An Overview

MISSION

1.1

The SWD is committed to building a caring community in which people live with self-sufficiency, dignity, harmony and happiness.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1.2

The endeavours of the SWD are along the following guiding principles:

to provide the disadvantaged groups who are unable to meet basic and essential needs with a safety net
to promote family harmony as a core part of social stability and prosperity
to assist the poor and the unemployed with an emphasis on enhancing, not impeding, their will to be self-reliant
to foster a caring culture in society and encourage those with sufficient means to show concern for others in the community

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

1.3

The SWD is dedicated to:

caring for the elderly, the sick and the underprivileged
providing a safety net to the needy while encouraging and assisting those with the ability to work to become self-reliant
preserving and strengthening family solidarity and fostering harmony among family members
mobilising community resources and promoting volunteerism to promote the spirit of mutual care and support in the community
building up social capital and encouraging partnership among different sectors of the community to work for the social development of Hong Kong through shared responsibilities

WELFARE EXPENDITURE

1.4

In the 2016-17, the total actual recurrent government expenditure on social welfare ^{Note 1} reached $63.5 billion, taking up 18.4% of the total actual recurrent government expenditure and ranked the second amongst various policy areas as shown in Chart 1 below.

Chart 1:2016-17 Actual Recurrent Government Expenditure by Policy Area Group

Note 1

Social welfare policy area expenditure includes the bulk of SWD's expenditure (except those programmes under such policy areas as internal security and district and community relations) and other expenditure directly under the control of the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB).
To give a better picture of the long term trend of recurrent expenditure on social welfare, one-off additional payments to recipients under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) and SSA schemes are listed under non-recurrent expenditure since 2010-11.

TOTAL EXPENDITURE OF SWD AND LOTTERIES FUND (LF) EXPENDITURE

1.5

In 2015-16, the total actual expenditure of the SWD was $62.5 billion. Of the $62.5 billion, $44.0 billion (71%) was for financial assistance payments^{Note 2}, $13.4 billion (21%) was for recurrent subventions to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), $1.7 billion (3%) was for other payment for welfare services, and the remaining balance of $3.4 billion (5%) was for departmental expenditure.

1.6

In 2016-17, the total actual expenditure of the SWD was $64.4 billion. Of the $64.4 billion, $44.5 billion (69%) was for financial assistance payments^{Note 2}, $14.5 billion (23%) was for recurrent subventions to NGOs, $1.9 billion (3%) was for other payment for welfare services, and the remaining balance of $3.5 billion (5%) was for departmental expenditure.

1.7

Analysed by programme as shown in Chart 2 below, elderly services took up the second largest share amongst the various welfare services, just after social security, in both 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Chart 2: The SWD - 2016-17 Actual Expenditure by Programme

1.8

Established with income from the Mark Six Lottery, investment income and auctions of vehicle registration marks to finance the development of social welfare services, the LF is a major source of capital funding for NGOs. In 2015-16 and 2016-17, the actual payments from the LF were $0.9 billion and $1.3 billion respectively.

Note 2

The financial assistance payments included $5.3 billion and $2.8 billion for one-off additional payments to recipients under the CSSA and SSA schemes in 2015-16 and 2016-17 respectively.