XN000022-1996-03-06 — Page 17

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Now also some Members have said they will vote against some of the measures in the Budget. What's your view on that?

Now on the CSSA Review you say it has been completed and the report will be published on Friday. You will be spending an additional $200 million. Does it mean that you will not accept other recommendations in the Review Report?

FS (in Cantonese): Now going back to CSSA, 1 think you had better wait until Friday when you see Mrs Fok, then you can discuss with her in detail the report of the Review, but don't say that we are only doing some of the measures and not others.

Now under the CSSA system, in the Policy Address the Governor has already pledged that there should be improvements costing $300 million and now I am proposing an additional $200 million so I think we are doing a lot already in that regard.

As for the broader question of CSSA and other welfare services for the elderly. I think we need to strike a balance somewhere, especially when we are talking about spending on the elderly. Now this year, in the year 1995-96, we have spent $9 billion and that covers medical service, CSSA payments and so on, but other than that sum we have an annual increase. Now from 1992 until now we already have an increase of over 50% and then next year there will be yet another 17% increase.

Now right now we have an economic growth rate of 5%, so do you think under the circumstances we should have an even higher increase? I think we are already doing very well in terms of striking a balance.

Now on the question of the reserve, fiscal reserve. Now the fiscal reserve is not there to be spent. It is for emergency, for contingency. This is not just the policy of the Hong Kong Government to keep a reserve. Now all other overseas economists and experts, as I said in my speech, even the International Monetary Fund has done an in- depth survey in Hong Kong recently and the survey result was that we should not dip into our reserve, especially given the political uncertainties involving 1997. Also there is still a lot of speculation, currency speculation activities around the world. So under the circumstances we do not think we should dip into our reserve at the moment. Especially now we still have high inflation. Now spending is now under control so is it the time for us to expand our spending programme? So that's why having taken all these factors into account, we think that for social welfare and CSSA spending, that's an increase of over 14% already, and that's already good enough given the circumstances and I think this is just a right balance. If we go further than that it may not be appropriate, in my view.