[Budget]HK Govt to make good use of HK$61bn surplus

    The Financial Secretary Chan Mo-po, Paul said in the 2017-18 Budget Speech that the Government will take a forward-looking approach to put HK$61 billion of the surplus to good use.
  The Government will earmark a total of HK$30 billion to strengthen elderly services and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities. The Government will introduce measures to ensure the quality of residential care services and enhance community care services for the elderly. The Government will also put forward initiatives to enhance pre-school training, residential care, day care, community support, employment, barrier-free facilities and transportation for persons with disabilities, and to enable them to fully integrate into the community and enjoy equal opportunities; earmark a total of HK$20 billion for sports development as announced in the Policy Address. To provide better community and sports facilities for public use, the Government will launch 26 projects in the coming five years to develop new or improve existing sports and recreation facilities in different districts. These include sports grounds, sports centres, football pitches, swimming pools, cycling grounds, tennis courts and open spaces; reserve HK$10 billion for supporting I&T development in Hong Kong; and deploy HK$1 billion for youth development, including the provision of HK$700 million for the Education Bureau to strengthen its efforts in promoting vocational and professional education and training (VPET), facilitating the training and professional development of principals and teachers, and enhancing support for local post-secondary students, including those pursuing self-financing post-secondary programmes. In addition, an allocation of HK$300 million will be provided in 2017-18 for the Home Affairs Bureau to expand the Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship and the International Youth Exchange Programme, providing more chances for young people to enrich their exposure and broaden their horizons.