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LCQ8:CSSA applications from children born in Hong Kong to Mainland parents
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    Following is a question by the Prof Hon Patrick Lau Sau-shing and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, (in the absence of the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food), at the Legislative Council meeting today (May 9):

Question:

     I have recently received complaints alleging that some women from the Mainland came to Hong Kong to give birth and left their new-born babies to the care of their friends and relatives in Hong Kong, who would then apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) in the name of the babies and remit part of the CSSA payments to the Mainland to subsidise the daily expenses of these women.  In addition, some Mainland people had applied for settlement in Hong Kong on the grounds of taking care of young children in Hong Kong, and upon coming to Hong Kong, they asked for discretionary approval of their CSSA application on the grounds that they had to stay home to take care of these children and thus could not go to work.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council :

(a)  of the number of cases in which children born in Hong Kong to Mainland women remained in Hong Kong since birth and became CSSA recipients in each of the past five years;

(b)  whether it knows, in each of the past five years, the number of cases in which Mainland people applied to the Mainland authorities for one-way exit permit to settle in Hong Kong on the grounds of taking care of young children in Hong Kong; and

(c)  whether it has assessed if the CSSA system has been abused; if it has and the assessment result is in the affirmative, whether it has any means (such as enacting laws) to curb the problem?

Reply:

Madam President,

     The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme provides a safety net of last resort to meet the basic needs of those who cannot support themselves financially.  An applicant must satisfy the residence requirements, i.e. having been a Hong Kong resident for at least seven years and having resided in Hong Kong continuously for at least one year immediately before the date of application.  To be eligible for assistance, an applicant must also pass both the income and assets tests.  For Hong Kong residents aged below 18, they are exempted from the seven-year residence requirement and the requirement of having resided in Hong Kong continuously for one year before the date of application but a means test is still required.  My reply to the various parts of the question raised by Prof Hon Patrick Lau Sau-shing is as follows :

(a)  The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has not maintained statistics on children under this category in the past five years. However, the SWD has started to collate data on new CSSA applications from children born in Hong Kong to Mainland parents who are not Hong Kong residents since August 2006.  There were 93 cases, involving 102 recipients aged from two months to 17 up to the end of March 2007.
 
(b)  The One-way Permit (OWP) Scheme is under the Mainland authorities' purview.  There is no specified quota under the Scheme for Mainland residents to come to Hong Kong on the ground of taking care of their children in Hong Kong.  In other words, such Mainland residents could not use the said ground to apply for an OWP.

(c) With regard to the vetting and approval procedures for CSSA applications, the SWD has provided clear operational guidelines on the standing requirement that CSSA applications must be made on a household basis (including applications from children born in Hong Kong to Mainland parents) for SWD staff to follow.  If the applicant is living with other family members, the application has to be made on a household basis.  The total income, assets and needs of all family members in the same household are taken into account in determining the family's eligibility for CSSA.  For children living with their relatives (such as the grandparents), the relatives concerned will also be required to apply for CSSA on a household basis with the children.  Under exceptional circumstances, the SWD will consider exercising its discretion on special case intervened and recommended by social workers to allow CSSA applications to be made by the children on their own.

     In processing CSSA applications, the SWD staff will conduct detailed verification of the information provided by the applicants and their family members through interviews and home visits.  In addition, the SWD conducts data matching periodically with other Government departments and relevant organisations to cross-check the information provided by the applicants and their family members.  The SWD also carries out regular review on individual cases to determine the eligibility of the recipients as well as random checks on targeted CSSA cases through home visits.  The Fraud Investigation Teams of the SWD conduct in-depth investigations into suspected fraud cases. The established fraud cases may be liable to prosecution. We will continue our effort to strengthen the CSSA approval mechanism, with a view to prevent abuse.

     The Administration has been very concerned about CSSA applications by children born in Hong Kong to Mainland parents, but at this stage we could not come to any conclusion on its long-term impact on our social welfare system.

Ends/Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:13

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