Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing today announced the Report on Ageing Society Strategies, which outlines 73 strategic measures consisting of new innovative initiatives alongside enhanced ones.
Mr Cheuk noted Hong Kong’s population aged 65 and above is expected to reach 2.74 million by 2046, accounting for more than one-third of the total population.
“In view of the challenges brought by an ageing society, the Government and all sectors of society must plan ahead. Since its establishment in November last year, the Working Group on Ageing Society Strategies has comprehensively reviewed and explored the policies and measures of various bureaus in response to our ageing society, and has submitted the Report to the Chief Executive.
“The Report puts forward 73 strategic measures, including innovative and new measures as well as enhanced measures, representing the collective effort of cross-departmental collaboration to address the challenges brought by an ageing society,” he added.
The proposed measures span 11 core areas, including elderly health care, elderly residential care services, cross-boundary elderly care, and elderly community and living support. They also cover leveraging technology for “smart ageing”, elderly-friendly urban planning and design. elderly travel, social life and learning, elderly financial security and safety, human resources and public finances, silver economy, industries and opportunities, and after-death planning.
Regarding elderly health care, the Health Bureau will strengthen healthcare services, facilities and manpower. This year, it will integrate the services of Elderly Health Centres by increasing service points and capacity to deliver more comprehensive health assessments. It will also reduce waiting times through appropriate referrals to the Primary Healthcare Co-care Network for chronic disease management.
For elderly residential care and community care services, the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB) will increase subsidised long-term care places for the elderly by around 3,500 by the end of 2027. Furthermore, the bureau will provide newly built premises to the industry for self-financed operations to expand overall residential care home capacity, giving service providers greater flexibility to offer diversified elderly residential care services tailored to market demands.
To promote smart ageing, a welfare information sharing e-platform will be established to integrate social welfare data across relevant government departments and non-governmental organisations. The platform will utilise artificial intelligence to facilitate the early identification of high-risk individuals or families, enabling timely intervention and targeted responses.
To support silver economy development, the Office of the Government Economist will analyse changes in the socio-economic characteristics and consumption patterns of the elderly population to help formulate silver economy measures. Meanwhile, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau will actively expand certification schemes for elderly products and services while exploring their broader application with relevant organisations.
The Government will continuously review and update relevant strategies based on the latest data. For instance, the LWB will review the planning ratios for elderly facilities in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines based on the results of the 2026 Population Census.