TNAG-0789-FCO40-993-Development-of-social-policy-in-Hong-Kong-proposed-contribut-1978 — Page 118

CHAPTER 4

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

4.1

In many countries, the first stage of a social security system has been the introduction of social assistance (or income maintenance) under which a person's resources are made up to a level which is regarded as sufficient for ordinary living expenses. Hong Kong has followed the same pattern.

4.2

While the fundamental aims of social assistance schemes do not vary, the methods of achieving them do, particularly in respect of those who are eligible for assistance, the assessment of need and the administration of the scheme. The present basis of the public assistance scheme has therefore been reviewed, in the light of experience in Hong Kong and other countries.

4.3

The broad conclusion is that the public assistance scheme should continue to be a central pillar of the social security system. The Government believes that the scheme is now familiar to, and generally well accepted by, the people of Hong Kong. Being related to a family's means and needs, it is consistent with the Hong Kong approach to social security. It provides both an effective method of concentrating help on those in need and a flexible method of assessing it.

Restrictions on eligibility

4.4

By international standards, the scheme is exceptionally free of restrictions. It does not exclude any category of people, such as the unemployed (though they were excluded before April 1977). It applies to those who are in full time work. And it applies to those who were not born and brought up in Hong Kong. The only restriction on eligibility is that there is a residence qualification, though this restriction can be waived by the Director of Social Welfare in cases of urgent need. The qualification is one year's residence in Hong Kong, except for the able bodied between ages 15 to 55, for whom it is two years.

A single safety net

4.5

The Government believes that the present basis of eligibility is right. If the scheme is to provide effective help for those in need, it must be comprehensive. In some countries, there is not a single scheme but different kinds of assistance for different categories of beneficiary. There may well be advantage in different rates of assistance for various types of cases; and some proposals along these lines are made in this Green Paper. But such proposals must be clearly distinguished from a system which embodies entirely different programmes for various categories, such as the aged, the unemployed and single parent families.

The great strength of the public assistance scheme is that it provides a single safety net for those in need.

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