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Hong Kong's long-term strategy for social protection is to develop the economy, create employment opportunities, invest in education and provide a viable social security system, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said this morning (June 10).
Speaking at the pre-conference workshop of the 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development: The Agenda, Mr Cheung shared with an international audience how the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government positioned itself and went about the important and mammoth task of social protection.
"Expenditure on education alone now takes up 23% of our government's recurrent expenditure - the largest share among all policy areas. This underlines our belief that education and training are fundamental to enhancing social mobility and combating poverty.
"It follows that social security and direct welfare services are not Hong Kong's only instruments of social protection. Apart from a sturdy social security safety net for the needy and disadvantaged, our 12-year free education, heavily subsidised healthcare system and major public housing programme combine to provide essential social and economic cushions for our population of seven million," he explained.
Mr Cheung reiterated the Government's commitment to assisting the needy through the provision of preventive, supportive and remedial welfare services.
"Taking social security payments and welfare services together, expenditure on social welfare accounts for a substantial 17.3% or $40 billion of the Government's annual recurrent expenditure - second only to education.
"It also brings out the significance of maintaining the sustainability, viability and integrity of our social safety net which both operate on an entirely non-contributory and government-funded basis as our population grows and ages over the next 30 years," he said.
Mr Cheung stressed that while social protection went well beyond cash handouts for the less privileged, it also had to be an investment in inclusive growth, and for those capable of standing on their own feet, a stepping stone towards self-reliance.
"It is an investment in human capital to get people out of exclusion and poverty and build resilience to risks and vulnerabilities," he said.
He cited legislating for a minimum wage and criminalisation of wilful non-payment of Labour Tribunal awards as two examples to illustrate the Government's determined efforts in enhancing the well-being of grassroot workers, thereby further reinforcing the social protection floor.
Turning to income disparity, Mr Cheung noted that as a small and open economy, Hong Kong "is subject to external factors and our economic structure is titled heavily towards the service industry.
"As our workforce comprises employees with different skill levels, it is inevitable that the income disparity among individuals is wide. Such a phenomenon is commonly observed in other knowledge-based and fast developing economies.
"We are acutely aware of the wealth gap in Hong Kong and are doing everything within our power to alleviate poverty. We adopt a pragmatic and multi-pronged approach, mobilising not only government resources but also the private sector, business community and non-government organisations (NGOs)," he said.
Examples include the Child Development Fund, Transport Support Scheme, Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged, and Community Investment and Inclusion Fund.
"Looking ahead, while Hong Kong's social welfare system is highly developed and institutionalised, we need to ensure its sustainability and flexibility to meet changing demands and circumstances.
"A rapidly ageing population and the social problems arising from the increasing economic integration between Hong Kong and the Mainland are just two of the new challenges that we have to embrace," he said.
To this end, the Social Welfare Advisory Committee is conducting a consultation exercise to seek views from the social welfare sector and relevant stakeholders on the long-term social welfare planning in Hong Kong.
"I am confident that this consultation will shed useful light and provide essential pointers on the way forward," he concluded.
Ends/Thursday, June 10, 2010
Issued at HKT 10:53
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