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Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, on the Court of Final Appeal's judgment regarding the residence requirement for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance before he attended the Legislative Council Panel on Manpower meeting today (December 17):
Reporter: What is the Government's view on the CFA's judgment? Will this affect welfare policies?
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: We will certainly implement the decision of the court. We respect the judgment of the Court of Final Appeal. The judgment essentially restores the arrangement before January 1, 2004, in other words, going back to the previous one-year residence requirement. In fact, during the last few years, the Director of Social Welfare has exercised discretion to approve exceptional cases under the seven-year residence requirement - for example, if the applicant has genuine financial difficulties, and also is very keen to be self-reliant, by looking for work, by working a certain number of hours. In fact some 14 000 cases have been approved. We will do all we can to speed up the process and also handle the applications from new applicants.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:36
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