LCQ18: Support measures for carers
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Question:
In the 2026 Policy Address, the Government announced that the amount of allowance under the Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families and the Scheme on Living Allowance for Low-income Carers of Persons with Disabilities (Allowance Schemes) would be increased by 10 per cent to $3,300 per month. However, there are views that despite the large number of unpaid carers in Hong Kong, the current number of beneficiaries under the Allowance Schemes is rather small, and that the existing community support for carers is seriously inadequate, thereby placing many families in which elderly persons are caring for other elderly persons or persons with disabilities under considerable pressure. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the actual number of beneficiaries and the total amount of allowances disbursed under the two aforesaid Allowance Schemes in each of the past three financial years, and the respective percentages of the numbers of such beneficiaries in the total number of unpaid carers and the total number of families of persons with disabilities in Hong Kong;
(2) whether, when determining and adjusting the allowance amount, the authorities have obtained data on the average actual monthly expenditure incurred by long-term carers on items such as medical consumables, transport for accompanying care recipients to medical appointments and day respite services; if so, of the details; if not, the objective criteria adopted by the authorities to assess whether the monthly allowance level of $3,300 is adequate to meet family needs;
(3) of the number of applications rejected under the two aforesaid Allowance Schemes in each of the past three financial years, with a breakdown by major reasons for rejection, including household income exceeding the prescribed limit, receipt of other public benefits, failure to meet the requirement of providing at least 80 hours of care per month, and the care recipient not being on the Central Waiting List for Subsidised Long Term Care Services;
(4) whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the number of carers in Hong Kong who are ineligible to apply for carer allowance by virtue of their current receipt of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), Old Age Living Allowance or Disability Allowance (other allowances); given that subsistence allowances for the grassroots and support for carers are different in nature, whether the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review and remove the restriction that precludes recipients of CSSA or other allowances from applying for carer allowance; if not, of the reasons for that;
(5) whether, during the transitional period prior to the formal commissioning of the inter-departmental "welfare information sharing e-platform", the authorities will establish an inter-departmental mechanism and specific indicators to proactively identify and reach out to hidden high-risk families in which elderly persons are caring for other elderly persons or for persons with disabilities, so as to address the current passive situation of inadequate publicity for the Allowance Schemes and sole reliance on self-initiated applications by members of the public; if not, what other measures the authorities will adopt to enhance publicity; and
(6) whether the authorities will set up "one-stop carer support centres" in the 18 districts across the territory, study the implementation of a "Carer Pass" to provide public healthcare services and transport concessions, and collaborate with community groups to jointly establish a community safety net; if not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The current-term Government has spared no effort in introducing a range of welfare services and financial assistance to support carers of elderly persons and carers of persons with disabilities, including the enhancement measures announced in the 2026 Policy Address. The Government will continue to expand support channels and increase service capacity, and apply smart technology and big data, so as to put in place a more comprehensive and sustainable suite of carer support measures, and enhance the ability to identify high-risk cases and intervene in crises.
Our reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) and (3) The Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families (the Allowance Scheme for Carers of the Elderly) and the Scheme on Living Allowance for Low-income Carers of Persons with Disabilities (the Allowance Scheme for Carers of Persons with Disabilities) aim to provide a cash allowance to eligible carers of elderly persons or carers of persons with disabilities, so as to help supplement their living expenses. To strengthen support for carers, the 2026 Policy Address announced that the amount of the two allowances would be increased by 10 per cent to $3,300 per month. An eligible applicant who takes care of more than one elderly person or person with disabilities may receive up to $6,600 per month.
The two carer allowance schemes were incorporated into the Government's regular assistance programmes in October 2023. In the past three financial years, the expenses were $110 million, $321 million and $396 million respectively. The annual number of beneficiaries and the breakdown of ineligible cases in the respective years are set out in Table 1 and Table 2. The Government does not maintain the total number of unpaid carers in Hong Kong, and therefore cannot calculate the percentage of which the beneficiaries of the two allowance schemes account for.
Table 1: Number of beneficiaries under the two carer allowance schemes
| Allowance Scheme for Carers of the Elderly |
Allowance Scheme for Carers of Persons with Disabilities |
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| 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | |
| No. of beneficiaries | 4 194 (Note) | 5 507 | 7 094 | 3 213 (Note) | 3 751 | 3 983 |
Note: Counted from the regularisation of the schemes in October 2023. All cases receiving an allowance under the pilot schemes before regularisation were required to submit fresh applications after October 2023. This number includes relevant eligible applications.
Table 2: Number of ineligible cases and reasons for ineligibility under the two carer allowance schemes
| Reason for ineligibility | Allowance Scheme for Carers of the Elderly |
Allowance Scheme for Carers of Persons with Disabilities |
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| 2023-24 (Note 1) | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2023-24 (Note 1) | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | |
| (i) Care recipient not waitlisted for the relevant services (Note 2) | 2 | 35 | 270 | 55 | 82 | 249 |
| (ii) Care recipient already receiving residential care services | 28 | 26 | 19 | 32 | 21 | 25 |
| (iii) Applicant's household income exceeding the limit | 43 | 19 | 24 | 67 | 16 | 9 |
| (iv) Application withdrawn, or insufficient information provided for vetting | 51 | 41 | 60 | 48 | 20 | 31 |
| (v) Applicant receiving the Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) or Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) | 262 | 120 | 96 | 115 | 24 | 21 |
| (vi) Applicant receiving the Disability Allowance (DA) (Note 3) | 47 | 17 | 26 | 34 | 14 | 17 |
| (vii) Applicant unable to undertake the caring responsibility, except for reason in item (vi) (Note 3) | 17 | 9 | 24 | 9 | 7 | 3 |
| (viii) Others (e.g. the applicant is not a Hong Kong resident, the care recipient has passed away, or the applicant and the care recipient are the same person, etc.) | 77 | 31 | 79 | 13 | 9 | 6 |
| Total | 527 | 298 | 598 | 373 | 193 | 361 |
Note 1: Counted from the regularisation of the schemes in October 2023.
