Reply:
(b)
(a)
(b)
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whether the Government has any plan to grant additional allowances (such as allowances for transport expenses and monthly fee for pager service) to recipients of unemployment assistance, to enable them to meet the necessary expenses while seeking employment, and to encourage them to actively look for jobs; if so, when such a plan will be implemented; if not, why not?
The increase in the number of unemployed people in receipt of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) benefits may be due to a number of factors, such as greater public awareness of the Scheme, improved level of benefits as well as a change in attitude towards receiving CSSA.
Greater efforts have been made to publicize the Scheme. For example, the Labour Department informs all those who register as unemployed about the Scheme, and new immigrants are also specifically informed about the Scheme on arrival in Hong Kong.
The improvements to the CSSA Scheme introduced in April 1996 have also allowed more people to become eligible for CSSA.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that while the number of CSSA unemployed cases did grow substantially by about 90% between 1995 and 1996, the growth rate slackened towards the end of 1996 to about 60% on a year-to-year basis.
Travelling expenses incurred in registering with the Labour Department and job interviews are covered by a special grant under the CSSA. There are also special grants for telephone charges (one-off and recurrent). We do not think that there is a case for introducing additional allowances for such items as pagers which are not essential for job- hunting purposes. According to Commissioner for Labour, a contact address or a contact telephone number should be able to provide adequate avenue for keeping in touch with potential employers.
It has always been our policy to encourage CSSA recipients, especially those who have the ability to work, to seek employment to support themselves rather than rely on Government assistance -
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