For the next six months until April 30 the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme will continue to reimburse one-third of commuters' monthly transportation expenses exceeding HK$200, with a subsidy ceiling of HK$500.

The Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher will also increase the maximum number of vouchers from 8,000 to 12,000.

Authorities will establish an extra 16 Neighborhood Elderly Centers in the next five years, and increase the number of Hospital Authority's Integrated Discharge Support Programme for Elderly Patients beneficiaries by one third, from about 33,000 to 45,000 per year, in the third quarter next year.

Those who can receive home support services will increase from 9,000 to 11,000.

Subsidized care home beds will expand by 6,200 - or 20 percent - by the end of 2027. District Services and Community Care Teams will be set up for all 18 districts in phases, with Tsuen Wan and the Southern District coming up in the first quarter next year.

Allowances for elderly caretakers under the Community Care Fund will be regularized and subsidies will be raised.

A one-stop caregiver information website and support hotline, alongside a peer support program, is planned for launch next year.

A nursing training course will be subsidized for 17,000 people in the next five years. However, those who attend must serve in the social welfare sector for at least three years after graduation.

Rehabilitation Alliance Hong Kong suggested that the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Social Welfare Department formulate a policy to protect the well-being of carers by periodically replacing them with temporary staff to give them some "breathing space."