FS Wants To Relax Community Care Fund Criteria

The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, said on Saturday that he wanted to relax the criteria for Community Care Fund subsidies for some of the needy who have not been covered by his budget relief measures. He said the money will come from the HK$138 billion surplus.

In his budget last Wednesday, Chan proposed using the fund to provide short-term relief to low-income households not living in public housing estates or receiving social assistance - a group commonly known as 'N-have-nots'. Chan said the scope of this proposal may be further widened.

"In the last round of the initiatives from the Community Care Fund, the 'N-have-nots' people living in public housing estates were excluded. But in this particular time round, this restriction could be lifted", Chan said.

"We are focusing on those who are working very hard, earning not much, not seeking any subsidies from the government, for example. And another group, say, young retired people living in public housing estates without any social security", he added.

Chan was speaking after attending two radio interviews on Saturday morning. He once again rejected calls for cash handouts, saying he preferred targeted measures.