Social Administration Essay

Words: 2767
Pages: 12

In Hong Kong, more than 50% of HKSAR government public expenditure is spent in providing social welfare services. Education, housing, medical and health services and social welfare are four major aspects of the social policy. As point out by R. Titmuss (1974), the objective of social policy is to meet people’s needs and promote social integration and discourage alienation. It means that an effective and efficient social policy can build up social cohesion and unity amount social groups and individual and society, by meeting people’s needs and resolving social problems. It can even promote sense of belongings and identity amount peoples in the society, which is vital to social stability.

However not every social policies can
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The public medical and health services are heavily government subsidized. For out-patient services, the government subsidizes 40% of its cost, charging $45 per attendance. For in-patient services, the government even subsidizes 95% of the cost, just charging $68 per day. If without government’s subsidy, lower class or even middle class are not able to afford the high fee charged. Recently in order to reduce the burden of public hospital, the government introduce a health care voucher scheme, subsidizes the elderly to use the private sector services. These public medical policies enable the low income group can be affordable to receive medical service. It can as a result protect the health of Hong Kong citizens.

A beneficial social policy can also promote social security, which the legislation of minimum wage law can be taken as an example. Due to failure of Wage Protection Movement, the chief executive Mr. Donald Tsang announced that Hong Kong will impose a minimum wage law in Policy Address 2008-09. Since in Hong Kong, there are more than 200,000 working poor households who may earn just about $3000 per month but have to work for 12 hours every day. The amount is even not enough for their family’s basic living needs. The law aims at increasing their monetary income. The law is across-the-board and the wage level will be discussed by both employers and employees. With such a law, it can improve the living standard of those working poor households. It