Policy Address

Enhance Support for Carers

102. Carers play an important role in supporting elderly persons and persons with disabilities to live in the community. They deserve more recognition and stronger support. From October 2023, the Government will regularise the allowance for carers of elderly persons and persons with disabilities under the Community Care Fund and raise the amount of subsidy. For instance, the monthly living allowance for carers from low-income families will be increased by 25% from $2,400 to $3,000, benefitting about 10 000 carers. In addition, a number of measures will be rolled out from next year, including setting up a one-stop information gateway and a designated hotline for carers, increasing the number of respite service places and enhancing the service enquiry system, promoting community-based peer support for carers, and launching a territory-wide publicity campaign to raise public awareness of the needs of carers.

Lift the Quality and Quantity of Residential Care Homes for the Elderly

103. At present, there are about 75 000 RCHEs in Hong Kong, of which about 35 000 are subsidised service places. The Government is making its best endeavour to increase the number of subsidised service places. Our target is to provide an additional 6 200 places by end-2027, an increase of 20%. Of these, 2 600 places will commence service next year. We will build RCHEs on suitable sites, reserve about 5% of the total GFA in public housing development projects for welfare purposes such as the provision of RCHEs, and purchase places from private RCHEs. We will also leverage market forces to boost the supply. I have asked the DEVB and the LWB to put forward proposals early next year to provide more incentives, such as granting GFA concessions, to encourage developers to build elderly service facilities in their private development projects.

104. In the coming five years, we will subsidise an additional 1 700 or more students to enrol in nurse training programmes. They will be required to work in the welfare sector for at least three years upon graduation. The Government will also undertake a holistic review of the skill and qualification requirements of residential care home staff, so as to establish professional standards and a career progression path.