Note 2: Under the Allowance Scheme for Carers of the Elderly, at the time of application the elderly person being cared for must have been assessed under the Social Welfare Department (SWD)'s Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services (SCNAMES) and recommended as suitable for community care services and/or residential care services, and must still be waitlisted on the Central Waiting List (CWL) for subsidised long-term care services (that is, residential care services and/or community care services). Under the Allowance Scheme for Carers of Persons with Disabilities, at the time of application the person with disabilities being cared for must be waitlisted for any specified rehabilitation services of the SWD, the boarding placement of special schools under the Education Bureau (EDB), or the infirmary service under the Hospital Authority (HA).
Note 3: Under the two allowance schemes, an applicant must be capable of taking up the caregiving role. Persons aged under 15, DA recipients, persons assessed and recommended under SCNAMES as suitable for community care services and/or residential care services, and persons waitlisted on the CWL for subsidised long-term care services or for any specified rehabilitation services of the SWD, the boarding placement of special schools under the EDB or the infirmary service under HA, will not be deemed as fit and capable carers, and are not eligible for the allowance under the schemes.
(2) The Government will take into account a basket of factors, including inflation, the needs of recipients and the affordability of public finance, when reviewing the two allowance schemes and adjusting the amount of allowance as appropriate.
(4) To ensure proper use of public funds and avoid duplication of resources, recipients of CSSA or OALA cannot concurrently receive carer allowances. The number of cases where applicants are ineligible for the two carer allowance schemes due to the above arrangement is set out in item (v) of Table 2. With regard to DA, Note 3 to Table 2 has stated that applicants for the two carer allowances must be capable of taking up caregiving responsibilities. DA recipients are not deemed as capable of taking up caregiving responsibilities, and are therefore ineligible for application. Relevant figures are set out in item (vi) of Table 2.
(5) and (6) The SWD has, based on the information in the CWL, proactively issued invitation letters to eligible carers to apply for the allowance at the pilot stage before regularisation of the two allowance schemes and after regularisation. In addition, the SWD has also introduced online application forms to facilitate public access to relevant information and submission of applications at any time.
To enhance the ability to identify high-risk carers and intervene in a crisis, the Government has actively applied smart technology and big data in recent years. The Labour and Welfare Bureau and the SWD established the Carer Support Data Platform in July 2025 and launched two schemes. Scheme I consolidates data of the SWD and the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) to identify high-risk households living in public housing, comprising singleton elderly persons and doubleton elderly persons, carers of elderly persons and carers of persons with disabilities who lack community support, and engages the District Services and Community Care Teams (Care Teams) to conduct home visits and provide support. These visits were extended in March 2026 to cover high-risk households living in "three-nil" buildings. As at the end of September 2026, Care Teams had contacted more than 36 300 high-risk households and made more than 4 200 referrals for welfare services. Scheme II links up data of the SWD, HA, the HKHA and the Hong Kong Housing Society, and has put in place a notification mechanism. When the SWD is notified that a carer has been admitted to a hospital, it will intervene proactively through the Designated Hotline for Carer Support 182 183 (Hotline) and provide emergency support to the care recipient. As at the end of September 2026, the Hotline had contacted more than 10 500 carer cases, of which five were confirmed to require immediate emergency support, including meal support, home-based respite and escort services. For the remaining cases, the Hotline provided the contact details of social welfare units so that support for care recipients could be arranged when needed. The 2026 Policy Address announced that the Government would enhance the automated operation of the Data Platform and expand its coverage.
At district level, apart from mobilising Care Teams to proactively visit households in need, the Government has all along been providing various kinds of support for carers through District Elderly Community Centres, Neighbourhood Elderly Centres, District Support Centres for Persons with Disabilities (DSCs), and Parents/Relatives Resource Centres, which cover all 18 districts across the territory. Whether they are frontline staff of service units, the Hotline or members of the Care Teams, when providing or referring support services to carers, they will introduce the two allowance schemes to carers based on their needs, and make every effort to assist carers in making application. The 2026 Policy Address announced that the Government would optimise the system of the Hotline and increase the manpower of DSCs, so as to strengthen early identification of and support for high-risk carers.
There are various initiatives among the carer support measures implemented by the Government that exemplify collaboration among the Government, the business sector and the community. These include the Information Gateway for Carers established by the SWD in collaboration with the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and the Pilot Scheme on Installing Intelligent Accident Detection Systems for High-risk Households, which is sponsored by the HKEX Foundation, and implemented and evaluated through collaboration between the Government, various service providers, non-governmental organisations and a university.
The Government will continue to listen to the views of stakeholders, and work hand in hand with all sectors of the community to continuously enhance the carer support measures.
Ends/Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Issued at HKT 15:40
Issued at HKT 15:40
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