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The Government released today (December 31) the "Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report on Disability 2013". The key analyses were presented to the Commission on Poverty (CoP) at its meeting held on December 12.
Adopting the analytical framework of the poverty line endorsed by the CoP, the Economic Analysis and Business Facilitation Unit of the Financial Secretary's Office in collaboration with the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) conducted a detailed analysis on the poverty situation of persons with disabilities in Hong Kong based on data collected on persons with disabilities from a territory-wide survey, Special Topic Enquiry on Persons with Disabilities, conducted by the C&SD in 2013.
The poverty rates of persons with disabilities in Hong Kong were notably higher than the overall levels both before and after policy intervention. This phenomenon is not unique to Hong Kong but is also prevalent in many developed economies overseas. In 2013, after recurrent cash policy intervention, there were 120 300 poor households with members with disabilities, with 147 400 persons with disabilities living therein and having a poverty rate of 29.5 per cent. The corresponding indicators before policy intervention were 190 000 households, 226 200 persons and a poverty rate of 45.3 per cent. Specifically, the Government's recurrent cash items successfully lifted 78 800 persons with disabilities out of poverty and reduced the corresponding poverty rate by 15.8 percentage points. The policy effectiveness of recurrent cash items in alleviating the poverty situation of persons with disabilities was visibly higher than that of the overall poverty reduction. It should also be borne in mind that the poverty line in Hong Kong is based on the median household income and has not taken into account the assets held by the households concerned.
Comprehensive analysis of the socio-economic characteristics of persons with disabilities living in poor households reveals that:
* Nearly 70 per cent (102 100 persons) of poor persons with disabilities were elderly persons aged 65 and above, and they also appeared in the poor households with elderly persons. The socio-economic characteristics of the former were common to those of poor elderly people in general, e.g. most of them were economically inactive and lacking employment income, and thereby facing a higher poverty risk. A vast majority of them (95.0 per cent or 97 000 persons) were already benefiting from the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, Old Age Living Allowance, Old Age Allowance or Disability Allowance. The Government will continue to provide financial assistance as necessary and appropriate. More importantly, the Government will focus on active ageing and long-term care services.
* The number of poor children with disabilities (5 000 persons) was relatively small and their poverty rate (20.5 per cent) was similar to the corresponding level of the overall population (18.6 per cent). The Government will, apart from helping those living in families with financial need, seek to increase the number of pre-school rehabilitation service places and continue to provide suitable training/education for them through consolidating the existing measures and experimenting with new ones.
* In regard to poor persons with disabilities, 27.3 per cent or 40 300 persons were working-age persons aged 18 to 64, and their poverty rate (22.4 per cent) was more than double the overall figure of the same age group (10.5 per cent). For working-age persons with disabilities who participate in the labour market, their unemployment rate (6.7 per cent) was notably higher than that of the overall population in the same age group (3.7 per cent). It is noted however, that a higher-than-overall unemployment rate among persons with disabilities is a common phenomenon in other economies. Also, the situation in Hong Kong has significantly improved as compared to 2006-07, when the unemployment rate for working-age persons with disabilities was 11.1 per cent vis-ˆj-vis 4.3 per cent for the overall population in the same age group. The Government reaffirms its objective to assist persons with disabilities to find appropriate jobs on the basis of their abilities rather than disabilities, while promoting an inclusive society which duly recognises the rights, capabilities and contributions of persons with disabilities.
At the CoP meeting on December 12, after being briefed about the above key analyses, members raised some issues for further study and gave views on support measures for poor persons with disabilities. The Special Needs Groups Task Force under the CoP will follow up on the CoP's discussion and explore the feasibility of the suggested supporting measures. The Task Force will report to the CoP on its deliberations as and when necessary.
More detailed analyses on the poverty situation of persons with disabilities are available in the "Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report on Disability 2013", which has been uploaded to the CoP's dedicated website (www.povertyrelief.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:11
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