the age of 65.
(v) Educational support: The Education Bureau (EDB) provides school placement service and subsidy to newly-arrived students, such as the full-time Initiation Programme and the Induction Programme, to help them better integrate into the community and the local education system. Starting from the 2008/09 school year, EDB has extended the coverage of the Programmes to include new arrival children from the Mainland aged 18 to meet the learning needs of students.
The Home Affairs Department (HAD) conducts a continuous survey to assess the current situation and service needs of the new arrivals including women. Results of the survey are shared amongst the relevant Government departments and NGOs. HAD also publishes and updates a "Service Handbook for New Arrivals" on an annual basis to keep the new arrivals informed of public services and essential information about living in Hong Kong.
The public services mentioned above are generally effective in assisting the new arrivals from the Mainland, including women, in integrating into the community.
(c) The Government will continue to monitor the service needs of the new arrivals from the Mainland, including women, and improvement services are provided as appropriate to meet their needs.
For example, to strengthen the support on vocational training for the new arrivals, ERB has enhanced its courses to help trainees to attain job searching skills, build up positive work attitude, and understand the local community, etc. The course has been launched since end-2008 in Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long and Shum Shui Po on a pilot basis, and has been extended to other districts in Hong Kong starting from April 2009.
In addition, HA has set up a Housing Advisory and Service Team (HAST) in Tin Shui Wai. The Team aims to reach out to the new PRH tenants from the Mainland, including women, more proactively to help them better settle in the new environment in Hong Kong. HA is actively promoting the scheme and the HAST service will be extended later this year to Yuen Long, Tuen Mun and Tung Chung to help PRH residents who are new arrivals integrate into the community early.
Ends/Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:18
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