Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam 24 March 2018
Innovations in poverty alleviation • The Government reinstated the Commission on Poverty (CoP) in December 2012. Chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the CoP is a high-level platform for deliberation of poverty alleviation policies • When I was the Chief Secretary for Administration, the CoP brought about various innovative work and projects under my leadership, including: • Formulating the first official poverty line, publishing the annual update of the poverty situation in Hong Kong, and conducting thematic studies such as the analyses on the poverty situation of ethnic minorities • Launching the Low-income Working Family Allowance • Conducting public engagement exercise on retirement protection • Undertaking to resolve the Mandatory Provident Fund “offsetting” issues • Filling the gaps of existing assistance programmes through the Community Care Fund Promoting social innovation and cross-sector collaboration through the Social • Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund 2 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
The objectives of the Commission on Poverty Summit 3 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
The value of the poverty line Poor population and poverty rate after recurrent cash benefits, 2009-2016 Poor population ('000) 1 500 1 352 Pre-intervention 1 345 1 348 1 336 1 400 1 322 1 312 1 325 (19.9%) (20.6%) (19.7%) 1 295 (19.9%) (20.1%) (19.6%) (19.6%) (19.6%) Post-intervention 1 300 (recurrent cash) 1 200 1 043 1 100 1 031 1 018 (16.0%) 1 005 996 (15.7%) (15.2%) 971 972 962 (15.2%) (14.7%) (14.3%) (14.5%) 1 000 (14.3%) 900 800 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Poor households ('000) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Pre-intervention 541 536 530 541 555 555 570 582 Post-intervention (recurrent cash) 406 405 399 403 385 383 392 412 Note: . ( ) Figures in parentheses denote the corresponding poverty rates. Source: General Household Survey, Census and Statistics Department. 4 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
Public rental housing (PRH) is an important pillar in poverty alleviation work Poor population and poverty rate after in-kind benefits, 2009-2016 Poor population ('000) 1 600 1 352 1 348 1 336 1 345 1 312 1 325 1 322 1 295 (19.9%) (20.6%) (19.9%) (19.7%) (19.6%) 1 400 (20.1%) (19.6%) (19.6%) Pre-intervention 1 043 1 200 1 031 1 005 1 018 996 (16.0%) (15.7%) 972 962 971 Post-intervention (15.2%) (15.2%) (14.7%) (14.5%) (14.3%) (14.3%) 1 000 (recurrent cash) 726 699 675 709 674 656 648 669 (11.1%) 800 (10.6%) (10.4%) Post-intervention (10.2%) (10.1%) (9.8%) (9.8%) (9.6%) (recurrent cash + in-kind) 600 400 200 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Poor households ('000) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Pre-intervention 541 536 530 541 555 555 570 582 Post-intervention (recurrent cash) 406 405 399 403 385 383 392 412 Post-intervention 284 278 271 272 269 271 281 304 (recurrent cash + in-kind) Note: ( ) Figures in parentheses denote the corresponding poverty rates. Source: General Household Survey, Census and Statistics Department. 5 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
PRH was effective in alleviating poverty, reducing the poverty rate by 3.4 percentage points and lifting over 230 000 persons out of poverty. Its effectiveness was even higher than those of recurrent cash benefits (including Comprehensive Social Security Assistance) Effectiveness of selected recurrent cash benefits and PRH provision in poverty alleviation, 2015-2016 Population ('000) (Percentage point(s)) 400 7 374 357 Recurrent cash In-kind: PRH 350 6 2015 2016 2015 2016 300 Reduction in poor population (LHS) 5.4 5 272 5.2 Reduction in poverty rate (RHS) 250 234 4 197 3.9 200 189 3.4 3 150 2.8 2.8 118 103 2 100 69 1.7 56 1.5 1 50 23 1.0 23 22 24 0.3 18 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.8 0.2 3 1 @ @ 0 0 CSSA OALA Education LIFA OAA DA WITS All recurrent PRH benefits cash benefits provision Old Age Disability Work Incentive Reduction in poor Education All recurrent PRH CSSA OALA LIFA Allowance Allowance Transport households ('000) benefits cash benefits provision (OAA) (DA) Subsidy (WITS) 2015 108 54 18 - 9 8 1 177 102 2016 107 49 15 6 10 8 1 170 91 Note: (@) Less than 0.05 percentage point. Source: General Household Survey, Census and Statistics Department. 6 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
Visiting Light Home in Wing Lee Street in July 2015 7 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
Visiting Light Housing in Sham Tseng in July 2016 8 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
Officiating at the launching ceremony of Light Housing in Sham Tseng in October 2016 9 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
Celebrating the Chinese New Year with tenants of Light Housing in Sham Tseng in February 2018 10 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
Visiting a social housing project under the Community Housing Movement of Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) in February 2018 11 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
The Government will strive to increase the supply of PRH • Increasing the supply of PRH is the ultimate solution to resolve the housing problem of underprivileged families It takes time to identify land for increasing housing supply. Hence, we cannot fully • meet the housing needs of the underprivileged through PRH in the short run. The average waiting time for general applicants of PRH is 4.7 years 12 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
Exploring strategies to increase land supply • Increasing land supply is the prerequisite of increasing PRH supply. It is a pressing problem that warrants immediate attention • The Task Force on Land Supply will launch a 5-month public engagement exercise in April to facilitate the community to discuss the pros and cons of different land supply options and their relative priorities, with a view to achieving a broad consensus in the community 13 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
While we are striving to increase PRH supply, the Government endeavours to optimise existing housing resources to help families on the PRH waiting list and the inadequately housed The Policy Address put forth specific measures that may be considered, including: optimising the use of idle government premises by providing rental housing • units like those under the Light Housing project launched by Light Be in Sham Tseng; • supporting the Community Housing Movement initiated by HKCSS on a pilot basis, including encouraging the Urban Renewal Authority to participate by offering units in old buildings; • facilitating the Hong Kong Housing Society in allowing the owners of its subsidised housing to rent out their flats with premium unpaid to needy families at below market rentals on a pilot basis; • exploring the wholesale conversion of industrial buildings into transitional housing with waiver of land premium; and • supporting non-profit-making organisations to explore the feasibility of constructing pre-fabricated modular housing on idle sites 14 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
Consolidating the resources of different sectors in the community to promote social housing projects Social housing projects By consolidating the resources of different sectors in the community, including • social welfare organisations, social enterprises, charities, landlords and professionals, social housing projects provide underprivileged families with renovated housing units as temporary homes at affordable rents 15 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
The Chief Executive’s principles in social policies - The Chief Executive's 2017 Policy Address • Whether in poverty alleviation, care for the elderly or support for the disadvantaged, the Government should adhere to the following principles in formulating policies: pro-child, pro- family, pro-work and pro-user. On the provision of social services, we should promote cross-sector and cross-profession collaboration as well as public-private partnership to make better use of our resources and provide more comprehensive care for the needy in society • The Government will continue to devote resources in alleviating poverty and supporting the disadvantaged with a view to building a caring and inclusive society 16 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
Thank you 17 Commission on Poverty Summit 2018 | Opening Remarks by the Chief Executive
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