I refer to the letter from Ella Choi Wing-ue ("Tackle poverty to improve our children's lives", January 29). Ms Choi may have already noted that "support the needy" and "let youth flourish" are two main themes of the chief executive's 2014 policy address, which outlines a blueprint for poverty alleviation. It sets out a package of wide-ranging measures benefiting various groups, particularly children in poverty. Among those measures is a pro-child Low-Income Working Family Allowance, which will, on top of a basic allowance for eligible families, provide an additional allowance for each eligible child to meet his or her other learning needs. This will help promote upward mobility and prevent inter-generational poverty. Around 180,000 children will benefit from this scheme. The policy address also proposes other forms of cash and in-kind support, such as providing free lunches at schools for primary students receiving a full grant under the student financial assistance schemes and increasing the flat-rate grant by about 100 per cent for each primary and secondary student eligible under the School Textbook Assistance Scheme. Besides financial assistance, additional support will also be provided to promote the all-round development of children in need. Schools and NGOs have been providing extracurricular activities and after-school learning and support to students under schemes offered by the government and the Community Care Fund. In the 2014/15 school year, we will provide greater flexibility for schools in implementing the School-based After-school Learning and Support Programmes and, by providing funding, encourage schools to make better use of the school-based grant to benefit more students. To raise the children's self-esteem and confidence, we have been supporting initiatives proposed by community organisations, including the launching of a HK$300 million Child Development Fund in 2008. We will inject another HK$300 million into the fund to benefit more children. Noting the success of after-school learning support programmes organised by the business sector and community organisations, such as Project WeCan and the 333 Learning Companion Leadership Programme, we will provide through the Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged dedicated funding of HK$200 million to provide matching funds to facilitate similar worthwhile programmes. The above are a few of the major initiatives proposed in the policy address to tackle child poverty. I take this opportunity to call upon the entire community to make concerted efforts in improving the well-being of our younger generation. Carrie Lam, chief secretary for administration, chairperson, Commission on Poverty
