Latest news with #SoCO
South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong children in cramped flats have poorer mental health: survey
Hong Kong children who feel they lack study and play areas at home have poorer mental health and academic results, a poll has found. Survey results published on Monday also showed that about 40 per cent of children living in subdivided flats said they did not have enough of the spaces at home, a rate that was higher than those in other types of housing. Hong Kong Metropolitan University and the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) jointly conducted the poll. 'We hope to look into what impacts the environment in subdivided flats could have on children's mental health, academic results and cognitive development,' said Terence Shum Chun-tat, acting head of the department of social sciences of the university who led the study. The first phase of the three-year study ran from June 2023 to August 2024 and covered 1,032 children aged 9 to 12. Around half of them lived in subdivided flats, with the rest in public rental homes, transitional housing, private flats and subsidised housing.
South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong tenants endure 40 degree heat in substandard housing
Recent reports indicate that temperatures in substandard housing in Hong Kong climbed to as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past week. Additionally, a concern group found that around 40 per cent of tenants living in these substandard homes reported having poor-quality windows or no windows at all. The results came from two studies published by the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) on Sunday, with the group calling on authorities to offer subsidies so tenants could buy cooling products. SoCO also said that the living conditions of low-income families were unlikely to improve until regulations governing the standards for subdivided flats were fully implemented in 2030. 'That means the residents still have years to endure. Can the government offer some subsidies, such as coupons, to residents for purchasing cooling products?' said Sze Lai-shan, the group's deputy director. 'The government can also subsidise their utility fees. We think the subsidy should be at least HK$200 [US$25] per person each month.' The subsidies could cover products such as air conditioners, fans and heat-reduction curtains, among others, she suggested. The government is set to present the relevant bill at the Legislative Council on Wednesday. Should Hong Kong schools continue virtual lessons during weather-related school closures? Under the proposed legislation, such properties must fulfil a set of standards to become accredited 'basic housing units', such as having a minimum size of 86 sq ft and proper windows, and remain on the rental market. The bill is expected to pass by the end of October, meaning landlords can start registering their properties under the policy as early as next March and enjoy a grace period until the end of February 2030 to rectify any outstanding property issues. The two SoCO studies published on Sunday included a survey of temperatures recorded by tenants living in 11 cage homes, subdivided flats and other forms of substandard housing across the city between Monday and Saturday of last week. The highest recorded temperature was 40 degrees, with the reading taken on Saturday by a tenant living in a metal hut in Yuen Long. A subdivided rooftop home in Kwun Tong clocked mercury readings of 39 degrees. The Hong Kong Observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 34.8 degrees at its headquarters that day. The second study involved interviews with 300 people between May and July about their living conditions in subpar housing amid the heat. Campaigners have urged the government to offer subsidies to those living in substandard housing so they can buy appliances to help keep them cool. Photo: Dickson Lee According to the survey, 35.7 per cent of tenants said that opening their windows was not an option because they faced lightwells that lacked air circulation, among other reasons, while another 4 per cent did not have any windows in their homes. More than 77 per cent of tenants said they were reliant on air conditioners or fans to keep themselves cool. About 42 per cent of all interviewees also said they opted for a shower to keep cool, and about 36 per cent opened their windows for better ventilation. The survey also found that 72 per cent of tenants were worried about the strain on their finances caused by the heat amid reduced income and subsidies, while 68 per cent of all interviewees said they believed that low-income families' utility bills would inevitably increase.
HKFP
07-07-2025
- Climate
- HKFP
Subdivided unit residents urge Hong Kong gov't to provide utility subsidies during summer
Subdivided unit residents have urged the Hong Kong government to provide utility subsidies during summer, as low-income families experience extreme heat, partly due to poor ventilation in their homes. Hong Kong recorded a maximum temperature of 36.5 degrees Celsius over the past week, but temperatures in subdivided units could be even higher, local NGO the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) said at a press conference on Sunday. The NGO placed thermometers in 11 inadequate housing units, including caged homes, subdivided units, and rooftop homes located in Sham Shui Po, Yau Tsim Mong, Kwun Tong, and Tsuen Wan for a week, from June 29 to Saturday. The maximum temperatures recorded inside a subdivided unit in Kwun Tong, with no air conditioning, reached 39 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 38 degrees Celsius on Friday. Meanwhile, indoor temperatures in subdivided units in an industrial building reached 38 degrees Celsius on Friday and 37.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday, with no air conditioning. Residents of rooftop homes suffered even higher temperatures, with some experiencing a maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, with no air conditioners on. Most families in subdivided units tend to turn off air conditioning to save on utility bills, SoCO said. According to a survey conducted by SoCO over the past two months, the median monthly electricity bill for one family is HK$350, while the median monthly water fee is HK$100. Around 60 per cent of the 300 residents interviewed by SoCO said they relied on windows for natural ventilation. However, nearly 36 per cent of respondents said they could not open the windows of their subdivided units, while 4 per cent said they lived in a unit without any windows. Nearly 80 per cent of respondents said they hoped the government would roll out energy subsidies for families living in subdivided units. SoCO urged the government to establish a permanent scheme of energy subsidies in the long term, such as providing each qualified resident with a monthly allowance of HK$200. The NGO also suggested that the government first roll out a subsidy voucher to allow those residents to purchase cooling products such as fans. Hotter summer Around 93 per cent of subdivided unit residents reported feeling hotter this summer than in previous years, according to the SoCO's survey. Hong Kong issued its first 'very hot weather warning' this year on April 14, marking the earliest recorded occurrence of such a warning. The warning is issued by the Observatory when the maximum temperature reaches or exceeds 33 degrees Celsius. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that the intensity and frequency of heatwaves has continued to increase since the 1950s due to human-caused climate change. The prevalence of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide – which trap heat in the atmosphere – raises the planet's surface temperature, with hotter, longer heatwaves putting lives at risk. Hong Kong has already warmed by 1.7 degrees Celsius since the industrial revolution, research NGO Berkeley Earth says. Heat and humidity may reach lethal levels for protracted periods by the end of the century, according to a 2023 study, making it impossible to stay outdoors in some parts of the world.
