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LCQ8: Rent allowance under Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme
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     Following is a question by the Hon Lee Cheuk-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (January 23):

Question:

     Regarding the households receiving rent allowance under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme in 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of a breakdown of their numbers by (i) the number of eligible members, (ii) the type of rented accommodation (public housing estate or private housing), and (iii) the result of a comparison between the actual rents paid by those households and the maximum levels of rent allowance (MRA) (set out the annual figures according to Table 1);

(b) of a breakdown of the numbers of those households whose actual rent payments exceeded MRA by (i) the number of eligible members, (ii) the type of rented accommodation, and (iii) the amount of actual rent in excess of MRA (set out the annual figures according to the Table 2); and

(c) of the median actual monthly rents paid by those households living in private rented accommodation, set out respectively by (i) the number of eligible members and (ii) the district in which they reside?  

Reply:

President,

     My reply to the question raised by Hon Lee Cheuk-yan is as follows:

(a) The numbers of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) cases receiving rent allowance with actual rent less than, equal to or higher than the maximum levels of the rent allowance (MRA) (with breakdown by the number of eligible members and housing type) in the past three years were at Annex 1 [Note].

(b) The numbers of CSSA cases in public and private housing receiving rent allowance with the actual rent exceeding the MRA (with breakdown by the amount of actual rent exceeding the MRA) for the past three years were at Annex 2 [Note].

(c) The median actual rent of CSSA cases in private housing receiving rent allowance (with breakdown by the number of eligible members and geographical district) in the past three years were at Annex 3 [Note]. It is noteworthy that CSSA recipients may live in different types of premises and the rental levels could be affected by a variety of factors (such as floor area, facilities, location and age of the property). Besides, the rent levels of premises may vary widely even if such premises are within the same district.

Note: Except for 2012-13, the numbers presented were numbers as at the end of the respective financial years.

Ends/Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:17

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