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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Helena Wong and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, in the Legislative Council today (July 8):
Question:
A concern group on the poverty situation of South Asian ethnic minority (EM) families has conducted a survey. According to the survey findings, among the 133 working EMs interviewed, more than 60 per cent of them come from families the living standard of which is below the poverty line set by the Government; among the 75 families with children, over half of them have to maintain three to five children, and over 80 per cent of EM youths aged above 15 are not receiving schooling. Nonetheless, it is often the case that EMs, due to language barriers, have not applied for any social welfare or other support. On the other hand, the International Social Service - Hong Kong Branch (ISSHK) has been commissioned by the Home Affairs Department (HAD) to implement an ambassador scheme to provide support for EMs. Besides, HAD currently sponsors two community support teams (i.e. the Pakistani Community Support Team and the Nepalese Community Support Team) to provide community services for the EMs concerned. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(1) whether they know, in respect of the community services including outreach services, home visits, case referrals and information seminars/workshops provided by ISSHK under the ambassador scheme in each of the past three years, (i) the number and (ii) the geographical distribution of such services, as well as (iii) the number of person-times using such services, (iv) the race distribution of the service users and (v) the service details (set out the breakdown by year in tables of the same format as the table below);
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)
-- ---- ----- --- ---
Outreach services
Home visits
Case referrals
Information seminars/workshops
Others (please specify)
(2) whether they know, in respect of the community services including outreach services, home visits, case referrals, escort/interpretation services and enquiry services provided by the aforesaid two community support teams in each of the past three years, (i) the number and (ii) the geographical distribution of such services, as well as (iii) the number of person-times using such services and (iv) the service details (set out the breakdown by year of each community support team in tables of the same format as the table below);
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
--- ---- ----- ----
Outreach services
Home visits
Case referrals
Escort/interpretation services
Enquiry services
Others (please specify)
(3) of the criteria adopted by HAD for providing funding for ISSHK and the two community support teams, as well as the funding guidelines for compliance by these organisations; and
(4) whether HAD has conducted regular reviews of the effectiveness of the services provided by ISSHK and the two community support teams; if HAD has, whether it will make public the review reports; if it has not, of the reasons for that, and whether HAD will consider conducting such reviews?
Reply:
President,
Various government bureaux and departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have been providing a range of services to meet the needs of ethnic minorities (EMs) under their respective policy areas. For examples, the Education Bureau gives educational support to EM students, the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Labour Department provide employment training and support for EMs, and the Social Welfare Department renders social welfare services to EM families in need. Government bureaux and departments provide interpretation services for EM service users according to their actual needs.
For the purpose of integration into the community, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) renders support services to EMs through district-based networks and co-operation with non-profit-making organisations (NPOs) and local bodies. Major services include the establishment of six support service centres and two sub-centres for EMs, two community support teams for EMs, five radio programmes in EM languages, service guidebooks in EM languages, the District-based Integration Programme and the Ambassador Scheme etc.
(1) Commenced in 2012, the Ambassador Scheme for EMs aims to call upon EMs of similar background and experience to act as ambassadors who will reach out to other EMs as a proactive means to offer neighbourhood support and, where necessary, make referrals to government departments for follow-ups. South Asians, including Nepalese, Pakistanis and Indians, are major service targets under the Scheme. The operating budget of the Scheme in 2015-16 is $1.2 million. In its current operation of the Scheme, the International Social Service - Hong Kong Branch has a total of six full-time ambassadors, namely three Nepalese, two Pakistanis and one Indian, for service implementation. Figures of services provided under the Scheme in the past three years are at Annex 1.
(2) The Government has since 2006 set up the Pakistani Community Support Team and the Nepalese Community Support Team, under which EM organisations provide dedicated services for members of the same ethnicity, including visits, escorting EMs to apply for public services, language classes, after-school tutorials, interest classes and support groups. The estimated operating budget of each of these two teams in 2015-16 is $488,000. Pakistan Islamic Welfare Union Incorporated (HK) Limited and Hong Kong Integrated Nepalese Society Limited, which run the two teams respectively, have two full-time plus two part-time Pakistani staff and three full-time Nepalese staff respectively. Figures of services provided by both teams in the past three years are at Annexes 2 and 3.
(3) In strict compliance with the Government Stores and Procurement Regulations and related guidelines, the HAD adopts fair, open and just procurement procedures in selecting suitable NPOs for implementation of various services. NPOs possessing relevant experience will be invited to submit proposals via invitation documents, in which service requirements, weightings for technical and price assessments, and criteria for technical assessments are set out. Such criteria include relevant operational experience, service design and delivery profile, manpower plan, quantity of services, and quality control etc. All commissioned operators shall provide their services in strict accordance with contract requirements. Services are delivered on an accountable basis, under which the last payment within the contract period shall be made by the HAD to operators based on the actual expenses, and under no circumstances shall the originally approved amount be exceeded.
(4) In accordance with service contracts, the HAD closely monitors and reviews the work of operators by, inter alia:
* examining periodic progress reports submitted by operators;
* gauging opinions from service users with reference to survey results and interviews during site visits;
* meeting with operators to review work progress and performance;
* scrutinising operators' financial reports and invoices; and
* making reference to audit reports prepared by professional auditing bodies.
The HAD makes reference to the information obtained from the above channels in details as the basis for reviewing operators' performance and service effectiveness. The information is for internal reference only and will not make public. As always, the HAD will continue to review the support services provided for EMs in view of their service needs for earlier integration into the community.
Ends/Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:31
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