SWD Launches Extended Support Scheme for Elderly and Carers Across 18 Districts

SWD extends District Services and Community Care Teams - Scheme on Supporting Elderly and Carers to all 18 districts (with photos/video)

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) today (March 31) held the Kick-off Ceremony themed "Act Together for a Caring Community" to announce the extension of the District Services and Community Care Teams - Scheme on Supporting Elderly and Carers to all 18 districts for a period of 12 months starting from tomorrow (April 1) to provide support and care to elderly persons and carers in need.

​ Addressing the ceremony, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, said that all 452 Care Teams across the territory will help identify elderly persons and carers in need through visits and contacts in the coming 12 months. Apart from sending them care and providing assistance to ensure elderly persons and carers feel the warmth and support from the community, the Care Teams will also refer those in need to social welfare service units for suitable support.

​ He said that with the extension of the Scheme to 18 districts the Care Teams are expected to reach over 60 000 households in need. He hoped that members of the Care Teams would go beyond serving as care ambassadors in the community by strengthening collaboration with other stakeholders. In addition to encouraging carers to use the Designated Hotline for Carer Support 182 183 and the Information Gateway for Carers (carers.hk), Care Teams will also enhance communications with the Designated Hotline for Carer Support to arrange visits or contacts for the carers in need.

​ At the ceremony, Mr Cheuk presented certificates of appointment to the Care Teams of 18 districts. Accompanied by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; the Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Ms Alice Lau; and the Director of Social Welfare, Mr Edward To, he also presided at a pledging ceremony to start the extension of the Scheme.

​ Immediately after the ceremony, the Care Teams of Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po Districts conducted home visits in the two Districts with the respective District Officers and District Social Welfare Officers to introduce welfare services to households and encourage them to seek help whenever necessary.

​ The SWD will arrange trainings for the Care Teams, covering communication skills, information on local social welfare services and referral procedures. The SWD will also maintain close communication with the Care Teams in various subdistricts and provide assistance to ensure a smooth implementation of the Scheme.

​ Piloted in Tsuen Wan and Southern Districts in the first quarter of 2024 to identify singleton/doubleton elderly persons and carers of elders persons/persons with disabilities in need through visits or contacts by the Care Teams, the Scheme has made great achievements. By the end of February this year, 36 Care Teams in the two Districts had visited or contacted over 7 200 singleton/doubleton elderly persons and carers of elderly persons/persons with disabilities, making over 1 200 referrals for welfare services, including elderly services, services for persons with disabilities, mental health services, family services and financial assistance. Moreover, more than 300 elderly persons and persons with disabilities received subsidies for the installation of emergency alarm systems through referrals made by the Care Teams.

SWD extends District Services and Community Care Teams - Scheme on Supporting for Elderly and Carers to all 18 districts Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SWD extends District Services and Community Care Teams - Scheme on Supporting for Elderly and Carers to all 18 districts Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SWD extends District Services and Community Care Teams - Scheme on Supporting for Elderly and Carers to all 18 districts Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SWD extends District Services and Community Care Teams - Scheme on Supporting for Elderly and Carers to all 18 districts Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SWD extends District Services and Community Care Teams - Scheme on Supporting for Elderly and Carers to all 18 districts Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SWD extends District Services and Community Care Teams - Scheme on Supporting for Elderly and Carers to all 18 districts Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Results of monthly survey on business situation of small and medium-sized enterprises for March 2025

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (April 10) the results of the Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for March 2025.

The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs increased from 42.1 in February 2025 in the contractionary zone to 43.5 in March 2025, whereas the one-month's ahead (i.e. April 2025) outlook DI on business receipts was 46.5. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts for all surveyed sectors rose in March 2025 as compared with previous month, particularly for the business services (from 45.1 to 48.4) and logistics (from 36.3 to 39.0).

The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades increased from 45.9 in February 2025 to 46.6 in March 2025, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month's time (i.e. April 2025) was 46.9.

Commentary

A Government spokesman said that overall business sentiment among SMEs and their expectations on the business situation in one month’s time improved in March compared with the preceding month. The overall employment situation also turned better.

Looking ahead, as the United States increased its import tariffs significantly on almost all its trading partners in April, the downside risk to the global economy and the degree of uncertainty in the external environment have risen notably. This is likely to pose pressure on business sentiment. The Government has been providing support to local enterprises (in particular the SMEs) through various measures, and will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Further information

The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to establishments with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent establishments in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled "Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey" released by the C&SD.

The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own establishments rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents' perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.

More detailed statistics are given in the "Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises". Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300).

Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hk).