*********************************************************
The Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang, chaired the 12th meeting of the Commission on Poverty this afternoon (January 8).
The commission reviewed initial results of the existing pilot Transport Support Schemes to encourage people living in remote districts to find jobs in other districts. Members generally supported new initiatives to expand the existing schemes to help address the challenge of relative lack of job opportunities in remote areas and to facilitate people's transition from unemployment to work.
"For people who are able to work, our approach is to encourage them to work and become self-reliant. The Government stands ready to provide suitable incentives to encourage training, job search and to facilitate their transition to work," Mr Tang said.
The question of whether low-income earners should also be eligible for the transport subsidies was discussed. There was however no consensus on whether public funds should be used to create a new form of income support to subsidise low-wage employees.
In terms of assisting the elderly in need, members noted that the Government has invested a substantial amount of additional resources in recent years to strengthen elderly services. The commission supported the Government's proposal to focus on enhancing the efforts to reach out and assist the hidden and singleton elders through District Elderly Community Centres and Neighbourhood Elderly Centres.
Ends/Monday, January 8, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:17
NNNN
