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LCQ11: Assistance to the grass-roots living in bedspaces and cubicles
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     Following is a question by the Hon Fred Li and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, in the Legislative Council today (May 27):

Question:

     I have learnt that under the impact of wage reductions, layoffs as well as rising rents and prices, the grass-roots who are currently renting cubicles and bedspaces in private buildings as well as places in singleton hostels are in severe hardship.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)  of the respective numbers of households and persons currently renting permanent rooms, cubicles, bedspaces and cocklofts in private buildings, together with a breakdown, by household size, of the number of such households and the average monthly rentals they are paying;

(b)  of the respective numbers of applicants currently on the Hong Kong Housing Authority's Waiting List for public rental housing (PRH) who are living in the premises mentioned in (a) above, and their average waiting time for allocation of PRH flats;

(c)  of the current average waiting time for admission to singleton hostels set up by the Home Affairs Department, and whether there is a shortage of such hostel places; and

(d)  what measures are in place to ease the aforesaid difficulty of the grass-roots?


Reply:

President,

     The question touches on various policy areas.  We have, therefore, coordinated input from the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Home Affairs Department on the parts of the question under their respective purview.  The reply to the four-part question is as follows:

(a)  The Census and Statistics Department is able to make the following estimations from the data on "Private Residential Flats" as collected in its 2008 General Household Survey:

Domestic households residing in rooms, bedspaces or
cocklofts in private permanent housing
---------------------------------------------------

Household      Number of           Median monthly
size        domestic households     household rent
  1             14,500                  $1,500
  2              6,400                  $2,300
  3              2,800                  $2,300
4 and above      2,500                  $2,500
                 26,200                 $1,800
                (total)            (overall average)

(b)  The Housing Department is unable to provide the statistics concerned because the department does not require applicants on the Waiting List for public rental housing to provide information on the housing type of their residential addresses.  The existing average waiting time for Waiting List applicants is around 1.8 years.

(c)  The Home Affairs Department's Singleton Hostel Programme was specifically launched to tie in with the introduction of the licensing regime under the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance (Cap 447) (the Ordinance).  The objective of the Programme is to accommodate those bedspace lodgers displaced as a result of the implementation of the Ordinance through services provided by the non-governmental organisations (NGOs).  Since the Ordinance came into effect in 1994, the number of lodgers affected by the Ordinance has substantially reduced.  As such, at present there is not a situation of affected lodgers having to wait for allocation of accommodation nor the supply is insufficient to meet the demand.

(d)  The Government has always attached great importance to the needs of the grassroots. On social security, the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme provides a safety net of last resort through a non-contributory scheme.  Individuals or families with income insufficient to meet their basic needs may consider applying for CSSA.

     For people or families who could not afford the rents of private accommodation and are eligible for subsidised public rental housing, they may apply to the Hong Kong Housing Authority for public housing.  People with genuine and pressing housing needs but incapable of meeting such needs themselves may seek assistance from the Integrated Family Service Centres of the Social Welfare Department or NGOs.  The Centres will provide assistance appropriate to their needs after considering their actual circumstances such as resources and support network available to them.  The form of assistance may include short-term financial assistance to meet rental and removal expenses, arrangements for admission into urban singleton hostels and temporary shelters operated by NGOs, referrals for applications for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance or recommendation to the Housing Department for admission to public housing for cases eligible for compassionate rehousing.

     The Social Welfare Department has also worked with NGOs in implementing five short-term food assistance service projects covering the whole territory.  This initiative aims to provide immediate and direct food assistance for individuals or families who have difficulties coping with daily food expenditure (including those among the unemployed, low-income earners, new arrivals, street sleepers and individuals or families encountering sudden changes and facing immediate financial hardship) as well as those who have not benefited from any of the relief measures announced by the Government last year.  The five operating NGOs have already commenced the service projects since 27 February 2009, which are expected to benefit at least 50,000 persons.

Ends/Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:42

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