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In addition to supporting this Bill, Members of the Bills Committee expressed the wish to see improvements to the Pneumoconiosis Ex-Gratia Scheme which is a separate administrative scheme providing benefits to persons who were diagnosed before 1981 to be suffering from pneumoconiosis. At present, the Scheme provides this group with compensation payments which comprise quarterly ex gratia payments at the current rate of $10,560 which are payable until death, and reimbursement of funeral expenses in respect of a deceased pneumoconiotic, subject to a maximum, which was increased from $12,000 to $14,000 from 1 January this year.
I would take this opportunity to inform Members that we have conducted a review of this Scheme and are planning to make a series of improvements to it. They include the arrangement for the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board to supply and pay for the expenses of medical appliances required by the pneumoconiotics including wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators and cylinders and their accessories to the pneumoconiotics. The other changes are the arrangements to make annual adjustment to the rate of ex gratia payments in accordance with changes in the CPI(A) on 1 July each year, and the revision of the maximum amount of reimbursement of funeral expenses once every two years which is in line with our existing administrative arrangement of adjusting the corresponding ceiling under the Ordinance on a biennial basis. These improvements have been endorsed by the Labour Advisory Board and will take effect on the same date as all the proposals under this Bill.
Following the passage of a resolution by this Council on 13 December 1995, the amount of $2,100 in the formula for the calculation of the monthly compensation for total incapacity in Part II of the First Schedule of the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance was increased to $2,570 with effect from 1 January 1996. It is therefore necessary to adjust the amount of $2,100 in Clause 12(b) of this Bill correspondingly to $2,570. I shall move an amendment to effect this change at the Committee Stage.
Thank you, Mr President.