Chapter 3
Further Developments in Social Security
Public Assistance
3.1
The Government has carried out a thorough review of its existing social security programmes and has concluded that the Public Assistance scheme, which is well understood and accepted by the public, should continue to be the mainstay of its social security system. The scheme is non-contributory and is related to a family's means and needs, consistent with the family tradition in Hong Kong. By international standards, it is exceptionally free of restrictions: it provides a single safety net for those proven to be in need. Help is concentrated on those least able to help themselves and this is felt to be the right approach to social security in Hong Kong. The present structure of the scheme provides a flexible and effective method of assessing need in a fairly simple and understandable way. There is much to be said for maintaining simplicity in the structure of social security as this keeps to a minimum the proportion of social security expenditure which is spent on administration.
3.2
The scale of assistance is based on a Public Assistance index which measures the changes in the cost of living for families receiving Public Assistance. In this way, the allowances are kept under regular review and adjusted from time to time to maintain their real purchasing value. Thus in February 1978, an increase of about 11% was introduced to keep pace with inflation. The Government accepts the need to protect the value of social security benefits and to examine from time to time the components of the Public Assistance index weightings to ensure that they reflect the actual expenditure pattern of the client group.
3.3
Whilst the overall public assistance framework remains appropriate, the review identified a number of areas requiring improvements. Accordingly various proposals were made in the Green Paper on Social Security Development which was published in late 1977. As these proposals drew generally favourable response and in order that help may be available quickly to those in need, the following improvements were introduced in April 1978:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
a long term supplement of $500 for a family and $250 for a single person is now payable annually to all those who continue to receive Public Assistance after a period of 12 months. This enables needy families to purchase household replacements and to meet similar expenses which have to be faced over a long period of time. The introduction of this long term supplement replaces the previous practice of approving periodic discretionary grants which by their very nature could not be applied consistently;
to meet the additional expenses of looking after an elderly family member, an Old Age Supplement of half the basic Public Assistance rate for a single person is now added to the basic scale of allowances for any Public Assistance recipient aged 60 and not receiving a Disability or Old Age Allowance. This supplement is paid in addition to the long term supplement and should lessen the financial burden of families who have elderly members;
in its treatment of a person's resources, the Public Assistance scheme relies on the general principle that all a person's income (except any Special Needs Allowance) and disposable capital (except for savings up to a prescribed level) should be taken into account in assessing his need for Public Assistance. The few exceptions that are made to this general rule consist essentially of very small amounts which voluntary agencies
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