***************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Kwok-che and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (July 14):
Question:
The Social Welfare Advisory Committee (SWAC) released in April this year a consultation paper on Long-term Social Welfare Planning in Hong Kong to launch the second stage of consultation for the study on social welfare planning, and the deadline for submissions is 31st of this month. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given that many organisations, members of the social welfare sector and service users have complained that they did not know when the first stage of consultation had been conducted, of the starting and closing dates of that stage of consultation conducted by SWAC, as well as what consultation activities were held, together with a breakdown of the numbers of participants of the various consultation activities by the category of participants (e.g. frontline management and staff of social welfare organisations, service users, academics and other community members); whether it has assessed if it is appropriate for the present second stage consultation period to last for only three months or so; whether it will request SWAC to extend the consultation period in response to the sector's views;
(b) why SWAC arranged to hold four consultation sessions in May this year on weekdays during office hours from 3.30pm to 5pm, instead of at a time convenient for participation by the sector and service users; whether the authorities will, in response to the sector's views, request SWAC to hold additional consultation sessions at other time slots before the end of the consultation period, consult the 18 District Councils as well as collaborate with them to consult members of the public in various districts; and
(c) why the consultation paper on Long-term Social Welfare Planning in Hong Kong was not compiled by a government department; whether the authorities will implement and follow up the recommendations in the consultation paper; if they will, how the recommendations will be implemented and followed up; if not, of the reasons for that; whether the authorities will reinstate the Five-Year Plan mechanism and compile the White Papers on social welfare as well as set specific targets for social welfare services?
Reply:
President,
Our reply to the three parts of the question as raised by Hon Cheung Kwok-che is as follows:
(a) and (b) In view of the rapid social and economic changes, the Administration has entrusted the Social Welfare Advisory Committee (SWAC) to study the long-term development of social welfare in Hong Kong in order to provide timely response to the ever-changing welfare needs of our society.
To kickoff the study, SWAC invited over 400 local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and relevant bodies (including subvented and non-subvented welfare organisations, self-help groups and service user groups, as well as social work related professional bodies) to offer their views on a number of key issues pertinent to the long-term social welfare development in Hong Kong. In response to the request made by the sector, the consultation period was extended from the initial four months to six months (i.e. until the end of September 2008). A total of 26 submissions were received by SWAC. Given the diverse views received, SWAC has set up a Task Group on Welfare Planning (Task Group) to take forward the study.
The Task Group held seven meetings to analyse a considerable amount of information and data pertinent to the population structure and change, social development and provision of welfare services in Hong Kong. As an important step of the study, and with the assistance of the Task Group, SWAC prepared a consultation paper to serve as the basis of discussion for a new round of more in-depth consultation.
SWAC released the consultation paper in April 2010 and invited the sector and stakeholders to offer views on important subjects as set out in the consultation paper, i.e. the major issues and factors affecting the provision of social welfare, the mission and values of social welfare, the guiding principles for social welfare planning, and the strategic directions for planning and provision of welfare services. Apart from the 400 organisations which SWAC invited to offer views in the first round of consultation, copies of the consultation paper were also sent to respective local universities and relevant faculties, business chambers / professional bodies, and private foundations and charities related to social welfare. SWAC has invited them to offer views before the end of July 2010 and attend the consultation sessions.
To ensure that members of the public and other parties could participate in the consultation, SWAC issued a press release and uploaded the consultation paper and details of the consultation sessions onto the internet. To gauge directly the views of different sectors, SWAC welcomed relevant stakeholders and general public to join the four consultation sessions held in May. Separately, SWAC will hold two additional consultation sessions in the evening of July 19 (Monday) and in the morning of July 24 (Saturday). SWAC has already issued a press release and written to relevant organisations inviting them to attend the additional consultation sessions. In addition, SWAC has also actively participated in the consultation meetings organised by relevant bodies / agencies (including the Legislative Council Panel on Welfare Services, Hong Kong Council on Social Service and Hong Kong Social Workers Association). On the question of extending the consultation period, SWAC will discuss the proposal later and would like to hear more views in this regard before making a decision.
A breakdown of the number of NGOs invited by SWAC to offer views in the first and second rounds of consultation is at Annex.
(c) Established in 1947, SWAC is one of the Government advisory bodies with a long history. Over the years, SWAC has been responsible for keeping social welfare services in Hong Kong under review and advising the Administration on policies on social welfare development from a macro perspective. SWAC is currently headed by a non-official chairman and comprises 21 non-official members from different background, including social welfare, education, business, professional and community sectors.
In entrusting SWAC with the task of studying the long-term social welfare planning in Hong Kong, the Administration believes that, through the diverse background of its members, SWAC is well placed to analyse and study the issues affecting the provision of welfare services in Hong Kong at different levels and from various perspectives, and provide objective and unbiased views on the long-term social welfare development in Hong Kong. Upon completion of the consultation exercise, SWAC will thoroughly study and analyse the views and comments received and prepare a report for consideration by the Administration. The Administration will then analyse SWAC's recommendations in depth, consider how to follow up and consult the Legislative Council in due course.
Ends/Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Issued at HKT 14:40
NNNN
