with the Government's policy of care in the community and it is not proposed to change the basis of this scheme.
7
The Green Paper on Social Security Development re- commended that a non-means-tested Chronic Sickness Allowance of half the basic Public Assistance rate for a single person should be paid monthly to anyone who has been incapable of work for the previous 18 months and is medically certified as still being unable to work. This allowance would not be paid to anyone receiving a Disability Allowance or an Old Age Allowance. Having regard to the stage of Hong Kong's social development the Social Welfare Advisory Committee has expressed a preference for a means-tested allowance and has noted that many of the intended beneficiaries of this allowance would already be covered by the existing Special Needs Allowance scheme. The Committee has also expressed concern over the difficulty of defining and certifying chronic sickness particularly for people over 60 where it may be difficult to establish whether someone is capable of working. In practice, a Chronic Sickness Allowance might well turn out to be an Old Age Allowance in a different guise for people between 60 and 70. The Social Welfare Advisory Committee has therefore suggested a reconsideration of this proposal.
8
Good.
The public's response to the Green Paper reveals considerable sympathy for the profoundly deaf who are considered to be another "vulnerable group" in need of special assistance. Many deaf persons are also dumb, thereby making communication very difficult. This in turn adversely affects their ability to benefit from education and training, and hence, their chances of gainful employment. In the light of the views expressed, the Government believes that the best way of proceeding would be to extend the Disability Allowance to cover the profoundly deaf and to introduce a Disability Supplement under the Public Assistance Scheme. As additional staff will be required to implement these new proposals, particularly in connection with the medical assessment and certification aspects, it is unlikely that these improvements can be introduced before 1st April 1980.
9
The introduction of a Disability Supplement under the Public Assistance Scheme will benefit the partially disabled who are unable fully to support themselves. Apart from reduced earnings, such persons or their families may well incur extra expenses because of their disabilities. This additional supplement will therefore provide better support for them and their families than the normal Public Assistance payments for basic living. It is proposed that the supplement should be half the basic Public Assistance rate for a single
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