Following is a question by the Hon Judy Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (October 15):

Question:

     There are views that safeguarding children's safety and well-being is of paramount importance, but as the scope of Hong Kong's legislation related to protecting children and the age ceilings for children stipulated therein are inconsistent, a review is warranted. For example, under the Employment of Children Regulations (Cap. 57B), persons who have attained 13 and 15 years may be employed in non-industrial establishments and in industrial work respectively; under the Marriage Ordinance (Cap. 181), persons who have attained 16 years may marry upon production of written consent from their parents or guardians; while under section 27 of the Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212), the age ceiling for children stipulated in respect of the offence of "ill-treatment or neglect by those in charge of child or young person" is 16, and parents may breach the law by leaving children aged below 16 unattended at home. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of persons convicted for contravening section 27 of Cap. 212 in each of the past five years, and among them, the number of cases involving leaving children unattended at home;

(2) as it is learnt that some schools have informed parents that students in primary three or above may travel to and from school by themselves without parental escort, whether the authorities know about this situation, and whether clear guidelines regarding the requirements of relevant legislative provisions under Cap. 212 are issued to schools, with a view to preventing the occurrence of accidents;

(3) whether it has plans to comprehensively review the legislation related to safeguarding children's safety, with a view to standardising the standards and better safeguarding the well-being of children; and

(4) as the Chief Executive announced in the 2025 Policy Address that the School-based After School Care Service Scheme would be enhanced by uncapping the number of places to expand support for primary students and parents in need, but there are views pointing out that the scheme only covers primary students, and under the existing provisions of section 27 of Cap. 212, it implies that parents with children aged 12 to below 16 still face difficulties in going out to work, whether the Government has policy initiatives in place to assist such parents, so as to encourage childbearing and unleash the labour force?

Reply:

President,

     The Government has been adopting a multi-pronged strategy to protect children from harm or abuse. Apart from identifying and intervening in child abuse cases at an early stage to protect children, the Government also supports families at risk of child abuse to prevent child abuse at source. The consolidated reply to the Member's question, in consultation with the Security Bureau and the Education Bureau (EDB), is as follows:
     
(1) The number of persons convicted of an offence under section 27 of the Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212), i.e. ill-treatment or neglect by those in charge of child or young person, from 2020 to the first half of 2025 is set out in the Annex. The Government does not compile statistics on the number of these cases involving leaving children unattended at home.

(2) and (4) Section 27 of the Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212) stipulates that any person over the age of 16 years who wilfully assaults, ill-treats, neglects, abandons or exposes such child or young person under the age of 16 years under his custody, charge or care in a manner likely to cause such child or young person unnecessary suffering or injury to his health shall be guilty of a criminal offence.

     Specifically, whether allowing a child to travel to and from school by themselves or leaving a child unattended at home would constitute an offence under the above legislation depends on a number of factors and has to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, including the child's age and self-care abilities, whether the act has caused harm to the child, whether the person involved has a responsibility of care over the child, and whether the person has intentionally neglected the child and is aware of the possible harm to the child caused by his act, and cannot be generalised.

     Regarding the ways students commute between homes and schools, the EDB attaches great importance to students' safety and has been working with schools to create a safe environment for students. The EDB has compiled the School Administration Guide and the "Checklist of Student Safety and Health Measures" to support schools in fulfilling their responsibilities and enhancing student safety and health management. Currently, primary schools generally have established school-based policies to ensure the safe and orderly transportation of students, including school bus services, returning-home teams, and designated parent drop-off/pick-up areas. If parents choose to have their children travel to and from the school independently, they should consider the distance from their residence to the school and their children's ability to manage themselves. Schools should also teach students about road safety, including the importance of always obeying traffic rules, to foster effective learning and healthy development of students through home-school co-operation.

     In respect of the School-based After School Care Service Scheme (the Scheme), the Government launched the Scheme in the 2023/24 school year, with a view to allowing primary students in need to stay after school to receive care and learning support in a safe and familiar environment, and enabling parents to take up jobs. Both dual-income families and single-parent families will be benefitted. In the 2025/26 school year, the Scheme is further enhanced by uncapping the number of service places to expand support for primary students and parents in need. As secondary school students enter adolescence, their self-care abilities are generally higher. Their service needs become different from those of primary school students, and the support required by their parents is also different. There are 139 Integrated Children and Youth Services Centres in Hong Kong, providing comprehensive and diversified services, including guidance and counselling, supportive programmes, developmental and socialisation programmes, and community engagement programmes, which enable youths to enrich and enhance themselves during leisure time.

(3) At present, there are many pieces of legislation in place that protect children from different kinds of harm, including the Employment of Children Regulations (Cap. 57B), the Marriage Ordinance (Cap. 181), the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200), the Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212), the Protection of Children and Juveniles Ordinance (Cap. 213), the Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance (Cap. 579), and the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance (Cap. 650) which will be effective from January 20, 2026. The Government will continue to ensure the proper and solid implementation of these pieces of legislation, and will suitably monitor their effectiveness and consider how to further strengthen child protection, including reviewing the relevant child protection legislation when there is an actual need.

Ends/Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Issued at HKT 11:05

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