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The Steering Committee on Population Policy (SCPP), chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, held its 11th meeting this afternoon (November 26). This was the last meeting of the current term of the Steering Committee, whose term of office will expire on November 30.
The SCPP reviewed the major work of the current term in the past two years. Under the leadership of the Chief Secretary for Administration, the SCPP launched a four-month Public Engagement Exercise starting in October 2013 and adopted "To develop and nurture a population that will continuously support and drive Hong Kong's socio-economic development as Asia's world city, and to engender a socially inclusive and cohesive society that allows individuals to realise their potential, with a view to attaining quality life for all residents and families" as the objective of the population policy.
Taking into account views collected during the Public Engagement Exercise, which have been analysed independently by the University of Hong Kong, the SCPP identified five major strategic directions, including unleashing the workforce, improving skills mismatch, importing talent, creating a conducive environment for childrearing and promoting active ageing. The SCPP noted that the relevant bureaux are formulating policy measures according to these strategic directions. These initiatives covering different policy areas will be included in the population policy action agenda to be announced in the 2015 Policy Address.
The SCPP also noted that the next stage of work will focus on the implementation of the initiatives and monitoring of their effectiveness. Upon the expiry of the current term of office, the new term of the SCPP will comprise relevant Directors of Bureau and Heads of Department as members and continue to be led by the Chief Secretary for Administration to monitor the implementation of initiatives and cross-departmental collaboration. To gauge views from experts, academics, service institutions and other relevant stakeholders on population policy, the SCPP will organise seminars in due course to report the effectiveness of population policy initiatives and to seek views on how various initiatives can be enhanced in light of the latest developments. As always, the Chief Secretary for Administration is also happy to attend special meetings of the House Committee of the Legislative Council to brief members on the work of the SCPP.
As today's meeting was the last meeting of the current term of the SCPP, Mrs Lam took the opportunity to express her heartfelt gratitude to members for their active participation and support in the past two years.
Ends/Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Issued at HKT 23:21
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