SOCIAL WELFARE
modernisation of children and youth centres. The working group is now looking into the problem of drug abuse.
Social Security
Social security is a major social welfare programme aimed at meeting the needs of vulnerable groups in the community who require financial or material assistance. The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme and the Social Security Allowance Scheme are the key elements in the non-contributory social security system and are administered by the Social Welfare Department. They are supplemented by three other schemes: the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme, the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme and Emergency Relief.
A new computerised social security payment system came into operation in April. The new system enables all comprehensive social security assistance recipients to receive their payment through bank auto-pay. It enhances the overall efficiency in the administration of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme and the Social Security Allowance Scheme, and provides a more comprehensive management information system.
The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme replaced the former Public Assistance Scheme in July 1993. The scheme, which is means-tested, is designed to raise the income of needy individuals and families to a level where basic and essential needs are met. Persons who have resided in Hong Kong for not less than one year may be eligible if their income and other resources are below the prescribed levels. But an able-bodied unemployed person aged between 15 and 59, who is available for work, is required to register with the Labour Department for job placement to qualify for assistance.
The scheme comprises a range of standard rates for different categories of recipients and special grants to meet individual needs. The standard rates apply to four broad categories of recipients — the elderly, people with a disability, children and able-bodied adults — to meet their basic and essential needs. The monthly standard rates range from $1,115 to $3,400 for a single person and from $965 to $3,120 for a family member. A wide range of special grants are available to meet the special needs of individual recipients, such as rent, school fees, educational expenses, medically recommended diets, spectacles and dentures. In addition, an annual long-term supplement, ranging from $1,235 to $3,705 (depending on the size of the household), is paid to those who have received assistance continuously for 12 months to meet the cost of replacing household wares and durable goods. To encourage self-help, an individual's monthly earnings may be disregarded up to a maximum of $835 in the calculation of assistance payable. The standard rates and related payments were increased by 7.7 per cent in April 1994 to keep pace with inflation.
In October, the government announced that from April 1995, each single-parent family on comprehensive social security assistance will receive a special supplement of $200 a month. The standard rates for children will also be increased by $205 a month. The sum will come on top of the $100 increase implemented from April 1994. The age at which the standard rates for children are paid to full-time students will be extended from 18 to 21.
At the end of the year, there were 105 600 cases under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, compared with 92 000 cases in 1993. The majority of recipients were the elderly, those in ill health, people with a disability and single parent families.
197