Following is a question by the Hon Lau Ka-keung and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (October 28):

Question:

     A recent case of suspected child abuse has aroused widespread social concern about how high-risk households can be identified at an early stage and whether the strength of existing child protection measures is adequate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as the authorities have reportedly indicated that they would decide whether to take forward the introduction of a "failure to protect" offence following the satisfactory implementation of the work on the mandatory reporting of child abuse and the accumulation of experience, but given that the number of child abuse cases has shown an upward trend recently, whether the authorities will study the enactment of a "failure to protect" offence while regularly reviewing the effectiveness of the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance; if not, of the reasons for that;

(2) of the mechanisms currently put in place by the authorities for the proactive identification and early intervention of households at high risks where carers have tendencies such as drug abuse and family violence; whether it will expedite the establishment of a social welfare data-sharing platform and adopt artificial intelligence to identify households at high-risk at an early stage for precise response; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) as it is learnt that the detection of inappropriate high-consumption behaviour by households receiving the Minimum Living Allowance (MLA) on the Mainland may trigger early warnings under its dynamic monitoring system or result in the revocation of their eligibility for MLA, of the mechanisms and measures put in place by the authorities to combat unreasonable high-consumption behaviour by certain households receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) while ensuring that the basic living needs of the children concerned are not affected by any adjustment to or the cessation of CSSA payments?

Reply:

President,

     The Government attaches great importance to safeguarding the best interests of children, and has always been committed to protecting children's wellbeing in various policies. My response to the question raised by the Hon Lau Ka-keung's question is as follows:

(1) The Government has been committed to promoting the early identification of, and intervention in, suspected cases of serious child abuse. The Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance (Cap. 650) (the Ordinance) came into effect on January 20, 2026, mandating specified professionals to make a report as soon as practicable if they, during the course of their work, have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is suffering or is at real risk of suffering serious harm. The implementation of the Ordinance has proceeded smoothly and has received a positive response. It has successfully strengthened public awareness for child protection, and demonstrated the effectiveness of the Government's efforts in areas such as legislation, publicity, public education and providing relevant training for mandatory reporters.

     The Law Reform Commission recommended, in its report released in September 2021, the introduction of a new offence of "failure to protect". The objective of the recommended offence is in line with the Ordinance as they both mandate certain categories of persons to take reasonable steps to protect children from suffering serious harm.

     At this juncture, the Government will give priority to carrying out the work relating to the mandatory reporting mechanism for child abuse, including continuously monitoring the operation of the mandatory reporting mechanism, ensuring the adequacy of related support measures such as emergency placement and professional support, and continuing to provide the necessary training for specified professionals. We will accumulate experience and carefully consider how to further strengthen the protection of children, and will continue to embed awareness of child protection in the hearts of the general public through publicity and education.

(2) The Government has been taking a multi-pronged approach to strengthen the identification of and support for high-risk families, in order to enhance the child and family support network, thereby achieving the goal of protecting children.

     To ensure the safety and healthy development of children, the Government established a mechanism in 2005, under which the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the Department of Health (DH), the Hospital Authority (HA), and the Education Bureau jointly implement the Comprehensive Child Development Service (CCDS). Under the CCDS, service units including Maternal and Child Health Centres under DH, hospitals under HA and Integrated Family Service Centres (IFSCs) under the SWD form a collaborative platform to identify various health and welfare needs of high-risk families with children from birth to five years of age as early as possible. Under this mechanism, children and families identified as having such needs will be referred to the relevant medical or welfare service units for appropriate follow-up services.

     To enhance support for families with parenting needs, the Government has successfully set up four Community Parents and Children Centres this year. These centres promote parent-child interaction and pass on positive parenting skills to parents through play-based services, as well as refer families with other needs to receive appropriate Government and community services, thereby preventing child abuse at source. In addition, there are currently 65 IFSCs and two Integrated Services Centres across Hong Kong, providing a range of preventive, supportive and remedial welfare services adopting the "child-centred, family-focused and community-based" approach, with a view to strengthening families' ability to care for and provide guidance to children.

     The Chief Executive's 2026 Policy Address announced that the Government will establish a "welfare information sharing e-platform" in phases to integrate the social welfare data of relevant government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). We will use artificial intelligence to enable the early identification of high-risk individuals or families for timely intervention and targeted response, with a view to intervening, as far as practicable, before problems arise or at an early stage. Through data analysis, we aim to facilitate targeted support, resource allocation and service deployment in a scientific manner, thereby putting into practice the shift in approach from "reactive response" towards "proactive identification and targeted support". The Government has already identified child protection as one of the priorities in designing the platform. Through data analysis, in future we hope to be able to identify high-risk cases in a targeted manner for early intervention and handling. Our target is to initiate a trial of data integration and analysis involving selected government departments and NGOs in the first half of next year, followed by gradual expansion of the platform's application.

(3) The CSSA Scheme provides a safety net of last resort for people who cannot support themselves financially due to old age, ill-health, disability, single parenthood, unemployment, low-earnings or for other reasons to help them meet their basic needs. The CSSA Scheme contains rigorous financial tests, including income and asset tests, to ensure the proper use of public resources and prevent abuse.

     In fact, the circumstances and actual needs of CSSA recipients and their families vary. Their way of living and consumption behaviour cannot be generalised. Therefore, it is difficult to impose standardised restrictions on the consumption behaviour of CSSA recipients. 

     That said, the Government maintains a zero-tolerance attitude towards the abuse of the CSSA. If members of the public discover anyone suspected of abusing the CSSA, they may report the cases to the SWD. The SWD will actively follow up every report received. Meanwhile, the SWD adopts a multifaceted approach to combat the abuse of the CSSA. This includes conducting data-matching with other government departments and organisations regularly and as necessary for information verification, conducting regular reviews of approved cases on a risk-based approach and proactively conducting investigations. If an investigation confirms that a case involves fraud, the SWD will take resolute follow-up action and refer serious cases to the Police for investigation and consideration of prosecution as appropriate. The SWD will also recover overpayment from the relevant persons.

     If any persons (including children) have other welfare needs resulting from the stoppage of the CSSA payment, they will, where appropriate, be referred to suitable service units for follow-up assistance.

Ends/Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:00

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