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Following is a question by Dr Hon Fernando Cheung and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (June 10):
Question:
In the Special Topics Report No. 62 published at the end of last year, the Census and Statistics Department presented the results of the supplementary enquiries conducted via the General Household Survey in respect of persons with disabilities and chronic diseases. As pointed out in the Report, there was an estimate of 578 600 persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Hong Kong in 2013, an increase of about 60 per cent from 361 300 PWDs in 2007, and among the PWDs, 53 per cent were aged 70 and over. Besides, 18 per cent of the PWDs indicated that they had a lot of difficulties in day-to-day living due to their disabilities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as some social workers have relayed to me that the current Integrated Support Service for Persons with Severe Physical Disabilities does not cover household cleaning service, and the proposed services under the Hong Kong Rehabilitation Programme Plan (HKRPP) fail to meet the additional demand brought about by the increase in the population of PWDs, whether the authorities will review the current home care services and formulate new HKRPP to provide appropriate services to PWDs; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) given that the authorities are now working on the Elderly Services Programme Plan (ESPP) and are consulting different stakeholders, of the details of the implementation of ESPP by the authorities; how the authorities ensure that the proposed ESPP can cater for the needs of elderly with different severity of disabilities; and
(3) given that the building standards set out by the Government in 2008 in the Design Manual: Barrier-Free Access do not apply retroactively and are not applicable to the premises under the management of the Government or the Hong Kong Housing Authority, and that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has expressed regret in this regard and has recommended that the Government strengthen the monitoring of barrier-free access, whether the authorities will, in response to the increase in the population of PWDs, amend the design manual as well as accept the observations and recommendations of the Committee; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the questions raised by Dr Hon Fernando Cheung is as follows:
(1) The Government has launched home care services and integrated support services to support the social integration of persons with severe disabilities living in the community, with case managers co-ordinating the required services for these persons. Both schemes mainly cater for their needs of personal care, rehabilitation training and nursing care. For household cleaning service, given that the majority of persons with severe disabilities live with their families, and that their family members should share the responsibility of cleaning their homes, the basic services provided under the two schemes do not cover this service. Nevertheless, if individual persons with severe disabilities participating in the schemes are in need of household cleaning service, case managers will arrange such service for them.
The current version of the Hong Kong Rehabilitation Programme Plan (HKRPP) was last reviewed in 2007. The policy objectives, sustainable development directions and proposed specific measures set out in the current version still remain largely valid. The Government will also make timely reference to the experience of the preparation of the Elderly Services Programme Plan in considering the next revision of the HKRPP.
(2) The conduct of the Elderly Services Programme Plan is structured into three stages, namely, Scoping, Formulation and Consensus Building. Public engagement events are arranged in each stage of the process. Public engagement events of the first stage were conducted in October and November last year. The Government and the consultant team reported progress to Members of the Panel on Welfare Services and also listened to the views of Members and deputations at the meetings held in December 2014 and January 2015. The public engagement events of the second stage have commenced since early June 2015. These include 15 focus group discussion sessions and five public forums. The events are expected to be completed in August 2015. The consultant team will process and analyse the views gathered, which will be considered by the Elderly Commission in formulating the preliminary recommendations of the Elderly Services Programme Plan. The third stage will commence around end-2015. The existing HKRPP has already catered for the different needs of persons with disabilities, regardless of their age.
(3) The "Design Manual: Barrier Free Access 2008" (Design Manual) is applicable to buildings constructed on or after December 1, 2008 and regulated by the Buildings Ordinance (the Ordinance). For buildings constructed before that date and regulated by the Ordinance, when alteration, modification or addition works are carried out, unless the Director of Buildings is satisfied that the relevant works fail to comply with the requirements of the Design Manual owing to structural, design, location or physical environment constraints, the owners concerned must ensure that the works comply with the requirements prescribed in the Design Manual.
The Ordinance is not applicable to the properties of the Government and Housing Authority (HA). However, according to the existing policy, the authorities responsible for managing Government and HA properties will not approve the building plans of properties constructed on or after December 1, 2008 unless they are satisfied that reasonable access will be provided for persons with disabilities in these properties. This is to ensure that the properties concerned comply with the latest barrier-free design standards and provide barrier-free facilities with design standards even beyond the statutory requirements where technically and physically feasible. For properties constructed before December 1, 2008, the Government and HA have carried out a retrofitting programme to upgrade the barrier-free access and facilities of about 3 500 existing government premises and 240 HA properties. Most of the works were completed before June 30, 2014.
The Buildings Department (BD) set up the Technical Committee on the Design Manual in June 2014 to collect and listen to the views and suggestions of the building sector and relevant organisations in respect of the practical experience in the use of the Design Manual, advancements in building designs, technologies and construction methods, and latest relevant overseas regulatory controls and standards. BD will consider the Committee's recommendations and continue to listen to the views of the stakeholders, including persons with disabilities, the building sector, owners and other users.
Ends/Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Issued at HKT 13:46
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