190
SOCIAL WELFARE
Applicants should satisfy the residence requirement. Employable CSSA applicants are expected to seek work actively by joining the Support for Self-reliance (SFS) Scheme. CSSA payments can be broadly classified into three categories: standard rates, supplements and special grants.
Encouraged by the results of the package of measures implemented in June 1999 to help unemployed CSSA recipients return to work, starting from mid-2000 the department introduced another package of direct services to help able-bodied CSSA recipients and other socially disadvantaged groups overcome barriers to work and become self-reliant. The package includes:
extending active employment assistance progressively to cover all unemployed CSSA recipients and low-income recipients who are not working full-time; commissioning NGOS to launch a special job attachment programme to enable CSSA recipients to gain real working experience through on-the-job training; providing funding support for NGOs to run innovative, tailor-made intensive employment assistance projects for CSSA recipients; and
⚫ strengthening support services for working parents, single-parent families and
new arrivals.
The amount of CSSA is determined by the applicant's resources and needs. The difference between the applicant's income and the recognised needs will be the amount of assistance payable.
Older CSSA recipients who have received assistance continuously for three years are allowed to continue to receive their monthly standard rate payment and annual long-term supplement if they choose to retire to Guangdong Province. A package of service improvements was implemented in April for these recipients. These included better escort service, more home visits and financial assistance to meet burial expenses.
At the end of the year, there were 228 060 CSSA cases, compared with 230 681 in 1999. Total expenditure during the year amounted to $13.17 billion, representing a decrease of 5.9 per cent over the previous year.
The non-contributory SSA Scheme provides allowances to meet the special needs of the severely disabled and older persons. There are four allowances:
• Normal Disability Allowance
•
per cent loss of earning capacity.
for severely disabled persons with a certified 100
Higher Disability Allowance for severely disabled persons who require constant attendance from others in their daily life but are not receiving such care in a government or subvented institution or medical residential institution under the Hospital Authority.
• Normal Old Age Allowance for persons aged 65 to 69 with income and assets not exceeding the prescribed levels.
•
Higher Old Age Allowance for persons aged 70 or above.
At the end of the year, 547 652 people were receiving social security allowances, compared with 534 764 at the end of 1999. Total expenditure during the year was $4.95 billion, representing an increase of 0.7 per cent over the previous year.