Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
Following is a question by the Hon Kingsley Wong and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (June 17):
Question:
The Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project (NSCCP) aims to provide families in need of support with flexible day child care services at the neighbourhood level through two modes, namely the home-based child care service (HCCS) provided by home-based child carers (HCCs), and centre-based care groups (CCGs). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the detailed income and expenditure of NSCCP in each of the past three years, including the total expenditure on overall services, the expenditure on the incentive payment for HCCs, and the respective income from HCCS and CCGs;
(2) of the number of HCCs and the number of children served under NSCCP in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by District Council district;
(3) of the average monthly service hours of HCCs, and the average monthly number of hours of services received by the children served, under NSCCP in 2025-2026;
(4) as there are views that even though the incentive payment for HCCs has been increased to $40 and $60 per hour depending on the child’s age and learning needs with effect from April 2024, the effectiveness in encouraging members of the public to apply to become HCCs remains insufficient, whether the authorities will consider providing an “incentive payment for proactive service” or other cash incentives to HCCs whose service hours exceed a certain number of hours per month; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) as there are views that the provision of adequate funding for child care services is crucial for boosting the labour force, whether the authorities will consider the introduction of professional HCCs in addition to volunteer services, with a view to helping women and the silver-haired group enter the workforce, as well as strengthening the force of HCCs to help unleash the labour force of families; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(6) as it is learnt that the residences of HCCs are required to pass a home assessment, such as being required to have soft rubber pads and safety guards installed at cabinet corners and door gaps to protect young children, whether the authorities have provided any financial assistance to HCCs for the installation of such equipment; if so, of the form and/or amount of the financial assistance; if not, whether consideration will be given to providing such financial assistance?
Reply:
President,
Our reply to the question raised by the Hon Kingsley Wong is as follows:
(1) The expenditure on the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project (NSCCP) in the past three years is tabulated as follows:
| Year |
Expenditure ($ million) |
| 2023-24 (Actual) |
88.0 |
| 2024-25 (Actual)(Note) |
222.7 |
| 2025-26 (Revised estimate) |
237.8 |
Note: In 2024-25, the Government increased the incentive payment for home-based child carers, the number of service places and the expenditure for home-based child carer training, hence the overall expenditure on the service increased.
The Social Welfare Department (SWD) provides subvention to non-governmental organisations under the Lump Sum Grant subvention mode to cover the required service operating costs, including staff salaries, costs for recruiting and training home-based child carers, incentive payments, service promotion costs, and subsidies for service fee waiving/reductions.
Subject to compliance with the service agreements, service operators can flexibly deploy the funding to meet the required service output and outcome standards. Moreover, parents may apply directly to service operators for service according to their needs, and the respective service operators will handle the applications and collect the fees. Therefore, the SWD does not maintain the breakdown of the amount of individual income and expenditure items as mentioned in the question.
(2) and (3) The number of home-based child carers and the number of children served in the past three years with a breakdown by District Council districts is set out at Annex. The SWD does not have information on the average monthly service hours of home-based child carers and children served.
(4) and (5) The NSCCP is a mutual help project which aims to provide parents in need with flexible day child care services at the neighbourhood level apart from the regular child care services while promoting mutual help and care within the community.
Home-based child carers provide child care services to parents in need in the spirit of caring for others. The incentive payments they receive are intended to express the Government’s appreciation and recognition of their contributions. Taking into consideration of the service nature, demand and supply situation, as well as to address the districts’ demand for day child care services, the SWD has increased the incentive payment for home-based child carers since April 2024. The rate has increased to $60 per hour for carers of infants and young children aged zero to under three or children with special educational needs, and $40 per hour for carers of other children. Increasing the incentive payment helps to attract and encourage more people to become home-based child carers. The Government welcomes women, elderly and middle-aged individuals to become home-based child carers.
To ensure service quality of the NSCCP and to balance service demand, the SWD stipulates that each home-based child carer may care for a maximum of three children aged at or below primary school level (including the home-based child carer’s own children) at any one time, as well as one child aged under three or a child with special educational needs, so as to ensure the quality of care provided to the children.
(6) The service operators will assess whether the home environment of a home-based child carer is suitable for providing care services for young children. If necessary, the operators will suggest improvements and provide the home-based child carer with relevant protective supplies to ensure a safe and suitable home environment for taking care of young children.