August 15, 2012

Re-establishing the Commission on Poverty will help deal with different poverty issues from a policy approach.
 
This was the message from Chief Secretary Carrie Lam today, pledging to make all-out efforts in planning and co-ordinating the work of different bureaus and departments to rationalise policies and integrate resources to implement anti-poverty measures.
 
Mrs Lam and Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung, and members of the Preparatory Task Force on the Commission on Poverty, held a consultation session today with former members of the Commission on Poverty and members of the Steering Committee on the Child Development Fund.
 
Participants expressed views on various fronts on work to alleviate poverty, including perspectives on different poverty problems in Hong Kong, experiences in fostering tripartite collaboration, strategies and highlights for policies on alleviating poverty, delineation of responsibilities and co-ordination on Government efforts in alleviating poverty, and the structure and composition of the re-established Commission on Poverty.
 
Mrs Lam thanked the former Commission on Poverty for laying a sound foundation by putting forward 50 recommendations to support the underprivileged.
 
She was glad to learn the Steering Committee on the Child Development Fund has been putting the recommendations of the former Commission on Poverty into practice by making efforts to reduce intergenerational poverty.
 
She said the commission being re-established by the Chief Executive will make reference to the views and insights of the meeting's participants.