Following is a question by the Hon Martin Liao and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, in the Legislative Council today (April 30):

Question:

     According to the projection of the Census and Statistics Department, the number of persons aged 65 or above will increase from 1.64 million in 2023 to 2.67 million in 2043, accounting for about 35 per cent of the total population in 2043. As regard fostering elderly-friendly living environments, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as it has been reported that Hong Kong will be short of over 60 000 elderly places by 2032, and there is the view that since the Senior Citizen Residences (SEN) Scheme under the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) is welcomed by the elderly, and redevelopment projects at Kwun Tong Garden Estate Phase II and Ming Wah Dai Ha in Shau Kei Wan, which include SEN projects and are estimated to be completed in 2033 and 2035 respectively, may not be able to catch up with the housing needs of the elderly, whether the authorities have plans to foster retirement community projects with the development of more "senior living residences" in new development areas (e.g. the Northern Metropolis) in the future; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) given that in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on January 24, last year, the Government indicated that the main reasons for tenancy termination at Jolly Place and Cheerful Court in the past included tenants' admission to elderly residential care homes and relocation to family residences due to health conditions, whether the authorities have gathered the views of such tenants on the relevant healthcare and nursing care services in the past; whether it knows what measures the HKHS has put in place to enhance the quality of its healthcare and nursing care services in order to make SEN more appealing; and

(3) as it has been learnt that the Mainland's home-based elderly care market is at the developmental stage with a huge demand, whether the authorities will consider collaborating with Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) on relevant projects and jointly formulating the GBA Standards for senior living residences, so as to strengthen the market of senior living residences through collaborative development; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     "Ageing in place as the core, institutional care as back-up" is the Government's elderly care policy. In consultation with the Labour and Welfare Bureau and Development Bureau (DEVB), the consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Martin Liao is as follows:

(1) The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) always upholds the values of "caring" and keeps abreast of the times to actively explore feasible measures to facilitate the needs of the elderly, and to create a liveable and inclusive living environment which fosters residents' greater sense of belonging based on actual needs, in line with the Government's ageing in place policy. The HA addresses the needs of elderly residents through various aspects, including housing arrangement, flat design, estate facilities and the application of technology, to build a home of well-being for them. 

     To cater to the housing needs of the elderly and encourage younger families to take care of their elderly parents or dependent relatives, there are several allocation priority schemes under the HA, including Elderly Persons Priority Scheme, Harmonious Families Priority Scheme and Single Elderly Persons Priority Scheme. Eligible applications under individual priority schemes concerned will generally be processed earlier than applications by ordinary families. For example, eligible applications under Harmonious Families Priority Scheme can be processed six months earlier and will be assigned a G-number Equivalent Date. Also, in order to cater to the needs of Public Rental Housing (PRH) elderly residents choosing to permanently return to the Mainland, the HA will issue Letter of Assurance (LA) to Hong Kong elderly admitted to designated Residential Care Homes for the Elderly (RCHE) in Guangdong under Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong, or those receiving potable cash assistance under the Portable Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, Guangdong Scheme or Fujian Scheme. If the elderly residents need to return to Hong Kong due to any change in circumstances, they will be offered a suitable PRH flat upon fulfillment of the eligibility criteria for PRH application at the time of redemption and other conditions set out in the LA. Through various schemes and arrangements, we aim to address the housing needs of eligible elderlies more comprehensively and allocate housing resources more effectively.

     In terms of the unit design, the HA has adopted the Universal Design Concept in new public housing projects, and where feasible, provides or improves relevant provisions in existing PRH estates for the elderly. The relevant provisions include non-slip floor tiles in the kitchen and bathroom; lever-type door handles, faucets of sink units and shower heads; larger switches and doorbell buttons at reachable heights; and where practicable, installing a ramp at the entrance of the flat; widening the doorway of the bathroom; converting the bath tub to a shower area; installing grab bars in the bathroom or installing visual fire alarm systems.

     Regarding public housing estate facilities, the Well-being Design initiative launched in September 2024 proposes eight well-being concepts, including Age-friendliness and Intergenerational & Inclusive Living. These aim to enhance the safety of elderly residents and promote mutual support among family members of different ages. The concept of Age-friendliness focuses on designing age-friendly environments, taking into account the needs of the elderly to age in place. For instance, providing leaning benches in lifts and lobbies, adding handrails in long corridors and increasing pictorial signage to improve building and directional recognition, enabling the elderly to go out and identify different facilities with ease. At the same time, the HA supports charitable and non-governmental organisations in providing mobile health check-ups and medical services within public housing estates to meet the various needs of the elderly. The concept of Intergenerational & Inclusive Living aims to create a diverse and inclusive environment, fostering neighbourhood connections across ages, cultural backgrounds, and abilities. Suggestions include optimising the communal spaces within the estate, adding social seating, etc, with a view to promoting mutual understanding and communication among neighbours; and integrating recreation facilities for elderly with children's playground in the same recreation zone, allowing the elderly, children, and their parents to enjoy recreational and fitness facilities in the same place, thus promoting neighbourly interaction and enhancing an intergenerational inclusive community. In addition, to facilitate the activity needs of the elderly in existing PRH estates, the HA has installed additional recreational facilities for the elderly in estates with a higher proportion of elderly population, allowing elderly residents to stretch their muscles and enhance physical fitness.

