G. F. 323
CONFIDENTIAL #
機密
12
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 does not exclude any particular category of people but 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.
CONFIDENTIAL
機密