Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki today chaired the first meeting of the sixth-term Commission on Poverty and led its members to visit the To Kwa Wan Community Living Room (CLR).

The To Kwa Wan CLR, which began operation in September and provides a saleable floor area of some 6,900 sq ft, is the largest CLR among the four in operation.

The commission members were briefed on the To Kwa Wan CLR's additional facilities, including a children's playing and reading corner, physical training facilities, shower rooms, group activities space, health-check devices, a band room and a multimedia room.

These are in addition to the essential facilities such as a shared pantry, dining room, living room, study room for students, and self-service washing machines and dryers.

Following the positive response to the Sham Shui Po CLR - the first project under the Pilot Programme on CLR - since its commencement, the Government further launched CLRs in To Kwa Wan, Hung Hom and Nam Cheong for three years. The four projects are projected to serve at least 1,750 subdivided unit households, with about 270,000 attendances a year.

As commission Chairperson, Mr Chan extended a warm welcome to members of the new term, saying that the Government steadfastly upholds the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation by directing resources to those most in need.

At the meeting, members noted the progress on several items, including the Strive & Rise Programme. The enhanced second cohort of the programme was launched in October last year, with enhancement measures such as increasing the number of mentees from 2,800 to 4,000, the extension of the programme to cover Secondary 4 students, enriching the variety of group activities and introducing mentorship groups.

The number of benefited mentees of the programme's second cohort, together with the alumni of the first cohort, was 6,800. It is expected the total number of student participants who have benefited would double to 12,000 in the 2025-26 school year.

As regards the School-based After School Care Service Scheme, which was launched in the 2023-24 school year, 59 primary schools in Kowloon City, Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Kwun Tong, Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long were recruited in the first year of the scheme, providing nearly 3,000 service places.

The scheme's pilot period was extended to the 2024-25 school year, covering all 18 districts in Hong Kong. As of the end of August, over 110 primary schools have been recruited for the second year of the scheme.

The commission members were also briefed on care for elderly households. In March, the Social Welfare Department engaged the District Services & Community Care Teams in Tsuen Wan and Southern District on a pilot basis to identify households with singleton/doubleton elders and carers of elderly persons/persons with disabilities in need through visits and referred these cases to social welfare service units for follow-up action.

As of the end of August, the Care Teams have visited or contacted over 4,200 households in need and referred 107 households to install emergency alarm systems with subsidies. Subject to a review of the project, the Government may consider extending the services to other districts.

Members also took note of the government officials' reports on the implementation of the Community Care Fund and the Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development Fund, as well as the progress and financial position of various assistance programmes of relevant funds.

Mr Chan said the Government, jointly with the commission, will unite the business sector and the community to implement targeted poverty alleviation projects with a view to building a caring and inclusive community.