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The following is issued on behalf of the Community Care Fund Secretariat:
The application period for the Community Care Fund (CCF)'s assistance programme to provide a subsidy for elderly tenants in private housing will start next Monday (July 9). Eligible elderly people can submit their applications by January 31, 2013.
The programme aims to relieve the pressure of elderly tenants in private housing in view of the rising inflation and cyclical rental increases. The amount of subsidy for elderly people living alone is $4,000, $8,000 for two-person elderly households, and a uniform $12,000 for three-or-more-person elderly households. The CCF has set aside around $50 million for the programme, and about 9 700 elderly households (about 11 900 persons) are expected to benefit.
Beneficiaries must be aged 65 or above. They should be elderly people living alone, or two-person elderly households or three-or-more-person elderly households, with average monthly household income of the last three months not exceeding the specified household income limit. They should not be recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and should not own any property in Hong Kong. They should also be renting private housing with the monthly rent not exceeding the specified limit. The specified income and rental limits applicable to the relevant household size are as follows:
Household size Household income Rental
(persons) limit ($) limit ($)
1 8,740 4,370
2 13,410 6,705
3 or above 17,060 8,530
Application forms for the programme are available at 34 District Elderly Community Centres and 79 Neighbourhood Elderly Centres (113 elderly centres in total). The list of the elderly centres (please refer to Annex) is available at the Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department and the District Social Welfare Offices of the Social Welfare Department. The application form and programme brief are also available for download from the CCF website (www.communitycarefund.hk) starting from today.
Duly completed application forms, together with copies of the required documents (e.g. the Hong Kong identity card of the applicant and all household members, rental receipts and documentary proof of bank account), should be submitted to any one of the elderly centres which assist in implementing the programme in the respective district of residence (according to the delineation of Hong Kong's 18 districts) for initial screening. Staff of the elderly centres will check that application forms have been duly completed and submitted together with all the required documents before accepting applications. Applications by post, by fax or by e-mail are therefore not accepted.
Applications without complete information or the required documents submitted by organisations or groups on behalf of applicants will be returned by the elderly centres to the relevant organisations or groups for follow-up. Organisations or groups are advised not to submit a large batch of applications to the elderly centres in one go, to avoid delaying the processing time of individual applications.
Elderly people who require assistance in completing the application form may seek help at any elderly centre which assists in implementing the programme. Alternatively, they may seek help from family members, relatives or friends. Applicants should also exercise care in the handling and protection of their personal data.
The CCF Secretariat and the elderly centres will vet every application, and will conduct audit checks, home visits and income tests on selected applications. Notification of results will be issued to all applicants, irrespective of whether their applications are successful.
The Chairman of the Executive Committee on the CCF, Dr Law Chi-kwong, said, "Applicants will have ample time to submit their applications since the application period will last for over six months. There is no need for the elderly people to rush to submit their applications in the early stage."
The Secretariat will start disbursing the subsidy in phases after vetting the applications. If applicants choose to receive the subsidy through direct payment into bank accounts, the subsidy will be deposited directly into the bank accounts as specified in their application forms.
For applicants who choose to receive the subsidy in the form of order cheques, they should bring along their Hong Kong identity cards and collect the cheques in person at the designated elderly centres within the specified period.
For more information on the eligibility criteria and application procedure, please visit the CCF's website (www.communitycarefund.hk) or refer to the programme brief.
For enquiries, please call the programme hotlines at 2835 2220 or 2835 2222.
Ends/Friday, July 6, 2012
Issued at HKT 14:55
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