Remarks by SLW at media session (English only)
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Reporter: In the Policy Address, it says that six more Community Living Rooms (CLRs) will be set up in Hong Kong. Could you reveal when will the public could see these newly set up CLRs and when would the first one be opened according to the Government's timelines? And as for those which have been in operation since 2023, does the Government intend to keep them running after the three-year program when it comes to an end?
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: Thank you. Right now we have nine CLRs in operation. In the Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced six more will be coming. So our plans for the coming year or so, at least six CLRs will be opened.
In terms of district, we believe we should be able to see CLRs in operation, say in the Yau Tsim Mong District, and also in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Ching. These are the areas we don't have any CLR right now. As for the existing CLRs, I think the concern is over the four CLRs that have been in operation for more than a year. In fact, for the first one in Shum Shui Po, it has been in operation more than one and a half year, so given the first agreement was that they would be provided free of charge for three years, it's inevitable that we are thinking about the renewal. We are grateful to the donors of these four CLRs, i.e. the Sino Group, the Henderson Land Group, and also the China Resources Group. They are going to provide another three years of extension of their leases. That means for these four CLRs will be provided to us free of charge together with the renovation cost for six years.
Reporter: So earlier in July, the Government has launched a pilot scheme in helping to identify families at risk. For example, when a caregiver has admitted to the hospital, the Hospital Authority (HA) would pass a message to the Social Welfare Department (SWD) who will reach out to the elderly in need. Would you also give us an update given that the program has been running for about two months now?
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: Thank you. Indeed, starting from mid-July this year, we are finally be able to make use of the big data available in the SWD, in the HA, and also in the Housing Department (HD). We are launching two pilots at the same time. The first one is through a data matching between the HA and the SWD. We started with around 10 000 people who were in receipt of the carer allowance schemes. Right now, we have received more than 500 alerts from the HA about the hospital admission of the carers. But only two cases require urgent support, including delivery of meal to their homes and also respite services.
Turning to another pilot we have been conducting right now is a data matching process to find out the singleton or doubleton elderly households held by the HD. We have been visiting more than 5 000 households, and out of these 5 000 households, around 400 are considered to be in need of further support. We have referred them to the relevant welfare associations and organisations to provide support and services later on.
Ends/Saturday, September 27, 2025
Issued at HKT 11:18
Issued at HKT 11:18
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