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Following is a question by the Hon Wong Sing-chi and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (January 5):
Question:
Regarding problems relating to the selection of the sites for and construction of centres for persons with disabilities (PWDs) and the elderly, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the numbers and percentages of the various types of residential care homes and community care service centres for PWDs the construction of which was rejected by various District Councils (DCs) in the past three years, as well as the reasons for rejection, with a breakdown by DC district (list in table form);
(b) of the numbers and percentages of the various types of residential care homes and community care service centres for the elderly the construction of which was rejected by various DCs in the past three years, as well as the reasons for rejection, with a breakdown by DC district (list in table form); and
(c) whether the authorities have put forward any proposal having regard to the reasons for rejection; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government has been proactively identifying suitable sites for use by rehabilitation and elderly service facilities. To this end, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) maintains close contact with relevant government departments including the Lands Department (LandsD), Planning Department (PlanD) and Housing Department, with a view to reserving sites in new development or re-development projects as far as practicable for setting up rehabilitation and elderly service facilities. SWD also keeps a close watch on government properties, school premises, etc released from re-engineering of services for use by rehabilitation and elderly services. In parallel, SWD also actively identifies vacant public housing units for conversion into rehabilitation service facilities. My reply to the Hon Wong Sing-chi's question is as follows:
(a) and (b) In identifying sites for residential care homes/community care service centres for persons with disabilities and the elderly, SWD has to take into account various factors, including the demand and supply of the relevant services in the local community, the size of the site, complementary transportation arrangements, planning parameters of PlanD, user clauses stipulated by LandsD, etc. After the site has been selected, the District Social Welfare Officer of SWD will conduct consultation when appropriate to gauge the views of members of the local community. Some members of the local community may express concern about individual projects or object to the location of certain centres, such that SWD may take a longer time to conduct local consultation. Nonetheless, up to this moment, no construction or expansion projects for rehabilitation and elderly service units have been shelved by SWD owing to objection by members of the local community. In the case of local objection to a certain project, SWD and the service operators concerned will strengthen communication with members of the local community in a positive and pragmatic manner. SWD will work closely with the District Councils and local organisations with a view to identifying a feasible solution and confirming the location of the project as soon as possible.
(c) As mentioned above, SWD will conduct local consultation for setting up rehabilitation and elderly service facilities. In response to the views and requests of members of the local community, SWD and the service operators concerned will also put forward solutions, such as adjusting the design of the building or premises concerned (including the height and orientation, etc), improving complementary facilities (eg provision of additional parking and boarding/alighting bays for ambulance, additional landscape buffers, etc), enhancing monitoring measures (eg infection control and managing the environmental hygiene of residential care homes), etc, so as to work out a solution acceptable to all stakeholders without compromising service quality.
To enable the smooth commencement of services, SWD and service operators will increase the awareness of the local community towards the relevant rehabilitation services and persons with disabilities through various activities such as service briefings, visits etc. All the District Co-ordinating Committees on Rehabilitation Service have all along been actively organising various public education programmes at the district level to promote the message of inclusiveness, encourage public acceptance of persons with disabilities and support the establishment of rehabilitation service units to serve persons in need.
Ends/Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Issued at HKT 11:30
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