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Supporting the Underprivileged
Rehabilitation Services
People with Disabilities
96. To meet the increasing demand of people with disabilities for rehabilitation services, the Government will continue to provide additional places for pre-school, day and residential rehabilitation services. In addition, we are preparing to launch a licensing scheme to regulate the operation of residential care homes for people with disabilities and raise service quality. To tie in with this scheme, the Government has launched a pilot bought place scheme to encourage private residential homes to improve their service quality, increase the supply of subsidised places and facilitate the development of different types of residential care homes in the market.
97. The Government pays great attention to the needs of people with severe disabilities for special care. A pilot scheme was launched this year to provide home care services for them. In 2008, the SWD conducted a trial scheme to provide tetraplegic patients with transitional residential and day training services. Given its success, we will make the scheme permanent.
98. To improve access for people with disabilities, the Government has commenced a major retrofitting programme to upgrade barrier-free features in about 3 700 existing government premises and facilities and 300 properties managed by the Housing Authority. Improvement works at about 3 300 premises and facilities will be completed by June next year.
Mental Health Services
99. Last year, the SWD set up integrated community centres for mental wellness across Hong Kong to provide one-stop support services. These centres have met service expectations. We will enhance services of these centres to dovetail with the Case Management Programme implemented by the Hospital Authority. Up to now, there are still nine integrated community centres without permanent accommodation. We are actively identifying suitable premises. I earnestly call upon local communities to accept these centres in their neighbourhoods.
New Arrivals and Ethnic Minorities
100. We will step up the support services for ethnic minorities and new arrivals from the Mainland to facilitate their integration into the community, and to foster mutual understanding and respect within the community. On employment support, ethnic minorities and new arrivals may take courses specially designed for them by the ERB. They may also obtain employment services at special counters in the LD's job centres. In addition, the LD will organise more job fairs in different districts to help ethnic minorities and new arrivals find jobs. We will set up an additional support service centre and two sub-centres for ethnic minorities, extend integration programmes and provide more radio programmes in minority languages.
Families, Women and Children
101. We have been providing various types of free residential care services through NGOs to help children and youngsters who cannot be adequately cared for by their families temporarily. We will increase in phases the number of places for residential child care services, including foster care, small group homes and children's homes. We will also raise the foster care allowance, including the incentive payment for foster parents and maintenance grant for foster children.
102. The Government has been allocating funds for the Women's Commission to run the Capacity Building Mileage Programme to enhance support for women to pursue continuous learning. In view of its effectiveness, the Programme will become a recurrent project.
103. Integrated Family Service Centres (IFSCs) provide preventive, supportive and remedial family welfare services. The Government will allocate additional resources to set up four new IFSCs in districts with greater service demand, bringing the total number of IFSCs to 65, to provide services for families in need. Target groups include single parents, new arrivals, ethnic minorities and cross-boundary families.
Youth Support and Services
Youth Outreach Services
104. To better tackle the growing problem of juvenile gangs, we plan to set up additional youth outreach teams in Tseung Kwan O, Ma On Shan and Tung Chung. With the additional teams, we can reach out to more youths at risk, counsel them and refer them to other mainstream services.
Hostels for Single Youths
105. Some NGOs are concerned about the aspiration of working youths to have their own living space. Apart from providing youth services, they want to use part of the land granted to them by the Government for "Government, Institution or Community" use to build hostels for youths. The Government will actively support their plans.
Temporary Work Opportunities for Young People
106. In 2008, a total of 3 000 temporary work opportunities were provided through NGOs for young people aged between 15 and 29 as a special youth employment support measure during the economic downturn. Under the original plan, the scheme was due to end in March next year. We will extend these work opportunities for one more year to allow young people more time to equip themselves and let service units make necessary adjustments.
Public Healthcare
Healthcare Policy
107. The public consultation on healthcare found that there was support for the introduction of a government-regulated voluntary Health Protection Scheme (HPS) to promote private healthcare reform. We are preparing to implement the HPS. First, we will work out the operational details, including the supervisory and institutional frameworks and financial incentives to be funded by the $50 billion set aside for healthcare reform. Second, we will review healthcare manpower planning and professional development to ensure an adequate supply of healthcare personnel to meet future needs, and to raise professional standards. Third, we will enhance market transparency and develop supporting facilities. We expect to complete these three tasks in the first half of 2013 and then proceed with the necessary legislative process, so that the HPS can be rolled out as soon as possible.
Provision of Additional Resources
108. In the past few years, the Government has provided additional resources to improve healthcare services to meet public needs. The amount of recurrent funding allocated to the Hospital Authority has increased significantly by nearly 25%, from $29 billion in 2007 to $36 billion in 2011. An additional $2.6 billion has been allocated to buy and upgrade equipment.
Upgrading Services
109. The Hospital Authority will increase the number of neonatal intensive care beds by 10% in five hospital clusters. It will also enhance haemodialysis services for end-stage renal disease patients, and magnetic resonance imaging and computerised tomography scanning services for the diagnosis of critical illnesses. It will extend its Case Management Programme to four more districts to provide support for people with severe mental illness, and expand the coverage of the Drug Formulary to provide more drugs with higher efficacy.
