ཎྞཾ ཨ ཙྪཱ, ཙ
vulnerable groups such as the chronically sick, and widowed mothers with young children. Finally,
emergency relief will continue to be underwritten by the Government as it is at present.
The White Paper also noted (para. 6.10) that:-
"...... the Government concluded that, if social
security in Hong Kong were to be extended beyond
public assistance, the right answer at the present
time, and as a first stage, would be to press ahead
with the development of non-contributory schemes,
rather than to delay the extension of social security
by attempting to develop a form of contributory
social insurance, although the Government retains an
open mind as to whether or not such a scheme might
ultimately be appropriate for Hong Kong's needs."
Schemes run by Social Welfare Department
4.
The existing social security schemes run by the Social
Welfare Department fall into the broad pattern set out in the White Paper. They are the public assistance scheme, the disability and infirmity allowance scheme, the criminal and law enforcement injuries compensation scheme and energency relief. The latter two might be conveniently regarded as accident compensation.
i) Public assistance scheme
The public assistance scheme was first introduced
in 1971. It is a means tested but non-contribut
scheme, designed to provide cash assistance to
•
individuals and to families where income fall belo
a prescribed level. The benefits are reviewed and
increased as necessary in line with the cost of
living. Originally, public assistance was not
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