Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said there's room for non-recurrent social welfare expenditure to go down.

In the budget last month, the government said all departments need to cut spending by an accumulative 7 percent until the 2027-28 fiscal year, and the same applies to funding for some 170 social welfare organisations.

Speaking after attending a TVB programme on Sunday, Sun said more flexible and creative use of non-recurrent funding could be part of the solution.

"I don't see room for further adjustment in terms of recurrent spending," he said.

"But as you all know, there is non-recurrent spending, such as the HK$20 billion quota approved by the Legco Finance Committee earmarked for buying space," he told reporters.

"Say, we can buy units on higher floors that could be cheaper, so that facilities for youth and family purposes can move up there and free up space on the lower floors for elderly or children services."

Sun stressed that officials have been helping the social welfare sector by, for example, using more technology and streamlining procedures to cut down on administrative work, so organisations can focus on providing services.