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Following is a question by the Hon Wong Sing-chi and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (May 5):
Question:
The Social Welfare Department announced at the end of March this year that an annual funding of $5 million would be allocated to Po Leung Kuk for implementing a Victim Support Programme for Victims of Family Violence (the Programme) to provide victims of family violence with legal advice, emotional support and counselling services, etc. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(a) how the authorities select the organisations to be funded, and why funding is allocated to a single organisation;
(b) how the authorities determine the amount of funding to be allocated; of the service contents and manpower deployment under the Programme, and how they assess the effectiveness of the Programme; and
(c) whether similar programmes will be implemented in various districts in Hong Kong, so as to assist residents in different districts?
Reply:
President,
The Administration's responses to the three parts of the Hon Wong Sing-chi's question are as follows:
(a) Social Welfare Department (SWD) invited service proposals from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) through open invitation and selected Po Leung Kuk (PLK) as the operator of the Victim Support Programme for Victims of Family Violence (VSP). In considering the service proposals, SWD has adopted a quality assessment approach, taking into consideration various factors, including the relevant experience of the NGO in providing services relating to domestic violence cases and in developing networks of volunteers, the provision and management of the services under the VSP, the network of the NGO and its ability to collaborate with relevant stakeholders, the use of the operation premises as well as the provision of other innovative and value-added services, etc. SWD considers that a single NGO operator, with the aforementioned experience and capabilities, would be able to coordinate and manage the operation of VSP in a holistic manner and to make use of the resources and manpower more effectively, with a view to providing appropriate services to victims of domestic violence.
(b) SWD will provide PLK with an annual subvention of about $5 million to operate the VSP. Under the VSP, relevant information on judicial proceedings and social support services, emotional support and other support services will be provided to victims of spouse battering and child abuse cases, including those undergoing the judicial process. Besides, the programme will mobilise volunteers to provide support services to the victims as appropriate. As the programme is subvented through the Lump Sum Grant mode, PLK has the flexibility to deploy suitable staff in service delivery to ensure that service quality and service needs are met. SWD will monitor the services according to the output indicators and the requirements set out in the Service Quality Standards stipulated in the Funding and Service Agreement.
(c) This programme will be provided throughout the territory. PLK will set up service delivery points in different districts to provide easy access for victims of domestic violence.
Ends/Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Issued at HKT 12:16
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