The Director of Social Welfare (DSW), after careful consideration, has decided to refuse the renewal application of Certificate of Exemption (CoE) in respect of Sun Flower Home Centre, a private residential care home for persons with disabilities in Western district, a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said today (December 7).
           
     The spokesman said that the SWD served a notice to World Famous Limited, holder of the CoE in respect of the home concerned, on November 9, stating the department's intention to refuse its CoE renewal application according to section 12(3)(b) of the Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Ordinance, and that the CoE holder may make written representations on the matter to the DSW within one week. The department's Licensing Office of Residential Care Homes for Persons with Disabilities (Licensing Office) at the same time has been closely monitoring the operation of the home and following up on the residential care arrangement for each resident. All of the residents had moved out of the home earlier.
           
     The SWD received written representations from the CoE holder before the deadline. After careful consideration of the representations, the DSW considered it not appropriate for the company to continue operating the home, and thus made the above decision.
           
      "The Department has served a notice to the company today stating that the refusal of CoE renewal application in respect of Sun Flower Home Centre will take immediate effect. Social workers will continue to look after the needs of individual residents who had left the home, providing them with appropriate support to ensure that they are properly taken care of," the SWD spokesman said.
                 
     He pointed out that the Licensing Office was earlier aware of the tenancy disputes between the home and the property owner, and discovered that the home had been arranging for its residents to reside in another unit every night, which is not in compliance with the Ordinance and the requirements of the Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities). The Licensing Office stepped up its inspections of the home's service performance and collected evidence regarding the non-compliance. After seeking legal advice, the Department decided to refuse the home's CoE renewal application.

Ends/Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:46

NNNN