The Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged (PFD) announced today (December 29) its invitation for the 14th round Regular Portion applications and the seventh round Dedicated Portion applications for implementing After-school Learning and Support Programmes. Welfare non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and eligible primary and secondary schools are encouraged to submit proposals to the PFD managed by the Social Welfare Department (SWD).
     
     The Government set up the PFD in 2005 to promote tripartite partnership among the welfare sector, business corporations and the Government for helping the disadvantaged. The Government provides matching grants with regard to the donations made by business partners to support welfare NGOs in running social welfare projects. Up till now the Government has injected a total of $1.2 billion into the PFD. Apart from a commitment of $800 million for the Regular Portion of the PFD to help the disadvantaged, the remaining $400 million has been earmarked for the Dedicated Portion. Since its launch in 2015, the Dedicated Portion has been actively promoting the "Citizens-Business-Government-School" collaboration to implement more after-school learning and support programmes for primary and secondary students from grassroots families to facilitate their whole-person development.
 
     Taking into consideration the local economic downturn and its impact on the disadvantaged, the SWD has extended a special measure taken last year to raise the ceiling of grants by 50 percent, that is, the ceiling of grants for each Regular Portion project is raised from $2 million to $3 million and that for each Dedicated Portion project from $3 million to $4.5 million, to allow room for welfare NGOs and schools to provide services for the benefit of more disadvantaged persons.
     
     A spokesman for the SWD said that in the earlier 13 rounds of Regular Portion Applications of the PFD, matching grants totalling over $490 million were approved for 204 welfare NGOs to implement a total of 1 024 welfare projects sponsored by over 1 600 business organisations, benefiting more than one million disadvantaged persons. The first six rounds of Dedicated Portion Applications attracted a favourable response. More than $250 million in matching grants have been approved for 401 after-school learning and support projects so far. Over 400 business organisations have participated in the projects, benefiting more than 130 000 primary and secondary students.
     
     Summaries of the two applications are as follows:
  

     Details of the Regular Portion and the Dedicated Portion of the PFD are available on the SWD homepage: www.swd.gov.hk. For enquiries about the applications, please contact the Secretariat of the PFD during office hours on 3468 2718 or 3468 2710, or by email to pmpfd@swd.gov.hk. 

     The Department of Health (DH) today (December 29) invited interested parties to submit proposals for service provision under the Outreach Dental Care Programme for the Elderly (ODCP).
 
     Currently, a total of 23 outreach dental teams from 10 non-governmental organisations have been set up under the ODCP, which aims to:
 

1. Provide free dental care services to elderly persons at residential care homes and day care centres/units for the elderly, including those in need and considered by the attending dentist as suitable for further curative treatment;
2. Promote the importance of oral care and oral health to elderly people, their family members and caregivers; and
3. Provide oral care training to caregivers in residential care homes and day care centres/units for the elderly to enhance their ability and knowledge in providing daily oral care services to elderly persons.

     The current service year for the ODCP will run until March 31, 2021. Interested parties are invited to submit proposals for the new service period from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2024. Applicants must meet all of the following requirements:
 

1. Being a non-profit-making entity and exempt from tax under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112);
2. Operating at least one dental clinic for the public at the application closing date; and
3. Being registered in accordance with requirements under section 12 of the Dentists Registration Ordinance (Cap. 156) at the application closing date.

 
     The Government will assess the proposals from interested applicants in accordance with the requirements specified in the invitation document, as well as their experience and track record in operating dental clinic(s) and outreach dental services for the public.
 
     Interested applicants can collect a set of invitation document from the DH's Elderly Special Dental Care Division at 147A Argyle Street, Kowloon, or request a copy by email (seo_odcp@dh.gov.hk).

     Applications should reach the DH at Oral Health Education Division, 1/F, Hospital Authority Building, 147B Argyle Street, Kowloon, at or before 9.30am on January 19, 2021. Late applications will not be accepted. For enquiries, please call the Elderly Special Dental Care Division (2515 2039).

The following is issued on behalf of the Community Care Fund Secretariat:

     The Community Care Fund (CCF) today (December 29) announced the launch of the second round of the One-off Living Subsidy for Low-income Households Not Living in Public Housing and Not Receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) programme (the 2021 Programme) on January 4, 2021, to relieve financial pressure on low-income households. The Programme is administered by the CCF Secretariat, with 220 service units operated by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to accept and carry out initial processing of applications.

     Announcing the details at a media briefing today, the Chairperson of the CCF Task Force under the Commission on Poverty, Dr Law Chi-kwong, said that the CCF has set aside around $1,447.73 million, expecting to benefit about 137 150 households (or about 353 600 persons).

     The CCF ran the first round of the programme (the 2020 Programme) from July 2 to November 30 and received over 110 000 applications. The subsidy levels of the 2021 Programme and the 2020 Programme are the same. The respective amounts are $4,500 for one-person households, $9,000 for two-person households, $12,500 for three-person households, $14,500 for four-person households and $15,500 for five-or-more-person households.