110. In terms of facilities, while the Tin Shui Wai Hospital is under active planning, North Lantau Hospital and the expansion of Tseung Kwan O Hospital will be completed in late 2012 and in 2013 respectively. The paediatric medical centre at Kai Tak will be completed in 2016 and preparation for the expansion of the United Christian Hospital is underway.
Primary Care Services
111. In collaboration with healthcare professions, the Government has mapped out a long-term development strategy for primary care, which is being implemented step by step. We have allocated over $5.3 billion since 2008 to enhance primary care services and take forward a number of pilot projects. In the coming year, we will implement measures such as extending the Elderly Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme and doubling the voucher value, as well as opening a community health centre in Tin Shui Wai. We will also jointly implement pilot projects with voluntary agencies to provide health screening services for the elderly to enhance preventive care.
Manpower Training
112. There will be an upsurge in the demand for healthcare personnel. For the three years starting from 2012, we will allocate $200 million to increase the number of first-year first-degree places in medicine by 100, nursing by 40 and allied health professions by 146. Extra places will be offered by self-financing post-secondary institutions to train more nurses.
Education Development
113. Education not only enhances the quality and competitiveness of our population, but also promotes social mobility. The Government has allocated substantial additional resources to improve the quality and quantity of education. We have provided 12 years of free education, extended subsidies to pre-school education, progressively implemented small-class teaching, introduced a new academic structure for senior secondary and university, expanded tertiary education and encouraged tertiary institutions to raise teaching and research standards. We have also opened up multiple study pathways for young people.
Multiple Study Pathways
International Cuisine College
114. The Chinese Cuisine Training Institute under the VTC provides training for those who wish to pursue a career in the catering industry. The institute has made its name around the world in just a decade. I propose to set up an International Cuisine College under the VTC. The college will provide training for people aspiring to become professional chefs proficient in international cuisines. It will attract outstanding members of the culinary profession from around the world, and promote the development of related sectors, such as tourism, catering, retail and wine trading. We expect it to be established in 2014.
Youth College
115. The VTC also offers a range of career-oriented programmes to cater for young people's diverse education needs. It currently runs seven youth colleges offering employment-focused programmes to school leavers at Secondary 3 level or above. Students may choose vocational streams that best suit their abilities and interests. Upon completion of the programmes, they can either seek employment or pursue further studies. We propose to establish one more youth college to provide specialised support for non-Chinese speaking students and those with special educational needs, as well as alternative progression pathways for young people. The new college is expected to provide 420 additional places.
Training of Construction Workers
116. Public expenditure on infrastructure will remain high in the next few years. The construction output of the private sector will also go up as a result of increased land supply. This will open up opportunities for the construction industry but will also pose a challenge to its manpower. Last year, we earmarked $100 million for the Construction Industry Council to take forward initiatives such as upgrading the skills of workers through training and trade tests, and attracting more people to join the industry through public education. These efforts have started to deliver results. If necessary, we will allocate more resources to strengthen such training.
Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs
117. The Education Bureau (EDB) will extend the School-based Educational Psychology Service, giving secondary and primary schools greater support to help students with dyslexia and other special educational needs. The service, now covering 55% of schools, will be extended progressively to cover all public sector secondary and primary schools by the 2016-17 school year.
Research Funding for the Higher Education Sector
118. In the face of intense global competition, increased investment in research and development is crucial to enhancing our competitiveness. The Government set up an $18 billion Research Endowment Fund in 2009 as a long-term commitment to promoting academic research in tertiary institutions. With the support of this Fund, we have introduced the Theme-based Research Scheme to finance research projects of strategic importance to the long-term development of Hong Kong.
119. In recent years, Hong Kong's research activities in a number of fields have attained international recognition. Our universities are now among the top in the region and the world. I propose to inject $5 billion into the Fund. Of that, $3 billion will fund self-financing tertiary institutions on a competitive basis to enhance academic and research development. The investment income of the remaining $2 billion will replace the recurrent provision of $100 million to the Research Grants Council to provide stable research funding for UGC-funded institutions.
Developing Electronic Textbooks
120. The use of e-learning resources has become a major trend in education. Apart from providing students with an interactive mode of learning, electronic textbooks and learning resources allow more flexibility in textbook compilation, lower production costs, reduce wastage and help achieve reasonable pricing. This is a desirable alternative to printed textbooks, which is currently the only option available on the market.
121. The Government is committed to developing e-learning resources. An EDB task force set up in mid-2011 will review teaching and learning materials and explore ways to better utilise the advantages of e-learning and improve the provision of textbooks.
Review of Student Financial Assistance
122. The community is concerned about the interest rate and repayment arrangements for loans to post-secondary students. The Government has commenced a review of non-means-tested loan schemes. The review covers the scope of eligible programmes, loan amounts, interest rates and repayment arrangements under the schemes, as well as measures to reduce the default rate. We will consult the public on the detailed recommendations by the end of this year.
(To be continued)
Ends/Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Issued at HKT 12:16
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