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SCMP Reporter

THE Social Welfare Department is likely to emerge as one of the poorest performing agencies when a government progress report is published on Monday.

The department is one of the worst in achieving the Governor's targets set out over the past three years and is not likely to achieve basic results until the 1996-97 legislative year.

  Director of Social Welfare Ian Strachan will report on his department's progress after Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang announces the full report for all government departments and agencies.

  The department did not perform well last year either.

  Only six of the 22 promises made by Chris Patten have been realised. Special homes for the elderly and handicapped have yet to be set up because of 'difficulty of obtaining sufficient premises'.

  More than 11,800 aged people are waiting for care and attention homes, 4,600 for homes for the elderly and 236 for hostels.

    They will have to wait more than three years to get a place in a government care and attention home, 17 months in an old people's home and 16 months in a hostel.

The long waiting lists are one reason for Mr Patten's low popularity rating in a South China Morning Post poll two weeks ago.

Mr Patten received only a 61 per cent approval rating for his performance in regard to elderly, disabled, family care, child and youth services.

 Assistant director of Social Welfare Paul Wong Po-wah said many projects had been delayed because of failure to secure premises.

'There is progress but the progress is a little bit slow.

 'And there will not be enough premises for 1995-96 year despite the launch of a private-premises purchase scheme,' he said.

The $2.5 billion scheme, announced in March by the Financial Secretary, requires the Government Property Agency to look for suitable premises and the Social Welfare Department to examine the premises and undertake negotiations with landlords.

Eight premises have been secured for the establishment of three social centres for the elderly, three day-nurseries, one home-help centre and one hostel for women.

A provisional purchase agreement has been signed for a site to build a home-help centre.

Mr Wong said another 30 premises were examined but even those purchased could not be used immediately.

'It will take four months for refurbishment. So we believe only seven or eight projects can be implemented in this financial year,' he said.

'We hope the situation will have big improvement next financial year when more premises are secured. We hope to secure all the 86 premises and achieve all the targets set by the Governor by 1997.' 



Social welfare officials fail Governor's test