     Beneficiaries should currently be renting accommodation on a monthly basis (or for longer tenures) in private housing, industrial buildings, commercial buildings or social housing operated by NGOs; renting bedspaces offered under the Home Affairs Department's Singleton Hostel Programme or bedspaces in hostels operated by NGOs for rehabilitated offenders; residing in temporary housing; living on board vessels; or homeless. Their monthly income must not exceed the specified limits. They should not be receiving CSSA or own any property in Hong Kong. For persons renting accommodation in private housing, industrial buildings, commercial buildings or social housing, their monthly rent should not exceed the specified rent limits. The specified income and rent limits are as follows:
 

    
     Eligible households that benefited from the 2020 Programme (i.e. old applicant households) can also benefit. The Secretariat will, having regard to the household size of old applicant households and their priorities in receiving the subsidy under the 2020 Programme, send the notifications to them during January and May 2021 in phases. The arrangement is as follows:
 

    
     New applicant households are required to submit their application forms according to their household sizes in phases from January 4 to May 31, 2021. The arrangement is as follows:
 

     The application period of the 2021 Programme will last until May 31, 2021, so as to allow ample time for households to submit applications.           
 
     Old applicant households who still meet the eligibility criteria of the 2021 Programme should complete the reply slip with appendices (if appropriate) attached to the notification and return it to the service unit which assisted to process the application of the household concerned under the 2020 Programme or the Secretariat to confirm eligibility before the end of the application period. Upon verification of the eligibility, the Secretariat will send notification of the eligibility verification result to the applicant households. The Secretariat will arrange to disburse the subsidy to eligible households according to their chosen method under the 2020 Programme (i.e. either through bank transfer or by order cheque).

     If there are changes in the situation of old applicant households (such as there are new eligible members and/or changes of the specified applicant), they are still required to complete the reply slip and return it to the Secretariat. The Secretariat will forward these households' information to the relevant service units, which will contact the households to submit a specified application form (i.e. Form 1).

     New applicant households should submit application forms (i.e. Form 2) according to their household size. Application forms and programme briefs are obtainable from service units, Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department in various districts, District Social Welfare Offices of the Social Welfare Department and the Support Service Centres for Ethnic Minorities, or can be downloaded from the CCF website (www.communitycarefund.hk) starting from January 4, 2021. If new applicants meet the eligibility criteria, they will be granted a one-off subsidy under the 2021 Programme only. The Secretariat will not entertain any request for receiving subsidy under the 2020 Programme in any circumstances.

     Applicant households should submit Form 1 or Form 2 together with copies of all the required documents to respective service units near their residences either in person or by post. Households comprising solely elderly persons aged 60 or above, households comprising solely young persons aged 24 or below or the homeless can submit applications to elderly service units, youth service units or service units accepting applications from the homeless respectively. Owing to the latest developments of COVID-19, some service units may have suspended service or only provide limited non-emergency service. Applicants are advised to submit applications by post. Applicants who wish to submit applications to the service units in person are suggested to call the service units for the operating hours. Service units may require applicants to make bookings in advance.

     The Secretariat and service units will vet each application, including verifying the eligibility, checking the supporting documents submitted, and conducting home visits/means tests on selected applications. The Secretariat will issue notifications of results to applicants after vetting applications and disburse the subsidy to eligible households. If households choose to receive the subsidy through bank transfer, the subsidy will be deposited into the bank accounts as specified in their application forms through autopay. For households who choose to receive the subsidy in the form of order cheques, the service units concerned will inform them to collect the cheques in person at the service units before the specified period.

     For details of the 2021 Programme, please visit the CCF website or call the enquiry hotline of the Programme on 2180 6666.

  

     A 36-year-old female Police Constable who is posted to the Miscellaneous Enquiries Sub-unit of Hung Hom Division, preliminarily tested positive for the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).  The police officer's family member was tested positive for COVID-19 earlier on. The police officer was classified as close contact and was later escorted to the Quarantine Centre. She was also tested positive for COVID-19 this morning (December 29).  She has no travel history over the past 14 days.  She had no contact with members of the public and she wore face mask during her tour of duty.  Her last working day was December 23.

     Police are highly concerned and have the following messages:
      
     (1) While awaiting further assessment and recommendations from the Department of Health (DH), officers that might have come into close contact with the police officer have been arranged to quarantine for observation and undergo tests for the virus;
      
     (2) Police have deployed staff to clean and disinfect the premises where the officer works in;
      
     (3) Police have reminded officers to maintain personal hygiene and reduce social contact to minimise the risk of infection. They should immediately report their cases and consult a doctor if they feel unwell; and
      
     (4) Police will deploy resources flexibly to ensure the provision of emergency services remains unaffected.

     Police will continue to maintain close communication with the DH and proactively provide information such as the recent duty record and roster of the police officer concerned. Arrangements will be made for close contacts to be conveyed to quarantine centres to undergo quarantine.
     

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     Exchange Fund Bills tender results: 
 

 
*"Pro rata ratio" refers to the average percentage of allotment with respect to each tender participant’s tendered amount at the "highest yield accepted" level.
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     Hong Kong Monetary Authority tenders to be held in the week beginning – January 4, 2021: