TNAG-0788-FCO40-992-Development-of-social-policy-in-Hong-Kong-proposed-contribut-1978 — Page 50

AIR MAIL

Our Ref: CR 14/5091/77

HKK 234/1

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51

20 APR 1978

ter

эй NTCompson

0717/4

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT,

HONG KONG.

10 April 1978

324

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

ΡΑ

RENZTRY

Action Taken

по

13-15

We

Sickness, Injury and

Death Benefit Scheme

were glad to have your letter of 13 March 1978, to Thomas Lee commenting on the points raised by the Government Actuary's Department in his report on the voluntary contributory scheme.

2.

We have considered this report against the background of public comments on the Green Paper, which included an opinion survey of employers and employees and comments from employers associations, trade unions, voluntary agencies, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and the Labour Advisory Board.

3.

I am also writing to GAD to seek clarification, and further advice, on a mumber of points but I thought you would be interested in our latest thinking on the following aspects of the scheme.

Membership

4.

There appears to be more public support for compulsory membership than we had expected, though it is difficult to determine how much of it is genuine. A survey by the Home Affairs Department in conjunction with the University of Hong Kong, shows that 41% of the employees asked favoured compulsory participation while 48% did not. It is possible that some of the employers may have pressed for a compulsory scheme in the hope of scuttling the ship.

5.

We believe that, administrative problems notwithstanding, there are political and presentational advantages in a voluntary scheme. Our main concern is that a compulsory scheme might undermine our well- established Public Assistance scheme, under which the poorest benefit on a non-contributory basis. It might lead to the public accusation that the Government is seeking to reduce Government expenditure by transferring a proportion of PA clients to the contributory scheme.

T.S. Heppell, Esq.,

Department of Health & Social Security,

20 John Adam Street,

London, WC2N 6HD,

England.

/In