ENG-1977 — Page 162

9

Social Welfare

Tit

點會

THE government undertook a comprehensive review of social security and welfare services during 1977. Following the publication of a White Paper on Rehabilitation in October, three Green Papers dealing with the development of social security, serv- ices for the elderly, and personal social work among young people were published in November.

The White Paper on Rehabilitation heralds a 10-year development programme that envisages spending $126 million on capital works up to 1985-6, raising recurrent expenditure from $121 million in 1977–8 to $232 million in 1985–6, and more than doubling the number of staff engaged in the rehabilitation and care of the handicapped. Because the expansion programme will need to be carried out by several departments and involve participation by voluntary organisations, a Rehabilitation Development Co-ordinating Committee has been established to co-ordinate its implementation.

A review of social security carried out earlier in 1977 concluded that the public assistance scheme was generally sound and well suited to Hong Kong's requirements. However, the Green Paper on the Development of Social Security proposes some extensions and refinements. These include a monthly supplement - amounting to $200 for a family and $100 for a single person - for those forced to rely on public assistance for more than 18 months to meet essential household replacements; a monthly sup- plement of $100 for those on public assistance aged 60 and above, but not eligible for the non-means-tested infirmity allowance (now renamed 'old-age allowance') or dis- ability allowance; and lowering from 75 to 70 the qualifying age for the old-age allowance. Two other changes proposed in the Green Paper are that the old-age and disability allowances be extended to those living in institutions and that an allowance be paid to those who may not qualify for the disability allowance but who, through illness or infirmity, have been unable to work for at least 18 months. These three allow- ances are covered by the welfare allowance scheme as distinct from the means-tested Public Assistance scheme.

It also is recommended that an appeal board be set up as a means of redress for those dissatisfied with the Social Welfare Department's decisions about social security payments.

Hong Kong's social security schemes so far have been non-contributory and financed out of general revenue, with the addition of benefits provided by employers either statutorily or voluntarily. However, existing schemes cannot be relied on to assist those adversely affected by the prolonged sickness, injury or death of a wage earner, either because their incomes are above the Public Assistance level or because