Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow has commended the Council of Social Service for its contribution to social services. Attending its Annual General Meeting today, he exchanged views with representatives of the service and non-governmental organisations.

He said the Government places great importance to its relationship with the council, adding: "I believe the council will continue to work with the Social Welfare Department on different fronts (such as resources for service provision) in striving for the greatest well-being of the vulnerables within our constraints," he said.

Dr Chow said he was glad to see some NGOs have been making the best of the flexibility of the grant subvention system and changed their management culture to keep with the times.

"They have re-engineered their services to cope with social changes and their efforts have yielded initial results," he said, adding he hopes other organisations also have the courage to initiate reforms and make the most of the arrangement, so that with greater flexibility in resource allocation, they can be more responsive to society's demands.

Study commissioned

He said the Social Welfare Department has commissioned a consultancy study to gain a better understanding of NGOs' financial needs after the termination of the tide-over grant in 2006-07. The department will consider rendering assistance to individual NGOs that have genuine difficulty in meeting the targets after the termination of the tide-over grant.

Dr Chow told attendees that Government expenditure on welfare last year amounted to $33 billion. However, given the many competing demands of society and the constraints on public finances, he has to aim limited resources at the most needy to ensure maximum benefits, and try to secure new resources to enhance services.

"I believe the community at large, including the council and other organisations, would agree with this targeted approach," he said.