To provide a philosophical base and objective for our social welfare policies, we have a clear mission. Our mission in the social welfare arena, as stipulated in our Policy Agenda, is to build a caring and just society, a society with rich diversity recognising the strengths of differently endowed individuals.

We seek to build a community that celebrates family solidarity and a network of mutual care, trust, support that embraces all individuals, nurtures their healthy development and enable them to participate in economic and social life with dignity and self-reliance.

Underpinning this mission is a four-pillared approach to social policy, to:

* build a platform to provide equal opportunities for everyone to develop his or her potential and to participate in and contribute to the economic and social life of Hong Kong ;

* support and protect the disabled and vulnerable members to enable them to develop their potential and participate fully in the life of the community;

* provide a social safety net for those who are economically inactive because of age, illness or disability, and for individuals who are in need of financial assistance because of unemployment, and to help able bodied recipients to gain self-reliance; and

* develop social capital by fostering mutual care and support.

Cascading down, our polices and programmes are set out in our Policy Agenda, with the subvented sector working in partnership with us: they implement these policy objectives. Examples include the wide spectrum of services provided for people with disabilities, integrated services for children and youth, family and the elderly.

Social, economic restructuring has impact on welfare programs

The progress made in respect of the programmes and new initiatives that respond to community needs are accounted for in the context of both the Policy Address and our annual Budget.

Hong Kong is going through a period of restructuring - in both the economic and social arena. Life has become more complex and intense with more individuals and families facing varying degree of changes, with uncertainties in different aspects of their lives: in terms of relevance of skills and qualifications, security of employment and stabilities in family relationships.

I am mindful of the overriding need to ensure that our strategic directions, policies, and the supporting services are robust enough to meet the ever-changing demographic, social and economic needs of the community

Welfare spending tops $32 billion

I am equally conscious of the importance of maintaining the sustainability of our welfare policies and services. Currently welfare expenditure amounts to over $32 billion, accounting for 14.7% of the Government's recurrent expenditure and representing a 34% increase in real terms since 2000.

Of the $32 billion, over $22 billion is expenditure on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and Social Security Allowance which are non-cash limited and $7.9 billion is subvention expenditure.

Such level of investment made on the basis of a low tax regime is substantial even when compared with other developed economies which have a much higher tax rate.

Needs of community reflected in policies

Maintaining sustainability is never an accident. It is the result of common understanding, acceptance, discipline and above all, relentless hard work of all stakeholders. The tasks are by no means small, but we are fortunate to have many partners in fronting these challenges together.

I would also like to emphasise that we are not just driven on the basis of budget deficit and that we are mindful of the demands and needs of the community and these will certainly be reflected in our policies and programmes that we put forward.

The conventional planning mechanism that we introduced in the 1990s which sought to match service provision with population level or other rigid parameters is not only outdated but also does not serve the people that it intended to serve.

Paradigm-shift approach necessary

Although our Mission set at the turn of this new millennium and the strategic directions re-confirmed in subsequent Policy Agendas continue to serve us well, it is timely to revisit the concept of social investment which is one of the two key strategic responses to address our current challenges.

A paradigm shift from a 'service provision' to 'social investment and developmental' approach is necessary. That is to say, shifting away from the benevolent relief provision approach where the needy are passive recipients of help, to investment approach which is results-oriented and features prioritisation. Such an approach would also maximise individuals' capabilities and provide springboards to economic participation, self-reliance and social inclusion.

We did touch on this strategic direction to the Legislative Council Panel on Welfare Services early this year. So we are in the process of consulting and developing the blueprint with the Legislative Council.

Collective intelligence, ownership paramount

I agreed that Government should never develop its strategic directions in a vacuum, as I have just said. Collective intelligence and ownership is paramount. Social problems need a society's response. Solutions to social problems reside in the society. Whatever resources Government puts forward, whatever programmes Government puts forward, cannot solve society's problems.

For that reason, we need to consult the community in terms of the services that are provided. With this in mind, as a first step and acting as a facilitator, we will initiate a dialogue with the social-welfare sector and will engage them by organising a conference in the coming months to re-visit the philosophy of social welfare, the values which will guide us and assess our efforts in focusing on the 'social investment' approach.

Obviously we cannot map out the strategy and develop our blueprint further in just one single conference; nonetheless, constructive discussions on the welfare philosophy and ideas on how we should move forward towards a 'social investment' approach will be the basis of the discussions.

Social investment strategy must be robust, affordable, sustainable

This will be complemented by further discussions, both with the Third Sector, as envisioned in the 2004 Policy Agenda, and all relevant stakeholders including, of course, Legislative Council members.

Moving ahead, with our concerted efforts, I hope to see that at the overall community level, we can agree on a social investment strategy that is robust, affordable and sustainable. We hope that the process of formulating a social investment strategy would also help us to identify and agree on priority action areas, sets pointers on how to yield social returns, and endorse the principles in relation to effective evaluation models.

At the district level, in the light of the social investment strategy, district needs would be identified and partnership among Government, the third and business sectors fostered taking account of individual characteristics of the districts.

Fiscal challenge must be addressed

Turning to sustainability, the spending figures that I have referred to earlier on speak for themselves, and I need not repeat them here. Nonetheless, I must say that Government has been engaging in a constructive dialogue with the welfare sector and I am encouraged to see that the sector appreciates the need to address the fiscal challenge.

That said it does not mean that we do not continue to invest in social welfare in the services that required. Sustainability of our welfare system remains a challenge which we cannot, and should not, avoid. Government invests and provides a safety net, offers opportunities but also look for responsibilities from all.

As can be seen from overseas experience, Government alone cannot address the sustainability issue. Across Europe and in North America philanthropy and corporate social responsibility are vigorously being pursued. I do not see Hong Kong as any exception.

Welfare sector begins partnering with business sector

In this regard, the welfare sector has really made a good start to partner with the business sector. I can see a lot of potential for future development, in terms of scaling up and transferring successful partnerships. We should draw the best out of our community resources, with Government, the third sector and the business sector working together in tripartite partnership.

Resources go beyond the narrow monetary definition and include mutual help, sharing of innovative ideas, operational experience, management skills and volunteerism and simply just understanding the problems each sector faces. Scaling-up and transfer of successful partnerships do not occur automatically, and I see Government acting as a facilitator, providing support in order for this to proceed.

It takes, as many people say, two to tango and in this context, three to sustain. We would be working with the Third and business sectors with a view to mapping out effective sustainable strategies. This review is the second strategic response which should provide the other foundation of our blueprint.

Gov't is committed to building a caring, just society

I wish to reiterate that we are unequivocally committed to our mission of building a caring and just society. Our directions for the future are very clear to ourselves. To ensure that our strategic directions, policies, and the supporting services are robust enough to meet the changing needs of the community, it is timely, particularly at this stage, to re-visit some of our welfare philosophy and strengthen the strategic partnerships that have been built up.

That said these are no small tasks, and we need to build a common vision to engage our partners and find our common ground, to ensure that our strategies and policies are effective in building capacity which is fair within generations, equitable between generations and sustainable across generations.

We will be happy to work with the Legislative Council in future to further develop the two strategic responses that I have mentioned which will form the basis of our so-called blueprint in our social welfare policies.

Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong gave this address on the motion of "Drawing up the blueprint for Hong Kong's social welfare policies for the next decade", moved by Chan Yuen-han in the Legislative Council.