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Following is a question by the Hon James Tien and a written reply by the Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang, in the Legislative Council today (April 26):
Question:
Beginning this month, short-term travel support is provided, as an incentive for taking up employment, for residents in Yuen Long, Islands and North districts who are financially needy and have completed full-time or placement-tied courses with the Employees Retraining Board. On the 4th of this month, the Labour and Economic Affairs Committee of the North District Council wrote to Members of this Council, proposing additional funding for this purpose, as well as removing the requirement that applicants should have completed the relevant courses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the reasons for requiring the applicants to have completed the relevant courses; and
(b) whether it has looked into the feasibility of removing this requirement; if so, of the outcome, and the estimated annual expenditure to be incurred; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The North District Council Labour and Economic Affairs Committee (the "Committee") has also written to the Administration on April 4 on the subject. The Administration is grateful to the Committee for its views, and shares the importance of assisting the unemployed to return to work.
In considering relevant measures, the Administration recognises that assisting the unemployed living in remote areas to meet travelling expenses for attending job interviews and for the first month of employment is useful in helping the unemployed's transition to work. Participants in the Intensive Employment Assistance Projects (IEAPs), who may include both CSSA and non-CSSA recipients, can already apply for temporary financial aid (TFA) for the purpose. The short-term travel support scheme included in the 2006-07 Budget is intended to extend the assistance to those needy, who are neither CSSA recipients nor participants in the IEAP but who live in remote areas, to return to employment.
In designing the trial scheme, the Administration has to take into account, among other things, the need to have a means testing mechanism in order to ensure that only those with genuine financial needs would benefit from the scheme. At the same time, the means testing mechanism should be delivered in a cost-effective manner while reducing the risk of abuse. Hence, it was proposed that the trial scheme be operated through the training bodies of the Employees' Retraining Board (ERB) which currently provide training to the unemployed and could conduct the means testing procedures.
(b) We note the Committee's deliberation at its meeting on March 16 that travel support should not be limited to graduates of ERB's full-time or placement-tied training, and that youth should receive such support. We would take into account these views when we review the experience of the trial scheme later this year. The Administration does not have an estimate of the cost in expanding the trial travel support scheme. Such would depend on the features of the scheme after the review. The Task Force on Children and Youth under the Commission on Poverty is also considering various ways to encourage youth to find employment, including the possibility of providing travel support.
The Administration would continue to consider how best to provide appropriate travel support to encourage work, including among youths. The Commission on Poverty at its meeting on March 27 also agreed that the Administration should consider how to provide longer-term travel support to low-income employees living in remote areas.
Ends/Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:11
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