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The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, chaired the 19th meeting of the Commission on Poverty (CoP) in its second term this afternoon (June 13). The meeting mainly discussed assistance programmes under the Community Care Fund (CCF) and reviewed the progress of the public engagement exercise on retirement protection.
At the meeting, members took note of the progress of CCF assistance programmes being implemented and the CCF's financial position. They also endorsed four new CCF assistance programmes, details of which are as follows:
(1) Following up on a proposal announced by the Chief Executive in the 2016 Policy Address, the CoP endorsed the launch of the "Pilot Scheme for Providing Free Cervical Cancer Vaccination" to teenage girls from eligible low-income families, including those receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), who are aged 9 to 18 and students receiving full grant under the School Textbook Assistance Scheme who are aged 9 or above. The pilot scheme will be launched by the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong. Eligible teenage girls will receive the vaccination and related services in the three Youth Health Care Centres of the Association. The pilot scheme will run for three years, and application is expected to start in the fourth quarter this year. The total provision of the new programme is $98.75 million, and the pilot scheme is expected to benefit 31 100 persons.
(2) To further promote employment of persons with disabilities, the CoP endorsed the implementation of the "Pilot Scheme on Raising the Maximum Level of Disregarded Earnings (DE) for Disabled CSSA Recipients". Under the pilot scheme, the first $1,200 of employment earnings of a CSSA recipient with disabilities will be totally disregarded, while half of the next $5,600 of earnings (that is $2,800) will be disregarded. Hence, the total maximum disregarded earnings per month will be raised to $4,000. Eligible CSSA recipients with disabilities are not required to submit applications. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) will issue notifications based on its records, and provide the additional disregarded earnings by way of transfers on a quarterly basis to the bank accounts of CSSA recipients with disabilities. The three-year pilot scheme will be rolled out this October with a total provision of $47.25 million. It is expected to benefit about 3 000 persons.
(3) To support the employment of persons with severe disabilities, the CoP endorsed the implementation of the "Pilot Scheme of Providing Subsidy for Higher Disability Allowance (HDA) Recipients in Paid Employment to Hire Carers". The three-year pilot scheme will be rolled out in October this year. Eligible HDA recipients will each be granted $5,000 per month for hiring a carer. Starting from October, the SWD will, based on its records and in writing, invite eligible HDA recipients to apply. The pilot scheme is expected to benefit 100 persons with a total provision of $18.9 million.
(4) With reference to the CCF's earlier experience of providing a living allowance for carers of elderly persons from low-income families, and in response to the requests of carers of persons with disabilities, the CoP endorsed the implementation of the "Pilot Scheme on Living Allowance for Low Income Carers of Persons with Disabilities". The pilot scheme will run for two years starting in October. A monthly allowance of $2,000 will be disbursed to an eligible carer, and a maximum of $4,000 per month will be disbursed to those carers who take care of more than one person with disabilities. The allowance will be granted for a maximum of 24 months. Under the pilot scheme, the SWD will commission the District Support Centres for Persons with Disabilities, Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness and Parents/Relatives Resource Centres to provide information and support services such as service referral and counselling to the persons with disabilities and their carers in the pilot scheme. Starting from October, the SWD will in writing invite applications from carers of those persons with disabilities who are waiting for designated rehabilitation services, special school places with boarding services under the Education Bureau or infirmary services under the Hospital Authority (HA). The pilot scheme is expected to benefit about 2 000 persons with a total provision of $125.58 million.
The CoP also endorsed the list of new drugs under the First Phase Programme of the CCF Medical Assistance Programmes and the funding proposal for the sixth year (from August 2016 to July 2017). Launched in August 2011, the First Phase Programme provides subsidies for HA patients in need of specified self-financed cancer drugs outside the Samaritan Fund (SF) safety net that have been rapidly accumulating medical scientific evidence of relatively higher effectiveness. Currently, it covers 10 specified self-financed cancer drugs for curing seven different types of cancers. As at March 2016, the CCF had sponsored 5 740 cases in total, with an average grant of about $75,000 per case. The CoP agreed to include in the First Phase Programme four specified self-financed cancer drugs from the sixth year onwards, namely afatinib, bendamustine, vemurafenib and trastuzumab, and to relax the clinical criteria of lapatinib, a drug already in the First Phase Programme. As for cetuximab, which is currently under the First Phase Programme, it will be covered by the SF from this August onwards and will no longer require subsidisation by the CCF. Therefore, with effect from the sixth year, the First Phase Programme will subsidise 13 specified self-financed cancer drugs for 10 types of cancer with a total annual cash flow provision of $171.67 million.
In addition, the CoP took note of the progress of the public engagement exercise on retirement protection and the results of public opinion polls on retirement protection conducted by various bodies including several tertiary institutions. The public engagement exercise will end on June 21, and the CoP encouraged the public to seize the opportunity to put forward their views. After the end of the public engagement exercise, the independent consultant commissioned by the Government will consolidate and analyse all the views collected. It is expected that a report for the consultation exercise will be submitted to the CoP for further consideration by the end of this year.
Ends/Monday, June 13, 2016
Issued at HKT 19:55
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