     Housing Department is proactively enhancing the design/construction of new public housing by adopting and applying the well-being concepts with its regular resources through rolling out of pilot project – Let's Go Well-being‧Well-being Design Pretest in five existing estates. Moreover, the HA undertakes to provide home adaptation or modification works in the PRH flats of eligible elderly residents who are in need to meet their various living activities. The HA will continuously review and improve public housing designs to cater to the needs of elderly residents.

     When planning PRH projects, the HA will make reference to relevant planning requirements, consult relevant Government departments and organisations to reserve space for providing suitable facilities, such as Neighbourhood Elderly Centre, Day Care Centre for the Elderly, RCHE, etc, that serve the residents and nearby community.

     On the other hand, the Senior Citizen Residences (SEN) Scheme of the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS), operated under a "lease-for-life" model, provides middle-income persons aged 60 or above with residence integrating housing, recreation and healthcare services under one roof. The three SEN projects completed so far, namely Jolly Place in Tseung Kwan O, Cheerful Court in Ngau Tau Kok and Blissful Place in Hung Hom, provide a total of 888 elderly-friendly units. The next SEN project, located at Pak Wo Road, Fanling in the Northern Metropolis (NM), is expected to be completed this financial year, providing about 260 units. The project will also include a self-financing residential care home for the elderly with some 50 places to be operated by a non-government organisation.

     Apart from developing elderly housing projects, the HKHS is also exploring in recent years to suitably include units with "adaptable design" in its ordinary projects, and to further adopt universal and accessible design, such that residents may flexibly reconfigure their units into elderly-friendly units that cater to their evolving needs as they age. In addition, the HKHS has advanced the concept of ageing in place to fostering an inter-generationally inclusive living environment in recent years. This includes the adoption of an "integrated development model" in the planning of new projects, i.e. to provide diverse and suitable housing and living environments within the same community, so as to bring together residents of all ages and create inter-generationally inclusive communities. The redevelopment of Ming Wah Dai Ha in Shau Kei Wan as well as the Pak Wo Road project in Fanling are notable examples.

     The NM is a major source of land supply in future. The DEVB is pressing ahead with the works to progressively provide land for housing and industry development. The New Development Areas within the NM will adopt age-friendly urban planning and design, with sufficient space reserved to accommodate a wide range of housing choices, as well as comprehensive ancillary amenities, green open space and so on to create a liveable community for all ages, including the elderly. According to the announced land use planning, new housing sites in the NM will provide about 210 000 new public and private housing units in the coming 10 years.

     In addition, to foster an elderly‑friendly building environment, the DEVB put forward an array of elderly-friendly building design proposals by the end of 2024. The DEVB is now analysing the views collected with a view to finalising the proposals, with the target of implementing the design requirements through guidelines, practice notes and legislative amendments in phases from mid-2025 onwards, as well as formulating the Elderly-friendly Building Accreditation Scheme for encouraging proactive adoption of more elderly-friendly designs in private developments.

(2) For Jolly Place and Cheerful Court under the HKHS's SEN Scheme, the primary reason for tenancy termination is decease of the tenants; whereas other reasons include tenants' admission to residential care homes and relocation to family residence due to health conditions. 

     The HKHS regularly collects feedback from tenants of the SEN Scheme on the care services provided. Survey results in 2023 reveal that nearly 90 per cent of tenants are satisfied with the relevant services.

     Furthermore, the HKHS continues to enhance the services offered under the SEN Scheme. There is a multi-disciplinary team to provide comprehensive, innovative, and tailored support for tenants, including regular physical and mental health assessments and medical check-ups. The HKHS will arrange appropriate services for tenants based on their individual needs, such as providing a wide range of fitness programmes to strengthen the physical well-being of elderly tenants, and organising various social networking and recreational activities as well as interest classes, so as to encourage tenants to adopt a healthy, positive and sustainable lifestyle, and create a living environment conducive to ageing in place in a holistic manner.

(3) The above-mentioned measures and support initiatives have been implemented by the Government to facilitate the elderly. Besides, the Government will continue to closely monitor social developments and maintain close collaboration with counterpart units in various mainland cities on the development of quality housing and well-being community. This also includes innovative housing technologies (such as gerontechnology) and the Age-friendliness well-being community.

Ends/Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Issued at HKT 15:03

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