Provisional Legislative Council
Welfare Services Panel
18 February 1998
Review of Pilot Neighbourhood Level Community Development Projects(NLCDPs) in Old Urban Areas
This paper informs Members on the progress of the Review of Pilot Neighbourhood Level Community Development Projects(NLCDPs) in Old Urban Areas.
Background
2. NLCDPs were introduced in the 1970s to deprived and transient communities where the provision of welfare services and facilities were considered inadequate or non-existent. Such areas include temporary housing areas (THAs), squatter areas, boat squatters, Marks I-VI public housing estates (PHEs) affected by Housing Authority's Five-year Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme (CRP). The Committee on NLCDPs, chaired by a representative of the Home Affairs Bureau and comprising representatives of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Social Welfare Department and Housing Department, is responsible for identifying suitable service areas according to the selection criteria at the Annex.
3. Within the project area, the NLCDP team provides the target population with a package of welfare services including basic counselling, community education, training and development programmes for different age groups and where appropriate, case referrals.
4. On 5 December 1995, ExCo decided, inter alia, that there was no need to extend NLCDP service to new towns, rural areas and PHEs not yet affected by redevelopment. It further decided that a review of the two pilot NLCDPs in Mong Kok and Nam Cheong be conducted by an independent team in 1997 to determine whether the service needs to be extended to other old urban areas.
Present Position
5. A Review Group was appointed by the Secreatary for Home Affairs in December 1996. The Review Group was chaired by Professor Felice Lieh Mak and comprised members drawn from a wide cross-section of the community.
6. The Review Group has held a total of nine meetings since its establishment in January 1997 and discussed a range of issues pertinent to its task. During the course of the review, the Review Group considered the information provided by the Administration and submissions from the welfare sector and the public. It also met with the representatives of the two pilot teams, social worker unions and a number of interested parties. Site visits were also conducted. On the basis of the discussions within the Review Group, the Review Group has produced a Report and submitted it to the Secretary for Home Affairs in January 1998.
7. The Administration is still deliberating on the Report with a view to coming up with recommendations on the way forward.
Home Affairs Bureau
12 February 1998
Annex
Criteria for Nominating Priority Areas for
Neighbourhood Level Community Development Projects (NLCDPs)
NLCDP service is provided for deprived and transient communities where the provision of welfare services and facilities are inadequate or non-existent. The first three criteria and one or more of the remaining criteria must be fulfilled for an area to be selected as a project area.
- a population between 3,000 and 15,000;
- the area would not be cleared within three years;
- low income areas;
- geographically isolated communities being remote from the town centre and not accessible to welfare services;
- new settlement with inadequate welfare services;
- heterogeneous communities with groups of conflicting interests, different ethnic groups or social classes; and
- areas with long-standing environmental / social problems.
