Red Tape Putting People Off Low-income Subsidy

A concern group on Friday called on the government to cut the red tape surrounding its subsidy programme for poor working families – saying the complex process is putting many people off applying entirely.

Almost 90 percent of the families surveyed by the Alliance for Children Development Rights last month complained that application procedures for the Low-income Working Family Allowance are too complicated.

Eligible families stand to receive as much as HK$2,600 a month – but they have to first give documentary proof of their income and working hours.

But respondents said the problem is that many work part-time jobs and they simply don't have the proof the government wants to see.

The alliance said this is having a real impact on the programme.

It found that around 70-percent of the respondents didn't apply for the subsidy – and of those, around a third said that was because the procedures are just too complicated.

At a press conference held by the group, a mother of three said the red tape is undermining the government's intention to help poor working families.

"If I don't work at all ... and the five of us go and apply for welfare, we'd get a lot more than this subsidy! If you make it that difficult to get this subsidy, some people who want it may not be able to get it in the end,” she said.

“Even though in my case my application was ultimately successful, the procedure was just too tedious and complicated.”

Catlyn Ho, a community organiser for the alliance, said the government can make things easier by asking applicants to declare the hours they work, rather than force them to come up with documents.

She also called on the government to come up with new measures in the budget next week that are specifically aimed at helping poor children.