SOCIAL WELFARE
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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 has 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 $1,210 to $3,910 for a single person and from $1,045 to $3,610 for a family member. Special grants are available to meet individual recipients' special needs such as rent, educational expenses, medically recommended diet, spectacles and dentures. An annual long-term supplement, ranging from $1,340 to $4,020, 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 $1,210 in the calculation of assistance payable.
Improvements have been implemented since April 1995. These include giving each single-parent family a supplement of $200 a month; increasing the standard rates for children by $205 a month; extending the standard rates for children to full-time students aged 18 to 21; raising the maximum level of disregarded earnings and disregarding the first month's income of those elderly, disabled and family carers who secured a full-time job. Standard rates and other related payments were increased by 8.5 per cent in April 1995 to keep pace with inflation.
At year's end, the CSSA Scheme covered 127 800 cases, compared with 105 600 cases in 1994. The elderly, the sick, people with a disability and single-parent families made up the majority. Expenditure on comprehensive social security assistance during the year amounted to $4,236 million, representing an increase of 31 per cent over the previous year.
The SSA Scheme provides flat-rate allowances for the severely disabled and elderly who are not on comprehensive social security assistance. Any person who is certified as severely disabled and has resided in Hong Kong for at least one year immediately before application, is eligible for disability allowance. Twice the normal allowance is payable to severely disabled persons who require constant attendance from others in their daily life but are not receiving such care in government or subvented institutions. The current monthly rate for the disability allowance is $1,050, and for the higher disability allowance, $2,100. The allowances are not means-tested.
The old age allowance is also not means-tested for those aged 70 and above, and they are entitled to $595 per month. For those aged 65 to 69, the monthly allowance is set at $525 subject to a declaration that their income and assets do not exceed the prescribed levels. To be eligible for an old age allowance, a person must have resided in Hong Kong for at least five years since the age of 60. The disability and old age allowances were raised by 8.5 per cent in April to reflect the rise in the cost of living. At the end of the year, 492 400 were receiving such allowances compared with 484 600 at the end of 1994. Expenditure on social security allowances during the year was $3,559 million, representing an increase of 10.8 per cent over the previous year. The Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme, also non- means-tested, provides cash assistance to victims (or their dependants in case of death) who are injured or killed in crimes of violence or by law enforcement officers using weapons in the execution of their duties. During the year, 564 applications were