XN000022-1996-01-10 — Page 35

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Legal aid for divorced women

Following is a question by the Hon Law Chi-kwong and a reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

In recent years, many women's groups have indicated to Members of this Council that divorced women often encounter difficulties in recovering alimony and that quite a number of them apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) because of financial hardship or loss of financial support. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)

of the number of applications for legal aid for the purpose of recovering alimony in the past three years; how many of such applications have been dealt with and how many are still being processed;

(b)

of the number of applications for CSSA submitted by divorced women because of the failure to recover alimony in the same period; and

(c)

whether any effective measures have been put in place to assist divorced women who are in financial difficulty in recovering alimony?

Reply:

Mr President,

The Hong Kong Government shares the concern in the community about ex- spouses who fail to comply with maintenance orders. Home Affairs Branch is currently assisting the Social Welfare Department to produce an Information Kit on services and legal remedies available to persons with marital problems or difficulties arising from divorce. In response to the concerns about non-payment of maintenance orders, the Information Kit will include information to help ensure that parties affected by this are made aware of the remedies and services that are already available. We are also reviewing the existing legislative provisions for enforcing such orders with a view to improving their effectiveness as appropriate. Turning to the Honourable LAW Chi- kwong's specific questions,