Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki and Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak today officiated at a ceremony to celebrate the first anniversary of the District Services & Community Care Teams in the Southern District.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Chan said that the care teams in the Southern District have effectively cared for the community and achieved addressing people's pressing needs over the past year.

Besides visiting and contacting some 11,000 elderly households and other households in need, the care teams handled over 1,000 requests for assistance and organised more than 300 diverse activities covering around 30,000 beneficiaries.

Mr Chan used the heavy rainstorm last September, when Shek O residents were affected by landslides and a road collapse on Shek O Road, as an example of how the care teams also provided full support to the Government during emergency situations.

He emphasised that the care teams swiftly deployed considerable manpower to offer assistance to the residents, demonstrating their outstanding emergency response capabilities.

Speaking to the media after the event, Miss Mak said the Government will review the care team services after the first phrase.

“The first phase of the care team services will last for two years. After two years, we will definitely review the whole scheme and see how we can enhance and improve the scheme so that it can benefit more residents and we can provide more district-based services to our residents.”