Welfare chief Chris Sun: expanded elderly support

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun says the government is looking to refine how it identifies vulnerable elderly households.

He says authorities are exploring new parameters, such as hospital records to include high-risk groups or carers in their 60s.

TVB News spoke with the welfare chief.

At Lai King Estate on Friday, an 80-year-old woman was found dead alongside her 71-year-old husband -- who had taken his own life. The double tragedy has sparked questions on whether the government is doing enough to identify at-risk elderly households.

Speaking on TVB News, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun says the government has earlier introduced a Carer Support Data Platform to improve cross-departmental coordination. Sun says authorities are now considering support expansion to more vulnerable groups under 80 including those suffering from chronic illnesses.

(Reporter: "But we've still seen several more tragedies in recent months. Are there more groups to be pinpointed as high-risk elderly so we can devote more resources?")

Secretary for Labour and Welfare CHRIS SUN: "We are starting by cutting off those all elderly families over the age of 80 or above. So this is the starting point. But clearly there is more we can do as revealed by the tragedy two days ago, there will be households while their age is below the 80s, their needs for support could be high. One example we could think of is if one of them, one of the residents is suffering from chronic disease, that requires a lot of care and attention. Perhaps their risk could be as high as those over the age of 80. So we are exploring the possibility of apart from age, we could introduce another parameter, including record from the Hospital Authority if they're suffering from a chronic disease say for example dementia, so that would put a lot of strain on their carer. We should also include them into our list of high-risk families and ask the care team to visit them as a matter of priority."

A decision on updated thresholds for intervention is expected as soon as possible.

The government has recently unveiled the Report on Impact of Targeted Poverty Alleviation Strategy.

(Reporter: "The report introduced the concept of 'social transfer value' to quantify various social welfare policies. How do you think it's going to help with the measurement of effectiveness of poverty alleviation measures in Hong Kong?")

CHRIS SUN: "The purpose is to provide a clearer picture to members of the public about the vast resources invested by the government in education, medical, social welfare, and also public housing. It's a clearer way for us to try to visualise the impact of government services."

When asked whether the government's push to regulate substandard subdivided units in Basic Housing Unit policies might mean less support for other tenants still living in poor conditions, Sun points to the expansion of "community living rooms" as a key relief measure.

CHRIS SUN: "What we're doing is trying to provide support from various fronts. Through the community living rooms. So we're providing extra extended space so that they can cook, they can wash their clothes, and their children can go there to study and learn from others."

He says more than 14 such facilities are already in operation, with at least four more poised to launch this year. Around 10,000 subdivided-unit households are expected to benefit.

Despite positive feedback, Sun has stopped short of confirming whether the scheme will be "regularised" to become a permanent service -- at least for now.

He says that's because the programme is now funded by the Community Care Fund, noting authorities will continue to assess effectiveness through data analysis, including support from the business sector.