The HK government reassured the public Sunday that it would be able to maintain the quality of social welfare services by re-deployment of manpower, despite funding cuts.

Paul K.W. Tang, director of Social Welfare, pledged that the government will re-deploy resources - based on the importance of services - so as not to lower their quality.

He is answering to plea raised by a social welfare pressure group not to cut social welfare funds across the board lest vulnerable social groups suffer.

"Because of re-adjustment of services, there must be pressure on manpower. But we believe that if manpower could be re-deployed appropriately, particularly by giving priority to vital services and slowing down other services a little, the problem could hopefully be resolved," Tang said.

He will meet with non-government organizations of the social welfare sector tomorrow to talk about the issue.

Fighting for Social Welfare Alliance pointed out Sunday that the government will be slashing social welfare spending by more than 30 percent between 1997 and 2007, which is a very big margin.

In fact, government spending on social welfare in the next financial year will shrink by HK$100-200 million.

Some social welfare services will have to be cut, including hostels for the elderly, homes for children, sheltered workshops and single-parent family services, the alliance predicted.

It lamented that vulnerable social groups will be hardest hit by the government's move since there is little chance that they can step forward to organize resistance.

It called upon the government not to reduce social-welfare resources across the board while society is suffering from economic downturn, high unemployment and a widening gap between the rich and the poor.

The government should set up a social welfare development fund to cope with the need for social welfare services in the next five years.

It should also review its principles in reducing funding and avoid making across-the-board cuts, the alliance said.

In the long run, planning for the allocation of social-welfare resources ought to be revamped to maintain the quality of social-welfare services, it suggested.

(China Daily HK Edition December 15, 2003)