Candidates vying for a seat in next month's Legislative Council polls promised greater efforts in tackling livelihood issues for Kowloon West constituency voters during a government-hosted election forum on Thursday.

Haywood Guan, a district councillor, shared his vision in bolstering support for the local workforce while pointing to the latest unemployment rate of 3.9 percent.

"There's a need to protect local employment and prevent an influx of imported labour. I would suggest the government to examine the manpower demand, review the quota for imported labour, and make adjustments, to ensure stable employment for local residents," Guan said.

Alice Lau, a charitable organisation's chief executive, outlined her hopes in shoring up support for families in the city.

"I propose that the government implement a five-year plan on introducing family-friendly policies, set five-year targets, offer tax incentives to participating companies, and encourage firms to implement work-from-home arrangements at least once a week and provide caregiver leave to workers from dual-income households," Lau said.

Incumbent lawmaker Leung Man-kwong highlighted his work in the past four years in calling for a better living environment.

"I will do my utmost to push for a review of the tenants purchase scheme... I will also continue to monitor the progress of regulating basic housing units. There's a need to provide appropriate support to residents, tenants and landlords," Leung said.

"I will call for the incessant improvement of the Home Ownership Scheme market to give everyone an opportunity for upward mobility and hope for affordable housing."

The Business and Professionals Alliance's Jeffrey Pong, who is a doctor and district councillor, pointed to the pressure faced by the public healthcare system.

"[The government] should further promote public-private partnership and explore cross-boundary bilateral medical collaboration," Pong said.

"Through public-private partnership and collaboration within the Greater Bay Area, I am confident that the waiting time for specialist outpatient visits and surgeries can be cut by 30 to 40 percent if I were to be elected, so that people no longer have to experience long queuing time."

For incumbent DAB lawmaker Vincent Cheng, fast-tracking urban renewal was a key priority.

"The redevelopment of old buildings has been rather slow in recent years. Although several projects have been completed, I will continue to push for urban renewal," Cheng said.

"With many owners of old buildings concerned about maintenance, I will continue to follow up on 'Operation Building Bright' and the subsidy scheme for fire safety improvement works."

A total of 39 "Patriots Collaborate for Good Governance" election forums are being organised by the government, covering the geographical, functional and Election Committee constituencies.

All the forums are broadcast live on RTHK TV31 and RTHK Radio 1.