South China Morning Post
06-07-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Temperatures in Hong Kong's subpar housing reach as high as 40 degrees: survey
Temperatures in substandard housing in Hong Kong reached as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) over the past week, while about 40 per cent of tenants in such homes reported having poor quality or no windows, a concern group has found. The results came from two studies published by the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) on Sunday, with the group calling on authorities to offer subsidies so tenants could buy cooling products. SoCO also argued that the living conditions of low-income families were unlikely to improve in the near future until regulations governing the standards for subdivided flats were fully implemented in 2030. 'That means the residents still have years to endure. Can the government offer some subsidies, such as coupons, to residents for purchasing cooling products?' said Sze Lai-shan, the group's deputy director. 'The government can also subsidise their utility fees. We think the subsidy should be at least HK$200 [US$25] per person each month.' The subsidies could cover products such as air conditioners, fans and heat-reduction curtains, among others, she suggested. The government is set to present the relevant bill at the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
HKFP
26-05-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Hong Kong to cut subsidy scheme for families waiting for public housing, despite NGO's call
Hong Kong authorities have said they will not extend a trial subsidy scheme for people waiting for public housing, despite warnings from an NGO that ending the benefits would impose a financial burden on the poor. The Society for Community Organization (SoCO) said in a press conference on Sunday that its survey of 330 households found that over 40 per cent received the Cash Allowance Trial Scheme. According to SoCO's findings, the scheme helped nearly 70 per cent of recipients move to a better living environment. It also supported their food and medical expenses, as well as costs associated with their children's education. Launched in 2021, the scheme provides a monthly allowance for households that have been waiting for public rental housing for over three years and are not receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance scheme, a subsidy programme for low-income families. Recipients of the trial scheme receive between HK$1,300 and HK$3,900 a month, depending on the size of their households. In May, the government said the scheme would conclude at the end of June. In response to media enquiries, the Housing Bureau said on Sunday that the scheme would end as planned. The bureau said the first batch of flats under the Light Public Housing scheme – which provides rental accommodation for households that have been waiting for public housing for at least three years – has been completed, with move-ins having started in March. The second batch of flats will begin move-ins at the end of June. Given that beneficiaries can soon occupy these transitional housing flats, as well as the government's need to be prudent in public spending, the government has no intention of continuing the scheme, the bureau added. 305,000 recipients As of the end of February, a total of around 110,000 eligible households – or about 305,000 people – had benefited from the Cash Allowance Trial Scheme, the government said. The scheme's expenditure was around HK$5.56 billion. The scheme has already been extended for one year past its expiry date. When it was launched in 2021, the government said it would run on a three-year trial basis, with an expected end date in mid-2024. Last year, the government said it would prolong the scheme for one year until June 2025 to 'help grassroots families on the waiting list for public rental housing.' In its press release, SoCO urged the authorities to help the city's poor 'weather the hard times' and to extend the scheme. The group said that the Light Public Housing scheme would offer only 55,000 units when completed, far fewer than the number of households receiving the cash allowance. It added that more than 80 per cent of the units would only be completed between the last quarter of this year and the last quarter of next year. During the annual budget address in February, the city's financial chief Paul Chan announced that the city had logged an estimated HK$87.2 billion deficit, marking the third shortfall in a row. SoCO acknowledged the government's aims to lower spending, but emphasised that the beneficiaries of such welfare schemes were grassroots families. 'Any consideration to cancel this program must be handled with greater caution, as it cannot be assessed solely from a financial perspective,' SoCO wrote in Chinese. ' The social impact of the program should not be disregarded.'
