Services and staffing levels of social welfare organisations in Hong Kong will be hit by the government plan to cut funding by as much as 7 percent in the coming three financial years, lawmakers and operators have warned.
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The sector raised their concerns after they were briefed on Monday by Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han about the funding cut aimed to ease the pressure on the public coffers after the finance chief announced the deficit had reached HK$87.2 billion (US$11.2 billion) in 2024-25.
Sun told the media after the meeting that 58 big social welfare organisations receiving more than HK$50 million annually would see their amounts cut by 7 per cent by the 2027-28 financial year.
The budget also calls for a 3 per cent funding cut for 121 small to medium-sized groups, with the Social Welfare Department shouldering a 4 per cent reduction.
In his address last week, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said he would step up the government’s productivity enhancement programme to achieve a cumulative 7 per cent expenditure cut from 2024-25 to 2027-28.
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“We do not want to reduce the carer allowance and foster family subsidies or short-term food assistance. We have to support these within a budget that has already been reduced,” Sun said.