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LCQ15: Transport Support Scheme
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     Following is a question by the Hon Ip Wai-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (July 14):

Question:

     To encourage needy persons and low-income employees residing in remote districts to look for jobs and stay in employment, the Government launched on a pilot basis in 2007 the Transport Support Scheme for one year to provide time-limited transport allowance to eligible persons in some remote districts, and introduced in 2008 a number of relaxation measures.  Yet, the Scheme stipulates that the total value of personal assets of applicants must not exceed $44,000, including cash values of insurance policies.  It has been learnt that quite a number of needy applicants are not eligible to apply for such allowance as a result.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the total number of applicants, since the launch of the Transport Support Scheme in 2007, who were ineligible for transport allowance because the total value of their personal assets had exceeded the prescribed ceiling owing to the cash values of their insurance policies; whether any applicant had been required to return the transport allowance received because of the cash values of their insurance policies, and of the relevant figures; and

(b) given that cash values of insurance policies cannot be readily converted into cash to meet the immediate needs of the livelihood of policy-holders, including payment of transport costs for job seeking, why the authorities have included such cash values in calculating the total value of personal assets of applicants, and whether they have plans to disregard such cash values in the calculation; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

(a) Since the launch of the Transport Support Scheme in June 2007 and up to the end of June 2010, 40,413 people have applied for the scheme. Of these, 210 applicants were refused because the total value of their personal asset exceeded the ceiling of $44,000.  We do not have the figure on the number of applicants rejected as the total value of their personal assets had exceeded the ceiling owing to the cash values of their insurance policies.  On the other hand, 16 admitted applicants were required to refund the transport allowances paid as they were subsequently found to have insurance policies and the total value of their personal asset exceeded the ceiling, taking into account the cash value of their insurance policies.

(b) Under the Transport Support Scheme, the total personal asset value of an applicant should be no more than $44,000. Personal assets include land/property, cash, bank deposits, cash value of insurance policy, investments in stocks and shares, and other readily realisable assets.  An insured may manage the cash value of his/her insurance policy according to his/her needs under the respective terms of the policy, including the withdrawal of cash from the insurance company basing on its prevailing value.  As such, the cash value of insurance policy is similar in nature to other realisable assets and should be counted as part of an applicant's personal asset.  This approach is consistent with that established for other publicly-funded assistance schemes such as the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme.  In view of this, the Administration has no plan to disregard the cash value of insurance policies in the calculation of the value of applicants' personal asset.

Ends/Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Issued at HKT 12:30

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