Social welfare agencies subsidised by the government are sitting on about HK$2.05 billion in reserves built up under the controversial lump-sum grant funding policy - at the expense of the underprivileged, people working in the sector say.
The accumulated reserves could be better spent on the services they were set up to provide, and on improving pay and staff training.
But some say the government's lump-sum grant policy forces organisations to retain cash reserves so they can adequately finance themselves for future operation.
Of the 164 organisations that receive money under the scheme - and which provide 80 per cent of the city's social welfare services - 87 have a reserve of more than the limit allowed.
Welfare agencies are allowed to accumulate no more than 25 per cent of their annual funding as reserves.
These reserves have been built up since 2001, when the groups began getting annual lump-sum grants.
