2010-6-12
Social Welfare Planning Is In The Name Of Flexibility, But Manipulation Is The Fact
In 1991,Hong Kong has established the last long-term social welfare planning White Paper, so far there is no long-term development planning. In the titles of “flexibility”, but the fact is that the government controls the direction of services development and resources allocation. And the services are continued outsourced, bid, market-oriented, contract-based, problem personalized and in response to service-oriented.
With the implementation of the Lump Sum Grant (LSG) in 2001, the stability of our social welfare services, and development of forward-looking has been ruined. So called “flexible”, but given the government response to social problems, according to the considerations of “the will, political purposes, control resource”, and with the adoption of the “small government, big market” concept of welfare, which pursues low profit taxes on businessmen, the development of social welfare system completely ignore the social policy and in favor of businessmen. It leads to wealth disparity, sculptor’s use of welfare policy, the hostile to recipients, creates social instability and poses harms to the society.
In 2008, the appointment by the government has an only advisory function of the Social Welfare Advisory Committee for the Hong Kong social welfare planning, which can be described as an inconsistent mechanism among the powers and responsibilities and democratic. Labor welfare Bureau (LWB) does not take responsibility for welfare programs.
Continue to purse the concept of neo-liberal welfare
Nowadays Hong Kong ranks the first disparity of wealth in Asia, the Gini coefficient is 0.53, beyond Europe and the United States, which shows a serious problem. However, expenditure on social welfare accounts for only 17% of total government expenditure (about 400 million), including 75% are economic assistance, other 25% for various social welfare services.
The long-term Consultation paper on social welfare planning not only failed to address poverty and disparity, but also reiterating retention low tax policy, on the other hand, the public need to bear the cost of social welfare and also their needs are reduced simultaneously. In addition the paper also stresses the user pays, social investment, business contributions and other financing methods.
Our demands are:
Government social welfare planning should be made by the council-led and set up a conventional power planning and decision making mechanism which leads by a numbers of service users, scholars, the government and other stakeholders for formulating specific directions like services planning and the details of resources allocation as well as the time table for the completion of the process.
To stop long-term planning of social welfare in Hong Kong which proposed by the lack of credibility and planning power of the Social Welfare Advisory Committee.
The Government must undertake to comply with promoting social equality and justice as the goal-oriented concept of social welfare planning, also take serious review and improve the resources allocation to existing system.
Anti False Harmony Alliance (AFHA) is a network of frontline workers in the welfare sector, Tai O residents, service users, social workers students and scholars. We are concerned about social services and social work is being affected by managerialism and marketisation; social work, adhere to the core values of justice has been eroded at the same time, the public access to valuable social services, rights are also denied. We believe that a progressive, the value of upholding justice, social services and social work, is not only possible, but should work together to fighting for.