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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1981
'NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO LIVE
BELOW PUBLIC ASSISTANCE LEVEL'
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THE AIM OF HONG KONG'S SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM MUST BE TO TAKE UP ALL THOSE WHO ARE ELIGIBLE SO THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE DEPRIVED OF THE BENEFITS, IF IN NEED, AND NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO LIVE BELOW THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE STANDARD.
THIS WAS STATED BY THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE (SOCIAL SECURITY), MR STEPHEN LAW, AT A LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE LIFE UNDERWRITERS ASSOCIATION OF HONG KONG TODAY (TUESDAY).
HE SAID THAT OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS, THE TENDENCY HAD BEEN TO RELAX THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, TO IMPROVE THE LEVELS OF PROVISION, AND TO INTRODUCE NEW BENEFITS.
+IT IS STILL A RELATIVELY SIMPLE SYSTEM, AND THE INTENTION IS TO KEEP IT SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE, MR LAW SAID.
REFERRING TO THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE SCHEME, MR LAW SAID AT PRESENT, 46 593 FAMILIES WERE RECEIVING PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.
FIGURES INDICATED THAT THE ELDERLY SINGLE PERSONS ARE LIKELY TO FALL INTO THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE NET, AND FAMILIES WITH WAGE EARNERS ARE UNLIKELY TO REQUIRE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE,+ HE SAID.
+AS THE PURPOSE OF THE SCHEME IS TO MAINTAIN INCOME AT A CERTAIN LEVEL, MORE LOW-INCOME FAMILIES SHOULD COME FORWARD FOR THIS ASSISTANCE. IT IS NOT ONLY MEANT FOR THE COMPLETE HELPLESS.+
COMPARED WITH FIVE YEARS AGO, THERE HAS BEEN A BIG INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SINGLE PERSONS AND OLD PEOPLE FROM 58.6 PER CENT TO 81 PER CENT AND FROM 52.3 PER CENT TO 64.1 PER CENT.
THERE HAS ALSO BEEN A BIG DROP IN THE NUMBER OF LOW-EARNING AND UNEMPLOYED FAMILIES FROM 22.9 PER CENT TO 5.6 PER CENT.
MR LAW SAID THIS REINFORCED HIS POINT THAT THE COMPLETE HELPLESS WERE MORE LIKELY TO COME FORWARD NOW.
IT IS, PERHAPS, AN INDICATION OF THE GENERAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE ECONOMIC SITUATION OF THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, HE SAID.
MR LAW NOTED THAT PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS ON PUBLIC ASSISTANCE HAD ALSO DECREASED FROM 42.5 PER CENT TO 36.8 PER CENT OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
EXPERIENCE SHOW THAT THE SIZE AND COMPONENT OF THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE CASELOAD ARE MORE SENSITIVE TO THE CHANGES OF THE ECONOMIC SITUATION AND NOT SO MUCH TO SOCIAL FACTORS. THEREFORE, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO PROJECT THE CHANGES IN THE CASELOAD,+ HE SAID.
HE NOTED THAT THE CONSISTENTLY DECREASING TREND FOR FIVE YEARS HAD ALREADY CEASED FOR SIX MONTHS AND THAT THERE WERE BEGINNING SIGNS FOR A RISE.
/MR LAW