(Policy Address 2024) Govt to subsidize elderly care options in Guangdong

John Lee said the government will be subsidizing elderly recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to reside in residential care homes for the elderly in the Guangdong Province.

A new three-year pilot program will allow up to 1,000 elderly people who are currently receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to receive monthly subsidies of HK$5,000 to live in designated residential care homes in Guangdong.

Meanwhile, Lee said the government attaches great importance to caring for the elderly in need and has been constantly strengthening elderly services.

The total number of vouchers under the Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly will be increased by 20 percent to 6,000, allowing more frail elderly persons to be admitted to residential care homes for the elderly of their choice and receive subsidized care services without waiting.

Lee’s address also covered measures on targeted poverty alleviation, including extending the pilot program on Community Living Room.

The government will set up three additional Community Living Rooms next year in areas clustered with sub-divided units. They are expected to benefit about 1,300 target households, serving about 200,000 attendances a year.

Other measures include more than doubling the number of schools offering after-school care services for primary students to allow their parents to work; and expanding its existing “Strive and Rise” program, where underprivileged children are matched up with mentors.

The School-based After-School Care Service Scheme will increase from 50 to over 110 schools, Lee said, and more schools will be encouraged to join, such that there’s no planned cap to the number of students who can benefit from the program.