Welcoming Message of the Director of Social Welfare

Welcome to the Homepage of the Social Welfare Department. 

The Social Welfare Department is the executive arm for implementing the welfare policies formulated by the Labour and Welfare Bureau. The expenditure on social welfare accounts for some 19% of the total recurrent Government expenditure. This comes second among all policy areas, showing that the Government attaches great importance to welfare services. We have all along strived to provide members of the public with a wide range of welfare services, such as social security, services for the elderly, rehabilitation and medical social services, family and child welfare services as well as services for young people.

Hong Kong is a caring society. We need a variety of welfare services and a sustainable social security safety net to take care of the elderly, the disabled, the socially disadvantaged and the vulnerable. Our welfare services cover a range of preventive, nurturing, supportive and remedial measures. We will allocate resources to the most needy in order to meet their basic needs and help them move from welfare to self-reliance for a better life.

In addition to the commitment of the Government, we also need territory-wide participation and support, which includes solidarity and harmony of families, mutual help and support of neighbours as well as interaction and collaboration among different sectors in the community. I sincerely hope that the Government, the business community, the welfare sector and the public at large will continue to forge partnership in building up a caring society.

This Homepage provides general information about our organisation structure, the latest news and related documents. Comments or suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Director of Social Welfare

Patrick Nip
Director of Social Welfare